Eulogy for Ophelia

       Ophelia was a woman who deserved more. The end of her life was not a portrayal of who she truly was. She was someone who was loved by her brother and father, through out her whole life. The person who adored her most though, was Hamlet. He, however was the reason for her downfall. 

          She was considered to be crazy when she died, and truthfully, she was. The events that happened caused her to lose her mind. First, she was accused of being the reason why Hamlet was going crazy. Then, she had to break up with him, and she clearly loved him. This would make anyone sad. After all of this happened, Hamlet killed her father, for no reason, and then got away with the crime. It is not dishonorable for this to happen to Ophelia.   For this reason, Ophelia did not die dishonorably. 

          Ophelia is someone who brought great joy to many people. Her father loved her very much, as evidence from the way he was concerned with her. Laertes was very close with his sister. 

           Ophelia meant very much to Hamlet as well. She was someone that he fell in love with, and she loved him. She will be part of the representation of what Hamlet lost after his father died, and after he went crazy. Ophelia will always have an affect on Hamlet.
       
           Ophelia is also a representation of what everyone lost during this time of Denmark's history. Ophelia was an innocent person, who did not have anything to do with Claudius killing King Hamlet. Ophelia should not have been involved with this at all, and her death did not serve much of a purpose. She shows the calamity that followed all of this, and how it affected so many people surrounding the royal family and court. She should be honored for being this person.    
         
        Ophelia was a girl that probably never expected for any of this to happen chaos  to her, her boyfriend, or family. I think she held up for as well as to be expected for someone in  this type of position.  For this reason I believe that we should be honoring Ophelia, and the impact that she had on Hamlet, Laertes, Polonius, and everyone else in the court of Denmark. Ophelia was a woman who was misunderstood at the end of her life, and we should not let that be the reason why she is not honored in the right way.    

Should Hamlet Take Action?

            In the very famous ghost scene from Hamlet, the ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius was the person who killed him. The ghost also told Hamlet to avenge his father's death. Hamlet agreed to do this. Hamlet was later given the opportunity to kill Claudius, but decides not to. 
           
               I think Hamlet was right to not kill Claudius, and wait. Hamlet has a lot at stake, because Claudius is now the king, and everyone already thinks that Hamlet is crazy. If Hamlet kills Claudius, he would need evidence to prove that Claudius killed King Hamlet. He does not have this though, and could not prove that the murder he committed was justification for the one that Claudius committed. His mother would probably never forgive Hamlet, because she loved Claudius. This will ruin Hamlet's life, if he just kills Claudius, and does not have anyway to prove himself. Like I said before, everyone already thinks that Hamlet is crazy, and this will not help Hamlet.
           
                 Another reason why Hamlet should wait is because of his religious beliefs. He believes that if he kills Claudius while he is praying, Claudius will go to Heaven, and this is what Claudius was doing at the time. I think it would have destroyed Hamlet if he did kill him, and did not wait. He would regret killing Claudius, because he would have thought that Claudius went to Heaven when he died. By not killing Claudius, Hamlet was saving himself from a lot of regret because of his religious beliefs. 
             
                  I belief that Hamlet was right to wait to murder Claudius. It was not the right time to commit the act. Everyone in the palace already thinks that Hamlet is mad. Hamlet killing Claudius would not help him prove that he is not crazy. Also, I think that Hamlet would regret killing Claudius because of his religious beliefs. For these reasons, I think Hamlet was right in not rushing into something, and killing Claudius at the first chance.  
                   
                              

To Be or Not To Be

               Hamlet's speech that starts with famous line "To be or not to be" contemplates life and death. This is one of the most famous monologues ever written and acted out. The many adaptations of Hamlet all present this scene very differently, in the setting, and the way the lines are delivered.
               Oliver's adaptation of Hamlet takes place on a beach. Hamlet is sitting on a huge rock that overlook the ocean. Throughout the scene, the camera keeps show the waves crashing against the rock. I think this is used to show the feelings of Hamlet. He is right on the edge, and waves keep crashing into the rock, just like all of the tragedies his life are hitting him. he is also all alone, and there is absolutes nothing near him. This shows how he feels that he is completely alone, since his father died. In the beginning, the scene is very quite, with the only sound being the actors. However, half way through, music starts to play and it conveys a very panicked and nervous feeling. After that there is no more music. The actor playing Hamlet was playing him as very detached. There was not much emotion, it felt like.
               Zeffirelli's version of Hamlet took place in the family catacombs mausoleum. This was a very unique setting, because hamlet was staring right into was he was contemplating. This made it much more obvious what he was discussing. This was a physical example of what he was saying to both Hamlet, and the audience. There is no music in this scene, just like in the ghost scene. I think this is done so that the audience could focus on the acting, and content of the scene. The actor was very emotional throughout the entire scene. He seemed very sad and depressed in  the beginning, and then became angry near the middle.
                 Branagh's version was extremely different than the rest. This takes place right in the palace where Hamlet lives. This set is very ornate, and also very bright and colorful. Branagh does not really use music in this scene. I think it is done this way so that the audience could really focus on the dialogue, just like in Zeffirelli's version. The director uses a mirror as the main prop. Hamlet recites a lot of his soliloquy into the mirror, and therefore to himself. This is intentionally showing us that this is an interior conflict that Hamlet has, and one that he is only dealing with this crisis on his own. The actor delivers the lines very quietly. He is whispering. This is also done to, again, show that this something Hamlet is gong through on his own, and that he is separate from everyone else. 
                The to be or not to be scene that we watched was the Almereyda version. This is modern version, so Hamlet says this in a newer setting, which is a blockbuster. He is walking through the aisles of the action movie section. This shows some foreshadowing that Hamlet might take action  on something soon. Also, he is discussing taking action, so the setting reflects this.n There is no music used during the scene. The actor portrays Hamlet as very detached, just like in the first version. He is not saying the first half of the soliloquy, but instead thinking it. He starts to actually say the second half. This shows how detached he is from everything. 
                I think Hamlet has been redone so often because has so many universal themes in Hamlet, that many people can relate to. These versions are all very different as well. This shows that Hamlet can be interpreted many ways, but the main themes are always that same. I think this is why Hamlet has been portrayed so often.    
                  

The Ghost Scene

           In 1991, Franco Zeffirelli directed a movie of Hamlet that was set in the medieval times. This was a very dark film, with simple sets. It was set up this way so that the viewer could focus on the acting. The camera always zoomed in on the faces of Hamlet, and the ghost, and you could see the emotion that the two actors conveyed. The ghost scene in this movie uses very little props, and very dark lighting. I think this is meant to  emphasize the emotion of the acting.

           The Branagh version is very different. The scene starts with Hamlet running through woods, with very fast paced, anxious music that sets a very tense mood. There lighting was much brighter, and more colorful in this movie than Zeffirelli's adaptation. There was a flashback to a scene of when Claudius poisoned the king, and killed him. The ghost scene in this movie seemed to be a bit more focused on telling the story of how King Hamlet died, than the emotions, and interactions of Hamlet and his father, than the first film.
             Almereyda's version of Hamlet was very different than the fist two in that it was set in modern times, but the script is in Shakespeare's language. Although the script was not different, the way it was spoken was also more modern. This also was very different because the ghost also felt more human like, as opposed to the first two. Here he was not as mythical, and also acted more like a live person, with the way he interacted with Hamlet. This version also used symbolism more than the first two. One example is when the ghost kept touching his ear, which is where the poison that killed him was placed.
              Out of these tree interpretations i think the Zeffirelli version was my favorite. I like that it focused on the emotions, and interactions of the actors. the set decoration did nit take away from this, and I like that very much.