Dysfunctional Families

Wikipedia:

-Child abuse and neglect
-Child like parents (Mr. Bennet and Gertrude) allow the dominant parent (Claudius and Mrs. Bennet)
-Parents are often selfish

Hamlet Direction - Zach & Danny

Act III, Scene II : Lines 63-83

At the beginning of the scene Ophelia should be turned away from Hamlet showing her rejection of his romance. Hamlet is alluding to his sexual desires for Ophelia in slow advanced as not to turn her away, his movements should be slow and encroaching upon her. The 2nd line should be like the movement. On line 66 Ophelia will look up from her feet abruptly, but walk away from without looking at him slowly and ghostly, a light escape. He is frustrated that he can't get access to the sanctuary in line 67 and is being extremely blunt. As it continues his getting extremely frustrated, while he still remains seductive and Hamlet encroaches further upon Ophelia, and even she is not looking at Hamlet she reacts to his movement uncomfortably and moves again quickly away from him. In line 71 Hamlet is suggesting that Ophelia has the same intimate thoughts that he has and suggests increasingly dirty diplomacy. He is trying to get her to think less logically and more carelessly, telling her to think of the pleasure the orgasm will bring to her. Because she is a virgin the newly minted action will be useful to her, a re-birth. Secretly he is trying to bring her into sin.

Same Words Different Interpretations

Polonius is a stereotypical brown noser towards Claudius the king. I believe that knows of Claudius' possible evil and does his bindings for safety! Here Polonius is reporting to Claudius after he asked Polomius to spy on Hamlet. If I were to direct Polonius I would have him be extremely exaggerative and have him use hand motions and have him pronounce every word with extreme passion.

Dear Dr. Forman: Hamlet Paper

Dear Dr. Forman,
              I really enjoyed having so many video options! It really helped me cement an idea for the paper. I had initially wanted to write on lighting and costumes but after seeing how different each scene was I chose to write on spacing. I think that most of my bet ideas came as I was writing the paper; I hardly went back to my video notes. I think I proofread my paper like ten times! I can get a little paranoid so I made sure nothing was wrong. I hope the end result came out as I think it did and hat you enjoy the paper!

Sincerely,

Daniel Domínguez

First Body Paragraph

As directors envision making the Claudius, Hamlet and Gertrude scene come to life, they each have different artistic visions and visions of how the actors should portray the scene. Gertrude for example, is commonly thought of as a deceiving mother who has been both loving and seductive onstage. Gertrude either demonstrates her newfound devotion to Claudius or her preserved love for her son. In David Tennant's Hamlet, Gertrude is metaphorically torn in two by her commanding husband and her extremely aggressive son. The spacing between her and Claudius and her and Hamlet shows how she is neither with nor against them. She knows that she loves her son but she also knows that it is in her best interest if she keeps Claudius content. Through her up close and sensual speech to Hamlet we see that in this director’s version Gertrude is a seductress, attempting to use her sexual power in order to keep her son from going back to Wittenberg. Once called on by her newly entitled king, Gertrude retreats from Hamlet's side and obeys like a pet leaving her son to mourn alone. The fact that Gertrude stands on the side of the set that Claudius is on showcases her decision to please him instead of Hamlet.  In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet Gertrude depicted as a completely different persona. She has an air of youth and a light that the Tennant Gertrude didn’t have. Here we see Gertrude as a tender and loving mother, one who tends to her child and only cares for him. The intimate space of both she and Hamlet make the scene extremely familial in comparison to the cold and static Tennant version. One still sees Gertrude’s sensuality but in a new light, one of care and passion. The Mel Gibson Gertrude has kept the love she has for her son and does not allow the coronation of Claudius pollute it.

            

Hamlet Scenes Essay

               Shakespeare's Hamlet has been interpreted in a variety of ways through cinematography. While some interpretations have certain things in common others are polar opposites! From lavish and bright sets to dark and private settings each clip stands out, leaving the audience with a new found insight from both the characters and the story itself. As the scenes go on one notices how miniscule things such as spacing, emotion and expression make each of these pieces a unique interpretation from both the director's side as well as the audience's side. Spacing and body language allow the audience to see how characters express their most personal emotions and how they interact among themselves making it an extremely important factor when analyzing a piece.

Character from Act Four

Hamlet in Act four truly surprised me. He has finally lost it in my opinion. I know that he pretended to be "insane" but why would he jump to the conclusion that Claudius is behind the arras? He has gone from someone of potential in the story to a helpless soul. I don't know what will happen in England but I'm guessing that his uncle wants to do away with him now that Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are his spies and that Hamlet attempted to kill him when killing Polonius. I hope Hamlet can avenge his father's death and remain alive in England but there is nothing in this Act to reassure me of his hero like qualities I was exposed to in the first act two acts of the play.