Happy holidays to you all.
Our days in AP Lit since the last "Response to Course Material" was dominated by Hamlet. Dominated. I mean, even while I laid in bed sick, Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech looped through my head. To die, to sleep. Funny enough, when you are sick and miserable, those two things are the only things you ever think about. Anyways, after we read through Hamlet the first time, we then watched a bag full of various movie interpretations of Hamlet. The diverse takes and interpretations of the exact same text was interesting, and I believe that they should remind us all of why Shakespeare remains relevant today.
Although we watched multiple movies, I feel compelled to discuss only the ones that really interested me.
The first movie we watched was, ah, "American" to me. The movie was a perpetual cloud of anger and angst from Hamlet. Claudius was too timid to be either a well-developed or compelling character. I did appreciate the setting, especially with the "chess board" floor that a classmate brought up. Overall, I didn't really think that Shakespeare intended for this much anger, more brooding and more thinking and less flamboyant anger.
The David Tennant Hamlet was interesting. Although it was not as traditional as the Jacobi Hamlet (the second movie we watched starring Patrick Stewart) it still relied less on props and settings and more on acting, which I particularly enjoyed. It was interesting to see Tennant's interpretation of Hamlet, more deranged and unrestrained than the other movies. Claudius was also portrayed as more of a complex figure, tying in nicely with our latter discussions about the essays. Overall, staying traditionalist with the set up and presentation while having a more modified interpretation produced an interesting production that was interesting to analyze.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI have the same issues with the Branagh version. When reading the play in class and annotating, I never pictured the play as dramatic as Branagh makes it. The angst of Hamlet is definitely important, but it does not need to be so out there. The Branagh version makes the angst and anger Hamlet’s only emotions, when there is more to his situation. I also think the set for this version is interesting, but the setting could be kept with less drama to the play.
Tennant’s version is not my favorite, but I like it more than most of the other versions. The aspects that keep me from liking it the most are the lack of Fortinbras and the portrayal of Ophelia. The Olivier version is closest to how I pictured the scenes with Ophelia, and I think these are important scenes to the overall play, so the different interpretations change the meaning on some level.
Remember to include outside experiences in your discussion, but other than that, great job.
Do you think the sets should stay traditional for Hamlet specifically, or should there be more modern versions, like Branagh’s and Tennant’s?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteSorry that you were sick! But, uhh you were kinda brief in this post. I most definitely agree that one(uumm me) might not want to respond to every movie that we watched, but what are your thoughts on the different actors who played Hamlet? Did these movies add any more insight to your brain? We also read an essay by Phillip Edwards during this period, so maybe you can include your reactions to that as well. Yeah? For me I found it difficult to connect Hamlet to other works, or maybe I'm just lazy?...most likely. Although I enjoyed our reading of Hamlet: the text sure did work on my mind. I realized with terror that I was justifying Hamlet's actions and cursing Claudius' when really, they were both guilty as murderers. How were you able to connect this work to other works or life experiences?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI love how your voice and a little bit of humor comes through in your writing. I just wish you had added more detail in your post in general. I think you could have at least told us why the movie versions you didn't address did not compel you as much as the others. I found your comment that you didn't think Shakespeare intended for Hamlet to be so angry interesting. I don't think it's possible to know what Shakespeare intended, since he's been dead for a long time. Also, even if it's not what Shakespeare intended, all interpretations are valid, and it was cool to see so much variety in Hamlet's portrayal. Also, you forgot to address the forum posts we did as well as the "Tragedy in Hamlet," article we read.
I like your style of writing, and overall your syntax is nice and clean. Good work!