"TO BE OR NOT TO BE"

Hamlets "To be or not to be" speech is a memorable part of the play. As you may not know the "To be or not to be" speech is Hamlet talking to himself about death. "To be or not to be" means either to commit suicide or not. Hamlet felt that suicide was the only way out. Because to him it was either to endure suffering or to fight against it. Hamlet also reflects on how he could never commit suicide because it is considered a sin. Also he fears of what will or might happen after death because it's not like someone who died, came back to life and exampled how death was. He thought that everyone had this fear of not knowing what will happen and that this was the reason as to why no one has commited suicide.

The first video we watched of  "To be or not to be" was played by Olivier. This was actually my favorite one out of all of them. I say that because in this one I get what hamlet was talking about. The way Olivier spoke made it easier to understand. Also the knife in his hand got his point across. I say that because in the beginning he say ". . . 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 wished. To die, To sleep. . ." while he is saying this he looks at the knife as if that was to a way to end his heart-ache. After that he says ". . . perchance to dream." and as he says that he puts down the knife as if it can never really happen, only in dreams. There is no music playing but I feel that, thats a good thing because it distracts us from hearing and understanding his point. The character mood is as if he is curious about death, but it changes to being sure or knowing that death isn't the answer.

The second video Hamlet was played by Mel Gibson. The mood of his character was curious and boring. He didnt really deliver his lines great. There was no music and the setting was in the castle, in the dungeon where the bodies of the highest are usual buried. The setting helped it alittle bit but to me it was too boring like he had no anger or anything. The lighting is really dark as Hamlet walked in. The only thing about this scene that was good is that the dungeon went with what he was talking about. Because as he walked in you can see bodies on the wall and statues of the person.

In the third video Hamlet was played by Branaugh. This verison Hamlet was in a room and Hamlet was looking at himself in the mirror, which was kind of creepy. The music was playin softly to match his voice but not loud enough to over power it. As he speaks he is calm and basically whispering to himself like a crazy person. Him whispering was kind of a bad thing becasue you could hardly understand what he was saying. The only part that I like was when he place the knife to his neck it made it intense and also made you realize what he was saying.

The final video is the more modern verison Almereyda made it. I was kindof ironic that he was at blockbuster in the action section.There is also a movie on the screen where a man was killed in an accident and walks through the fire.The actor made it seem like the first half of the speech was in his head, as a thought of killing himself and then he goes to reality and then starting saying it.

I feel there are so many verison because everyone has a different point of view and it shows with the director and actors. In my opinion the first one was my favorite because you get a better understanding of the story. And also Hamlet speaks and delivers the lines differently, where you can understand it better. Even by his movements you can understand it more.

Hamlet: The First Ghost Scene

In Shakespeare Hamlet, there is a scene where Hamlet is approached by his friends, Horatio and Marcellus,  They approach him with the thought that his father ghost is walking around, they clam that it wants to talk to someone and they think that someone is Hamlet. When Hamlet and the ghost of his father is alone his father explains to him how his own brother, Hamlets uncle, killed him by pouring poison in his ear while he was sleeping. In our class we watched different versions of this scene, each very different from the last.

The first video we watched was directed by (Franco) Zeffirell. This director decided to cast Mel Gibson as Hamlet. Gibson portrays the Hamlet in this scene as being mad and the actor that portrayed the ghost of

Hamlets father was sad, which you can understand being he was killed without confessing his sins. Also the Ghost of Hamlet father wasn't wearing any armer as he was in the play. Their was no music playing but you can hear the wind making the scene seem kindof scary. The director didnt use any visual elements such as flashbacks.

The second movie we watched was directed by Kenneth Branagh. This was more of a mordern portray of Hamlet. The actor was Branagh who played Hamlet, he protrayed him as being scared and he also didn't rreally let use fully capture and understand each word. There was music playing in the background, which made the scene more creepy and evil. The lighting was the moon since this scene was outside the castle. The special effects was the shaking of the floor as if the devil is coming out of it. The director used flashback to the scene where Hamlets uncle pours poison in his father ear, to be honest this confused me because the scene in the movie was Hamlets father was sleeping outside and was able to see his brother kill him. This was different from the book because his father died peacefully in bed.

The last movie we watched was directed by Michael Almereyda. This was more of a mordern portary of Hamlet. The actor Ethan Hawke protrayed Hamlet as being scared, confused and surprised at seeing his father. Hawke also delivered the lines in a way where I understand it more clearly. The Ghost of Hamlets Father was also interesting because he kept wiping his ear as if he is wiping the poison. This movies was more intense then the other.