How does this change the way you read the scene in your book? Does this change how you perceive either character?
Explain your answers using evidence from the video and the text.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Scene Analysis
How does this change the way you read the scene in your book? Does this change how you perceive either character?
Explain your answers using evidence from the video and the text.
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When I first read this scene in the play, I read it as a heated interaction between Hamlet and Ophelia. I pictured this scene as Hamlet being abusive and rude towards Ophelia, while Ophelia was weak and timid from fear towards Hamlet. The way I interpreted the text is different from the video because although Hamlet’s character remained the same for me in both the play and video, Ophelia’s character changed. In the video, Ophelia’s character was edgy and had an attitude: It was clear that she was not a pushover and going to take Hamlet’s abuse. In the play, Ophelia repeated small phrases in between Hamlet’s long passage, such as, “O, help him, you sweet heavens!” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 143) and “O heavenly powers, restore him!” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 150). These small phrases perceived Ophelia to be weak and dependent on Hamlet because she was more worried for his sake even though he was insulting her. In the video clip, a lot of Ophelia’s small parts were omitted so it made Ophelia seem like a stronger character; She wasn’t pleading for Hamlet’s return to sanity. The stronger nature of Ophelia’s character in the video is also seen in her facial and body expressions towards Hamlet’s absurd remarks and actions. In the facial language and body expressions of Ophelia after 1:32 of the video, Ophelia is timid, but not afraid and absolutely inferior to Hamlet. This scene changed my perception of the novel because it made me think higher of Ophelia. Ophelia actually served a purpose in the scene, whereas in the play she had a lot of throw-away lines.
ReplyDeleteI had always asumed that Ophelia was just a weak, submissive character as I read the play. It seemed as though she thought she had a bit of power, enough to reject Hamlet herself, but she didn't. When I read this scene, I pictured Hamlet acting flighty and insane, using a ridiculous high-pitched voice and getting in Ophelia's face. The video changed my perception of this scene entirely. Ophelia has a rebellious attitude and doesn't act weak. It is clear that she is still in love with Hamlet and that she is very hurt by his actions, as evidenced by the end of the video, in which she picks up the jewelry. She stood her ground even when Hamlet shouted and became violent toward her.
ReplyDeleteHamlet is definitely not how I pictured him. I realize that he is in his late 20s, but I didn't even recognize this man as Hamlet until I realized which scene was being acted out. I thought that maybe the man was Claudius at first. Anyway, I was shocked at how cruel Hamlet was in this video. He is unnecessarily malicious and hostile. He actually shoves Ophelia and I could tell that she was frightened by what he might do to her. At least it's obvious that he is only pretending to be cruel once he sees that they are being watched. Overall, I like this interpretation of the scene and I think that it is an interesting take on how this interaction went.
- Bahr, S. 7/8*
When I first read this scene in the play, I imagined Hamlet as being very degrading towards Ophelia, treating her as if she were nothing. Watching the scene play out, however, made me feel as if it were more of a conversation than a violent argument. I found it interesting because watching the scene made it seem as if Hamlet knew he was being watched, and at some parts, it was actually kind of painful watching him reject Ophelia’s offerings and love because one can tell that he is only doing so to put on his act of “madness.” I’m not sure if this is shallow of me to say, but I imagined Ophelia to be much more beautiful and graceful looking than the actress who plays her is. Throughout the play, I did view her as a very submissive, vulnerable character, so I was very surprised whenever Ophelia was not portrayed as weak as I thought in the video. Watching this made me view her as more a stronger character. Her tone of voice when she talks is very stern, and she speaks as if she is not afraid of him or what he might do. Ophelia is almost, in a way, seductively empowered, and I was taken back when she spoke as if she had a mind of her own. It kind of surprised me whenever Hamlet began screaming at her towards the end of the video when she gave him back the necklace because throughout the first half of the video, Hamlet was very composed. I found it interesting because it was almost as if something clicked within him whenever he noticed the shadow of someone watching them moving around. The fact that he grew very violent after seeing the shadow is what led me to believe that he realized that he had to keep the act up; however, at this moment in time, Hamlet forgets about his plan of madness, and allows both Ophelia and her Polonius, who is watching them, to see that his madness is not caused by Ophelia rejecting him.
