Perspectives on Hamlet in Film Adaptations

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In reading, perspective plays a key role in allowing the reader to personally decipher their own view of a scene. Film allows the reader to express this unique view, sharing it with others, and simultaneously giving the audience a new angle on the matters at hand. With his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare leaves much space for interpretation, and film adaptations of the tragedy create many different views on the same story. In Shakespeare’s play, the main character, Hamlet, pursues taking revenge on his uncle turned step-father after his uncle, Claudius, killed his father, King Hamlet. One take on the character of Hamlet is displayed in director Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation. In one particular scene, Branagh develops the character that is Hamlet, …show more content…

Not only is Hamlet portrayed as faking his unstable mental state, but Branagh portrays Hamlet to lack much of his mental control. This madness can be most seen when Ophelia enters the scene with Hamlet; Hamlet rushes over to her, kissing her and acting completely in love, but this sense of compassion soon disappears when Ophelia attempts to give back “remembrances” that he gave her. His attitude darkens quickly as he denies giving her remembrances in the first place, and soon he is engulfed by a fit of rage. Throughout the rest of the scene, Hamlet’s emotions fluctuate repeatedly between anger and calm, as at some points he switches quickly from screaming and speaking very quickly to almost a whisper. Through Shakespeare’s writing the reader can identify Hamlet’s anger as he feels almost betrayed by Ophelia, but Branagh’s interpretation greatly enhances the overall madness that Hamlet is expressing. In addition to his shifting emotions, his actions towards Ophelia vary greatly as well; in the beginning he is kissing her, but soon after he is violently dragging her around on the floor, then again back to calm compassion. Branagh’s use of contrasting Hamlet’s emotions in this scene truly emphasizes Hamlet’s madness as his emotions irrationally change throughout his interaction with

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