Blog Post 15: Hamlet Blog 3

Soliloquy Analysis:

Imagery:

• Locate imagery that refers to the uncertainty of death.
• "ay there's rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil" (III.i.15-17).
• "The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveler returns" (III.i.79-80).
• Identify imagery that refers to the negative experiences of life.
• "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (III.i.70-74).

Appeals:

• Pathos: 
• "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (III.i.85-88).
• "Must give us pause" (III.i.69).
• Logos:
• "To die, to sleep—No more—and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to" (III.i.61-64).

Literary Devices:

• Paradox:  "there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life" (III.i.78-79)
• Parallelism:  "Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (III.i.71-74)
• Infinitive:  "To die:  to sleep; No more" (III.i.60-61)
• Synecdoche:  "and by a sleep to say we end" (III.i.61)
• Tone:  "When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin?" (III.i.75-76)
• Diction:  "and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd" (III.i.61-64).
• Metaphor:  "To die, to sleep; To sleep" (III.i.64-65) and "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles" (III.i.57-59) and "And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (III.i.84-85)

Identify evidence of the following comparisons: 

• Life on earth:  "Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (III.i.71-74)
• Afterlife:  "The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns" (III.i.79-80).
• Death:  "To die, to sleep; to sleep" (III.i.64-65)
• Humans:  "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" (III.i.83)
• Thinking:  "puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?" (III.i.80-82)

Identify at least three oppositions present in the arguments Hamlet makes.

• "who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death" (III.i.76-78)
• "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time" (III.i.70)
• "puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?" (III.i.80-82)

What eternal philosophical questions does Hamlet ponder?

• He ponders whether or not to commit suicide and the consequences of suicide.

What conclusions does Hamlet draw?

• Hamlet concludes that he is not going to kill himself because he is scared of life after death.

Acting Analysis:

Kenneth Branagh:  In Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy is a very simple yet dramatic rendition.  Hamlet is in the grand hall of the castle, wearing a generic black suit and his face is looks natural (minimal make-up).  In the start of the soliloquy, the camera is at and over-the-shoulder angle and looking at Hamlet's reflection in the mirror of him looking at himself.  The camera angle is over-the-shoulder for the entire soliloquy, but slowly zooms into Hamlet's face in the mirror as Hamlet begins to walk closer to the mirror.  The lighting is very natural, indoor lighting that is even throughout the entire frame.  As Hamlet begins speaking, he is the only diegetic sound, and there are no non-diegetic sounds present.  But as Hamlet begins walking closer to the mirror, eerie background music begins to play.  In the middle of the soliloquy, Hamlet draws a dagger out of his pants as if he were going to fight someone.  As he gets closer to the mirror, he taps the dagger onto the mirror, a diegetic sound, and rubs the dagger on his face.  At the very end of the scene, the camera angle is very close to Hamlet's face.  Throughout the entire play, Hamlet talks in a very quiet voice, almost a whisper, which adds drama to the overall basic scene.

Laurence Olivier:  Olivier's version of Hamlet's famous soliloquy begins with the camera angle building up suspense by panning a dark stairwell up to the roof of the castle, where the audience sees Hamlet looking down at the wild ocean below.  The audience can hear the water crashing into the castle.  It looks as if he is about to jump throughout the scene, but he never actually does.  It is dark and gloomy outside which is enhanced by the suspense-building music.  When Hamlet begins to say "To be or not to be," the frame is very blurry and twisted, which adds to Hamlet's confusion of whether or not to commit suicide.  His voice is initially non-diegetic because it is a voice over, but quickly changed to the only diegetic sound.  The camera has a long shot and is looking up onto Hamlet sitting upon a rock, looking down into the water.  When Hamlet pulls out his dagger, the non-diegetic sound of eerie music returns, slowly increasing with volume, Hamlet's voice is a voice over, and the camera zooms in on Hamlet as it looks like he is about to commit suicide, but he does not.  Eventually, Hamlet accidentally drops the dagger into the stormy water below.  When Hamlet gets up and walks over to the side of the roof to look upon the water, the camera angle is even a longer shot and the music begins a sad tune, and the camera follows Hamlet as he walks into the fog and down the stairs.  These final aspects of the clip allow the scene to conclude will a contemplating, sad mood.

Mel Gibson:  In this version of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, the lighting is very dark and dramatic, camera angles change frequently, and the setting is in the tomb of the castle.  Overall, this scene is fairly eerie, with the lack of non-diegetic sounds, the setting of the tomb, and the dark lighting.  The camera angles change frequently to show Hamlet's movement around the tomb, visiting all of the different graves.  The lack of non-diegetic sounds emphasizes Hamlet's soliloquy and his confusion of life and death.  Overall, this scene is much more simple compared to the rest, yet it allows for the audience to solely focus on Hamlet's soliloquy which is the important part of the scene.

Ethan Hawke:  This rendition of Hamlet's soliloquy is very contemporary compared to the other three scenes.  Hamlet is walking around a movie store in a black suit and a snow hat for the duration of this soliloquy.  Initially, Hamlet begins speaking over a voice-over, and he is just slowly walking through the aisles and watches a video of an explosion.  Halfway through the soliloquy, Hamlet begins speaking aloud.  Eerie music plays in the background for the duration of the soliloquy to build up the mood and the suspense of the scene.  The entire scene has various camera angles.  When the camera zooms in on Hamlet's face, more important or distinct lines are being spoken than when it is a long shot.  The difference in setting really changes the mood of the scene, so the director uses the suspenseful music and the varying camera scene in order to keep the mood eerie, as it was in the other films.

Even though I know I should not have, I listened in on Hamlet.  I was really nervous that he would commit suicide right then in there; he has been acting mad lately after all.  Out of all of these different scenes, Kenneth Branagh played my Hamlet the best.  As Hamlet was looking at himself, I could really tell that he was serious about contemplating suicide.  The way he rubbed the dagger against his face, the way he mumbled those words so I could barely hear, it was scary.  I was afraid he would commit suicide right then and there.  Compared to the other scenes, the basic setting, constant camera angle, and minimal sound affects actually enhanced Hamlet's contemplation.  I focused on his every movement and every word; I was leaning forward on my toes out of fear and intrigue.  Although I am ecstatic that Hamlet did not commit suicide while watching, I thought he almost would, and that was the entire point of what he was saying.  How basic yet dramatic this scene was made me truly believe that Branagh and the director portrayed my Hamlet the best.

In regards to all of these scenes, I would have changed the lighting of the scene.  Although I did like the brighter lighting in some of the scenes, a candle-lit room would have made this scene so much more dramatic.  But other than a few moments of background music, I would keep the non-diegetic sounds to a minimum and the diegetic sounds to solely Hamlet's voice.  Unlike the second scene, I would keep the setting very simple and bland so that the audience focuses on the dramatic lighting and Hamlet's voice.