ReplyDeleteShaniuk, B 7/8
I have always found it interesting how the actor’s portrayal of a text can affect the entire understanding of a passage. The interaction between Ophelia and Hamlet in this scene from the movie version of Hamlet is much different than I had imagined while reading. Around the 50 second mark of the clip, Ophelia begins advancing towards Hamlet while holding the necklace he had given her. She pushes her shoulders back and her chin up in an effort to assert a sort of dominance over Hamlet. Through her body language and advancement towards Hamlet, I saw her as a stronger character than when I read the play myself. When I read, I imagined Ophelia as timid during the entire conversation. The scene from the movie shows a woman who at first tries to dominate but then falls back to a state of submission. She says, “My honour’d lord, you know right well you did” (3.1.97). While the use of formal speech in the play led me to believe that Ophelia was submissive, the movie paints a different story. However, shortly after she hands the necklace back to Hamlet the movie regains the tone I had imagined while reading. Hamlet begins to shout and run at Ophelia and at one point pushes her into the wall. The changed tone and volume of his voice heightens the suspense of the scene and displays the “crazy” side of Hamlet.
ReplyDeleteAnother observation from the movie that I found interesting was the point at which Hamlet raised his voice. Immediately after saying, “I did love you once”, he begins shouting at Ophelia. This highlights the internal struggle that he is facing. While he may want to love Ophelia, he cannot reconcile the actions of her father. The quick change in emotion shows to viewers that Hamlet is torn between how to feel.
In general, this scene contributes to negative light that I view Hamlet in. He throws the necklace back at Ophelia, pushes her around, and screams in her face. The movie makes this all appear to be real emotion and not a part of Hamlet’s act of madness. In both analyzing the passage and viewing the movie scene, I understand the troubles that Ophelia was facing and believe now, more than ever, that her death was a result of suicide. After Hamlet leaves, her expression is broken and defeated. Because of this, it is apparent that she lost all hope of winning back Hamlet and as a result had nothing left to live for.
Ryan M. 2
In my first reading of Hamlet, I was conflicted over Ophelia. I felt that she could have been a stronger character, and it frustrated me. I, however, did not necessarily see her character as whiny or pathetic, simply lost and without the grace of a stronger character. However, after watching this scene I've come to have a new understanding of Ophelia. Rather than seeing her as flighty and lost, I see her as conflicted--She loves Hamlet, but she is determined to leave him. The way Hamlet reacts to this obviously hurts her, and I believe it brings a new light to the scene. Rather than Ophelia being the weaker of the two, in this rendition I feel Hamlet is truly the weaker--he cannot accept the reality of what is happening, and lashes out, whereas Ophelia stands her ground despite her own feelings towards Hamlet.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this scene brings Hamlet into a more negative light, and really gives the audience a new way to look at Ophelia. Whereas many of us may have before thought she was a character who should have just buckled her bootstraps and gotten over it, I think the actors took this scene and really showed how Hamlet treated Ophelia, forcing her into a sort of submission.
-Anna A, 2.
When I read Hamlet, I found it difficult to stay interested. Unlike other works of literature I have read, I was not constantly captivated, finding the pace of the book slow; however, when I watched this three minute clip of Hamlet and Ophelia, I was surprised by the intensity and actually enjoyed watching it!
ReplyDeleteWatching the scene of Hamlet’s encounter of Ophelia changed my thoughts on the scene itself. First, I never realized that Polonius and Claudius were present during this scene, and even more so, I never thought that Hamlet acts crazy in response to their presence. The way he first acts calmly at first, then explodes after Ophelia states that her father, “is at home” makes me think that had Hamlet not seen Claudius and Polonius, his discussion with Ophelia would have been mutual.
Also, Mel Gibson makes Hamlet more dynamic with his voice. He makes Hamlet into a character that is truly confused, and he is not solely this monotone and unfeeling man. Gibson raises and lowers his voice to show a confused man; furthermore, his abusiveness to Ophelia is frightening. People see Ophelia as a weak character because she goes crazy partially from Hamlet’s rejection of her, but Hamlet grabs Ophelia by her mouth and pushes her around, I do not think that any person could not be mentally scarred from an incident like that. I empathize more with Ophelia after watching this scene, and I also disdain Hamlet for his treatment of Ophelia.
