Ophelia's Eulogy/Representing Ophelia

Before I start, I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the family of Ophelia. Today we are here to honor a beautiful girl that we all loved and cared for; Ophelia. Ophelia lived an admirable life. She was one of the best friends anyone can ask for. She was such a nice girl that would never do anything to hurt anyone. Sadly though, it seemed to be her that suffered throughout her life whether she had to break up with her true love, cope with the distance between her and her brother, or mourn her father's death. She endured more in a short time than most people endure in a lifetime. It seemed like nobody gave her the attention she deserved. So while we may not be able to dispute the fact that Ophelia began to lose her sanity we must account for everything that the people around her put her through. Instead of everyone calling her crazy someone could have tried to console her or get help for her through the tough time. She never harmed anyone and always looked out for people. It's a shame that when she needed help everyone was too busy. She always listened to what people told her even if she disagreed. This is most notably seen when she was told to break up with the love of her life; Hamlet. Since we don't know for sure if Ophelia did indeed commit suicide I believe the least she deserves is a Christian Burial because she really lived a Christian life. While we are all deeply saddened and mourning the loss of our dear friend, let us celebrate the exemplary life that Ophelia lived. Let us all learn from her. Ophelia will be missed forever but we will all meet again in heaven.

It seems to me that Shakespeare tried to portray Ophelia as a typical young girl who falls victim to love. He made her seem normal throughout the whole story until she had to leave Hamlet. Then she slowly started to lose it. Granted it wasn't just her love life that made her go crazy, the death of her father also played a huge role too. For the most part though, she suffered when she thought about Hamlet, making vague references about him throughout Act IV. I absolutely believe that she drowned herself. I feel that when the branch broke her instinct was to save herself but then when she fell in the water she just resisted. Gertrude let her die. I don't think there's anyway of denying that. She could have called for help but she stood there and watched and then pretended to be devastated when reporting the news. I feel bad for Ophelia because this could have been prevented if someone acted when she began to act crazy. She went mad for Hamlet because she really genuinely loved him and was forced to leave him. This seems to be a common theme in Shakespeare's literary works as we saw in Romeo and Juliet.

Hamlet's Dilemma

Hamlet seems like he can never get anything done. He gave a whole speech about how he was tired of living with his problems and how he can easily commit suicide. He continued by even saying he didn't understand why it was so hard for others to do it. After all of the talking he did, he never went through with his plan to kill himself. Now he wants avenge his father's death so he swore to the ghost that he would kill Claudius. He had a crystal clear opportunity to kill Claudius right there. He was defenseless and there was no one there to witness it but he cowardly refrained from doing it. He came up with a lame excuse that Claudius was praying and he wants him to suffer in hell not in heaven.

I am fully aware that from a religious aspect as a Roman Catholic killing someone is a mortal sin but if he was really concerned about that then he wouldn't have killed Polonius. Even if it was an accident and he didn't know who it was, he went with intent to kill. It would still count as a sin and unless he confesses them he would go to hell too. If he were to kill Claudius he can confess his sins and go to heaven anyway. So Hamlet being afraid of killing Claudius because of religious reasons is invalid to me. I am also pretty sure Hamlet doesn't care about ethics or morals anymore.

It could be in his heart he doesn't want to do it. He might feel like he has an obligation to do it for his father's vengeance. If this is the case then he is right for waiting it out and thinking about it carefully. His reputation is at stake. People are beginning to suspect that he is insane. I thought he was insane since he saw the ghost the first time but anyway he should not rush something he knows truly that he doesn't want to do. There could also be a small chance that Claudius is innocent. If he is, then Hamlet hesitating can be a good thing as it is saving an innocent person. If he were to kill the king and he was innocent then Hamlet might have ended up dead or forced by the people to leave his own country.

Overall, I feel that this is going to haunt Hamlet for the rest of the story and it will affect the outcome heavily.

To Be or Not To Be

Shakespeare has many famous works. When you think of Shakespeare, one of the first quotes that come to mind is the to be or not to be. He is often considered one of the most influential writers because of quotes like this.

Olivier's setting took place by the ocean. He was sitting on a big rock. There was a storm going on adding a little bit of drama. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. You could sense the seriousness of the matter. This version is unique from the others because it seemed like he wasn't just contemplating. Of all the versions, he seemed the closest to taking his life. Hamlet had the dagger in his hand and just when he was getting about to kill himself he stopped and refrained from doing it. The camera zoomed closely to the actor's face towards the end which made the soliloquy end on a serious note.

Zeffirelli's version was clearly the most intense of all the version. The setting took place in the catacombs. This is interesting because he was reciting a speech about killing himself in a place full of dead people. I found that to be a little ironic. It was completely dark with a light mostly on the actor.  He spoke with an angry tone but it had a touch of sadness to it. He had face full of despair as if he had given up all hope. His voice starts off quiet, it carries and it begins to sound like he's screaming, and then he ends it on a quiet note. You sense the intensity from this soliloquy.

Branaugh's version was more of a self-reflection more than anything. He was in the castle by himself, looking at the mirror while he recited his speech. He kept consistent eye contact with his reflection. He breezed through the speech in a sort of casual manner and the words were being whispered so you didn't really feel the words that were being spoken. Just like Olivier he also pulled out the dagger out. Initially, he had the dagger pointed at the head of his reflection on the mirror but as the speech progressed he put it to his own head and moved it in a motion similar to how a person combs their hair. Then the guards showed up and he awkwardly pretended nothing happened. 

Almereyda's version to me was the worst of the four. The actor was thinking instead of speaking. Basically, the speech represented his thoughts. I liked that idea but they didn't execute it properly in the film. He was at Blockbuster which I found to be random. He was paced aimlessly through the action isle. On the TV, there was an explosion going on. This to me was symbolic of what was going on with his thoughts. In this film, it didn't seem like Hamlet was seriously thinking of committing suicide which was a mistake to me. He seemed like he was just confused and just needed some answers. There wasn't any music, emotion , or specific lighting in this film. It all seemed rushed and hasty to me.

There are many versions of this play because there are so many ways it can be interpreted. Since there are so many interpretations there are all these versions. You can see with these four directors they each had a different outlook on the speech and each version is significantly different. My favorite version is Zeffirelli's because it was the most powerful, the tone of the speech was chilling, and the setting made the most sense. 

Ghost Scene

Version 1 (Zeffirelli) in my opinion is the best portrayal of The Ghost Scene in Hamlet because of the way the emotion is expressed by Mel Gibson. You can really sense the anxiety, sorrow, and the uneasiness that both actors are going through in the exchange. The darkness in the scene made it more dramatic. When the camera zoomed in Hamlet's face you can see the sweat trickling down his face. This made the scene more powerful.

Version 2 (Branagh) In this version they used many special effects. This version looked like they worked extremely hard to get it right but it came out as too excessive. The music attempted to give off that dramatic feeling but it didn't really match with what was going on. The actors were pretty good. The ghost however outperformed Hamlet. The close up in his face while he was talking struck more fear. I feel like this version would have been better if Branagh's acting was a little more polished. He didn't seem legitimately scared. Gibson did a better job depicting Hamlet than Branagh did.

In Version 3 (Almereyda), you can easily tell how modern it is. It was very different from the other two versions because of the interaction between the ghost and Hamlet. In the other two versions the ghost was speaking from afar while Hamlet was listening. In this version, the two characters seemed to be having a conversation. It gave off a serious vibe more than anything. Overall, my favorite version was Zeffirelli's because I felt like it was the closest thing to the book.