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Hamlet is not one of the easiest characters to figure out. However, we do know that he is a broken man. Some of the ideals and impressions he once held dear have surely been shattered upon returning to Elsinore. Some of his first thoughts include what it might be like for his "sullied flesh would melt/Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew" (Shakespeare I.ii.133-4). Hamlet questions God and his purpose, too, saying, "Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!" (I.ii.135-6). Life "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable (I.ii.137) for Hamlet and "things rank and gross in nature/Possess it merely" (I.ii.140-1). This is the character Zeffirelli portrays in the film. This is the Hamlet we expect to see on the stage. He is not over the top; he is buried in grief. Zeffirelli's interpretation of the film can be criticized for omitting certain aspects of the play but by doing this, he makes the audience focus solely on the character...
From this perspective, the film is a tremendous success because it delivers to the audience a broken, melancholy individual that can no more come to terms with what has happened than he can seek vengeance. They are, after all, intertwined and Hamlet is lost somewhere in the middle of life and death. No other film versions characterize Hamlet in the quite the same way. For this reason, this version of Hamlet is the one to watch to catch a glimpse of the character in all his "glory." Understanding the character of Hamlet is not easy; this aspect makes him popular and worth dissecting. The best portrayal of this man will be the one that focuses on the deepest, darkest aspects of his nature that make him appear human and crestfallen.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Hamlet: Poem Unlimited. New York: Riverhead Books. 2003.
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, and Helena Bonham-Carter.
Warner Brothers, 1995.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, and Billy
Crystal. Warner Brothers, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Washington Square Press. 1992.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Hamlet: Poem Unlimited. New York: Riverhead Books. 2003.
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, and Helena Bonham-Carter.
Warner Brothers, 1995.
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, and Billy
This contrasts the identification process of medieval works, in which the reader was encouraged to identify with a hero's inhuman qualities -- inhuman virtue in the case of books of chivalry. In those works the reader was called to identify himself with a god -- or even God proper -- but in Hamlet the reader is called only to identify himself with another, equally flawed man. Finally, in the question
Hamlet Analysis of "Black Hamlet: Battening on the Moor" by Patricia Parker In the journal article "Black Hamlet: Battening on the Moor" (2003) in Shakespeare Studies, author Patricia Parker centered on 'blackness' as one of the emergent symbolisms in William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet." Parker used blackness as the symbolical representation of important themes that were underscored in the play. Synonymously associating blackness with impurity, malice, death, deviltry, vengeance, and melancholy, the
trace development Hamlet's Identity play. If choose option, define "identity" clear ways extent Destroying Hamlet's Identity The titular character in William Shakespeare's well noted play Hamlet has fascinated audiences and literary critics for quite some time. In order to understand his characterization and the development of his identity throughout this work, one must fully understand the situation with which this young man is presented at the outset of the play. Hamlet,
Description Hamlet is one of William Shakespeare’s best-known plays. Although written in England, the play centers on the life of the titular Danish prince. In the first Act of the play, Hamlet meets the ghost of his dead father. The ghost tells Hamlet that he, the King, was murdered by Claudius—the King’s brother and Hamlet’s uncle. Although the information came from an incredible source—a supernatural creature—Hamlet is not the only one
Characterization of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the character of Ophelia is perhaps the most tragic, as her wishes and desires are constantly sublimated in favor of the scheming characters around her. Essentially she is used as bait for Hamlet, and when her father dies, she is left to her own madness and death (a death whose circumstances leave open the possibilities of accident or suicide). By
Hamlet lives vicariously through the devices that he uses to capture or replay reality. However, those devices actually serve to separate Hamlet from the very world he is seeking to capture. This concept is dramatically displayed by Hamlet's use of headphones. Though headphones generally provide a listener with music or other entertainment, Almereyda's makes it clear that they also serve a secondary purpose: to shut out the external world.