Srivastava R, 2
Reading through any play the first time, I often read with very little emotion. After I read through the entire play a couple times, after understanding the plot entirely, and after creating interpretations of every characters' emotion scene by scene, then I am better able to understand each individual's emotional state per specific scenes. Needless to say, this applied to Hamlet as well. As I read the excerpt from the clip, I interpreted little emotions in Hamlet's response to Ophelia, as was acted out in the clip. I assumed Ophelia to be a weaker character in the script, as most females were depicted at the time, however she was not portrayed as weak in the clip at all- just in love.
ReplyDeleteK. Brav 7/8*
Well now. Not quite how I pictured it, no.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, in my version, Hamlet and Ophelia were in a courtyard garden, with Polonius and the King concealed in the foliage. The trinket was an old-fashioned scented handkerchief that knights were given by their lady admirers to tie to their lances during duals. And certainly, if you live in a household of medieval royalty, you can afford better clothing than that. More than any of this, though, I saw this scene as a joke.
It seemed to me that Hamlet, in his sort-of madness, was making fun of Ophelia for thinking his trinkets meant so much, and women in general for being overly dramatic about love and marriage. In this version, he almost seems to think Ophelia was cheating on him, or selling herself to others and deceiving everyone, which was the reason for including the line about Polonius. I never thought he would get that angry with her for something like that. I mean, he’s a prince. He’s bound to have more than a few “girlfriends”, especially of much more noble birth than Ophelia. That sort of thing happened among royals all the time; just look at what happened with Henry VIII. It certainly makes me see Hamlet as a much more serious person than the young, goofy, I-can-get-away-with-anything-because-I’m-royal prince I envisioned before. Maybe it was the accent I read it in, which was British; it always sounds like people with educated English accents are making a joke to me.
Ophelia acted exactly the way I thought she might under Hamlet’s scorn, which was maddening. If someone accused me of cheating, I wouldn’t just cower away from them like a mouse; I would tell exactly why I was not fooling around (one person kind of gal). Shakespeare was making a joke in this scene after all, but it was with Ophelia, not Hamlet. Most women of the time, especially peasant women, were strong and independent people; no one wanted to mess with them. Our Bard was showing the peasants that this is how royal women act when they are spurned. Look, how weak they are, how much they want attention. Aren't you glad you aren't like them?
Maslach, K 2
Hamlet and Ophelia act very differently than I had imagined when reading this scene. In the clip, Ophelia is strong and is not afraid to stand up for herself. When I read the play itself, I read it as Ophelia being rather submissive and faltering towards Hamlet. She was a much weaker character when I read the play and now after watching this clip, I wonder if the entirety of Mel Gibson’s Hamlet would change the way I viewed Ophelia.
ReplyDeleteHamlet, on the other hand, seems to be taken aback by Ophelia in this scene, as if he wasn’t truly expecting her to lash out against him. As he storms off and throws the necklace past her in this clip, and it is much different than how I had perceived it while reading. I had envisioned him merely handing it back as walking away.
Overall, I had read this encounter as mild with reserved emotions in the play but upon seeing it performed in this version, I am intrigued by the fact that this interpretation can be so dramatic. It’s truly amazing that the exact same words can conjure up very different interpretations.
-Kett J 2
This scene from Hamlet appears to be much more vicious than what I have read in the play. When reading the scene in the play, Hamlet seemed to be more formal and less offensive when first speaking to Ophelia, denying that he ever gave her his affection. I did see that Hamlet became rude and combative, but not in the way that he was when portrayed by Mel Gibson. I was ultimately surprised when he laid hands on Ophelia, sneering and shouting viciously in her face. He also shows acts of violence by shoving her against a wall after releasing her jaw from his grasp. I did not picture Hamlet becoming violent when speaking with Ophelia, only becoming loud, obnoxious, and disrespectful. Ophelia seems to be more shaken than I would have believed at the end of Hamlet’s proclamation.
ReplyDeleteIt also is apparent in the movie scene that Hamlet is trying to portray his monstrous behavior so that Claudius will notice it is not love that has made him mad. Within the play, there is no sign that Hamlet sees that people are spying on him although he may suspect it. In the scene from the movie he sees a shadow that results in him speaking loudly and aggressively. He walks around the room shouting out in different directions not because he wants to get his point across to Ophelia, but because he wants the spies to hear that he does not love her.
This scene showed much more emotion in the exchange of words between Ophelia and Hamlet than what I have previously perceived. Because of that, it overall spurred more emotion within the audience, added depth, and clarified Hamlet’s intentions when being so cruel.
Hornung, A. 7/8
The portrayal of the scene is much different than I had imagined it as I read. I thought that Ophelia was just a weak, submissive and stereotypically female character as I read the play. It seemed as though she thought she had some power but she didn’t. However here she is portrayed differently. Ophelia’s character was not so stereotypically weak. . It is clear that she is still in love with Hamlet so she is very hurt by his actions and intends on making him understand that. Ophelia’s repetition of small phrases in between Hamlet’s long winded rambles seemed meaningless and thoughtless: appease rather than rebuttal: “O, help him, you sweet heavens!” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 143). The emotion and power put behind the words by the actress helped to add much more value. There was almost a venomous sarcasm to her tone that I liked. Hamlet was very much as I imagined, though I didn’t imagine his anger quite as extreme. I think the actor did an excellent job of using his body language to reinforce the anger and mild insanity presented in his lines.
ReplyDeleteM. McGregor 2
When I first read this scene, I imagined Hamlet as a babbling madman, his discourse with Ophelia merely another layer in that facade. I detected little anger in his attitude towards her and even elements of humor. While watching the video, I didn’t expect the venom that Hamlet injected into every word. There was hatred in his behavior towards Ophelia – real hatred – that wasn’t there in my reading of the text. He screams at her and shoves her. Mel Gibson portrays Hamlet as enraged and impassioned, as though his anger is not at all a result of madness as is instead a very genuine feeling. When Hamlet declares, “No, not I. I never gave you aught” (1.3.98) I believed that denial to be a result of madness, but Gibson laces it with such hatred that it becomes hard to write off as insanity.
ReplyDeleteThis scene changed my perception of Hamlet because it portrayed him as a much angrier character than I originally thought. There is rage bubbling under his skin – rage triggered by Claudius but directed at Ophelia. It’s made me start to question: does his madness result in rage, or does his rage result in madness?
Keller N 7/8
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the play, I thought Ophelia to be a woman of powerlessness—someone who sought to have control, but always wound up subjected to the will of other: her father forbidding her to be with Hamlet, Hamlet rejecting her, etc. In the Gibson scene, I saw Ophelia differently. She seemed as if she was trying to take control of the situation. Her tone, body language, and eye motions all indicated—in the beginning of the scene—that she thought she was in control. How she leaned in towards Gibson’s Hamlet, her voice rolled over my ears and I thought I heard the muffled undertones of power in her words. This filmed scene provides a sharp contrast with the scene in the text, in my opinion. I read the play and saw Ophelia as a completely passive character, at least up until she dies. Hamlet is also more interesting in the scene. Gibson’s voice fluctuates with dynamic emotion. Hamlet’s portrayal in the scene was also more vehement than I interpreted it in the play.
ReplyDeleteBruggeman J 7/8th
When Ophelia gave back the gifts I thought she was strong and more determined not weak and shameful, refusing to look Hamlet in the eye. The scared look Ophelia has on her face the whole scene is different from what I imagined when reading. She’s very weak and fragile. Hamlet’s anger surprised me because I didn’t read it as him getting so angry that he was screaming and grabbing Ophelia’s face. When speaking of marriage, “Or if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (lines 146-148). I expected Hamlet to be speaking in a sarcastic way, but instead he was empowered with rage. When Hamlet asked Ophelia about her father and where he was I thought it was interesting that she instantly hid behind her book as if fearing he knew. It added to the scene but once she realized he was just saying to say it, she didn’t exactly become calm again because next Hamlet grabbed her face but she realized that he didn’t know her father was eavesdropping. I also thought it was interesting how they excluded the whole part about the nunnery, my guess is that the director didn’t want to show how harsh Hamlet was within words but within his actions instead, hence the grabbing of Ophelia’s face and screaming and ranting.
ReplyDeleteS. Güt 7/8
When reading this scene in Hamlet I always felt that Hamlet was acting like a bully towards Ophelia, telling of her flaws and being hostile in tone. Because Shakespeare doesn’t go into much detail of the body language when writing his plays, it generally was pleasant to see the way the actors moved about in the setting. The first thought was how Ophelia was dressed quite horribly, as if she was no lady at all. From the moment Hamlet interacts with her it seemed like she was standing strong, until Hamlet began to shout. Her tone and voice weaved well with Hamlets in the beginning and I enjoyed that they had their own styles to the character.
ReplyDeleteThe hostility from Hamlet himself changes the way I interpret this scene. The angered shouts and the grabbing of Ophelia’s face shows that Hamlet may have been too drastic when it pertains to his insanity. Yet at the same time the violent motions show how far Hamlet himself is willing to go in order to prove his insanity. I appreciate how Claudius expose their shadows behind the wall, and that Hamlet is often gazing about, as if there were people suspected to be eavesdropping on them. This personal touch for the film makes me wonder if Hamlet actually noticed the shadow on the wall, and thus explaining why he went in such a violent outrage.
Turnea, D 2nd Period
It's always interesting to see a visual interpretation of a scene from a play or novel as it is often very different than one's personal interpretation of the text. This is especially true in cinematic interpretations as oftentimes things are more dramatized in order to illicit an audience's response. In this particular case, I was interested to see the stark contrast between this movie interpretation and my own. When reading the play, I saw this as a tense, emotionally charged encounter between Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet's role was more aggressive and Ophelia was extremely weak and passive, taking Hamlet's abuse with little protest.In the video, Ophelia had more passion and fire, frankly she didn't take any of Hamlet's abuse. She fought back and had a voice, rather than in my interpretation of the play where she was very weak.The actor portraying Ophelia also uses body language in order to convey her character's spunk. Her facial expressions and body stance reflect a strong posture and confident mindset, reinforcing her tone and attitude. I like this version of Ophelia a lot better than the weak, passive version I saw in the play.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of emotion that was portrayed in this scene definitely surprised me. When I was reading this scene I thought that both characters were extremely different then when I was watching the scene. While reading, I thought Hamlet was just distant and not very emotional. As for Ophelia, I thought she was just the annoying, whiny, stereotyped female character. However after watching the scene, my thoughts changed. I never imagined Hamlet’s part to be son angry, and resentful, as well as I never imagined Ophelia to be so earnest and legitimately like she was in love. Ophelia came off as much less stereotypical and Hamlet came off as a bigger jerk then I imagined.
ReplyDeleteBunting, A 2nd
While reading this scene, I imagined Hamlet to be a very passive individual, one who was not really capable of true feeling, and one who seemed to play hard to get in a way. Where as I viewed Ophelia to be very needy in the play while reading, she seemed to be the one with the feelings in the relationship, as it is stereotypically the other way around in cliché stories. The way Hamlet was speaking to Ophelia in this video seemed as though he was superior. From Ophelia’s raggedy attire and his very distinguished tone of voice he demanded her respect and proclaimed that he was the dominant in the piece. However, to my surprise, Ophelia had not been as timid and feminine as I had portrayed in text, as she had not problem verbalizing her thoughts and talking back. I did not imagine this piece to be such an angered event, as both screamed in rage and Hamlet actually got physical with her. Over all, I did not see this event to be such a hostile encounter between the two characters, however I respected Ophelia’s strength, as this was not a common quality in women of literature in the time period. I appreciate this depiction of true love, as it is often full of vulnerability and hostility, which was acted upon by both, and I enjoyed being able to depict real life emotion from the two.
ReplyDeleteMewhinney, M 2
In the book I imagined Ophelia to be much more quiet and disciplined to everything that she is told. In the movie however, she speaks back to Hamlet and seems to play a stronger role than I had imagined. Her eyes get big when she becomes mad and she has a strong body position that she displays when she is determined to stand for what she is saying to Hamlet. In the video the audience is able to see the more emotional parts of the play with difference in volume of their voices as well as their actions such as Hamlet throwing the necklace. The characters are more interesting to watch on screen as they display their emotions rather than reading from the lines in the book and not knowing the excitement in the different characters thoughts.
ReplyDeleteRamsumair M 7/8
This scene depicts Ophelia and Hamlet arguing. The main difference between reading the play and watching it is the emotion that is put into it. Throughout the book, the characters seem more subtle in their emotions and less violent. Both Hamlet and Ophelia are more submissive in the book, but while watching the scene, Hamlet is furious at Ophelia and Ophelia is more demanding of Hamlet. Ophelia never seemed to be the character that would lash out at Hamlet, but while watching the scene she somewhat sticks up for herself. While reading, Hamlet seemed to be more woe-is-me and less of a person that would take action in a situation. In watching the scene, my opinions of both Hamlet and Ophelia have changed. It seems as though the directors wanted to make Ophelia seem stronger than Shakespeare actually wanted her to be portrayed. The play also makes me feel more sympathetic for Ophelia because it seems Hamlet was an abusive person.
ReplyDelete-Bolger, J. 2
Mel Gibson's portrayal of Hamlet truly shows Hamlet and Ophelia's interaction in a whole new light. When I first read Hamlet, this scene seemed to be a lot more casual. Ophelia also seemed to be extremely submissive and demure towards Hamlet in the play. In the movie Ophelia was confident and self assured, as she approached Hamlet while clutching the necklace Hamlet gave her. She looked at Hamlet directly in his eyes, something I did not picture in the play when I read it. In the play Ophelia cries, “O heavenly powers, restore him!” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 150). This indicates that she is desperately waiting for someone or something else to solve all of her problems instead of trying to find a way to help Hamlet herself. In the movie, Ophelia is more assertive and she seems to want to end her relationship with Hamlet if he does not get better.
ReplyDeleteThe movie scene is far more violent than I ever anticipated the scene to be in the play. Mel Gibson truly embraces Hamlet's madness and instability. Hamlet screams at Ophelia and he even shoves her into the wall. He tries to make her fear and hate him in the movie, whereas in the play Hamlet seemed calmer and he tries to protect Ophelia without becoming excessively violent. In the movie, Hamlet appears to have truly gone mad and he did not seem to be pretending anymore.
Judele C, 2nd
The scene from Mel Gibson’s version of Hamlet was very different from the way I had imagines the play while reading it. The scene took a much harsher role than I thought it would have been. Throughout the reading I saw Ophelia to be a delicate pretty young lady, the portrayal by Helen Bonham Carter should a much stronger harsh character. It is as if her version of the character completely changed how I viewed the character. At one point in the video Ophelia gets really close to Hamlets face something I never would have imagined her doing. It was much more aggressive than I imagined to be. Throughout, the play I was let frustrated viewing her as this weak character while everyone discussed her to be a strong female. Until I watched the video from the play I did not understand what everyone meant. When speaking of his daughter’s relationship with Hamlet Polonius says “Marry I will teach you. Think yourself a baby. That you have ta’en these tenders for true pay”(Shakespeare 1.3.114-115). He told his daughter that Hamlets love for her could not possible be real, and she believed him, obeyed his orders to keep her distance. I believed this to be a representation of her passive personality, hence viewing her throughout the play as a weak person. The scene from the video showed an Ophelia very far from that. I viewed Hamlet as more aggressive in the scene as well. For example towards the end of the scene when Hamlet tells Ophelia he never loved her I did not imagine him to be yelling it at her so aggressively. Hamlet did not seem crazy he just seemed angry. This was representive throughout the entire scene, the characters were much harsher and angry than my orginal perception of them.
ReplyDeleteSansone A 2nd
In this scene from Hamlet, Hamlet enters the room and appears to be surprised my Ophelia’s presence in the lobby. He tries to walk past her, but her words stop him. In the play, the facial descriptions of the characters are hardly mentioning, making it very difficult to tell the emotions of the characters. Hamlet appears to be very hurt when Ophelia gives the necklace back to him, but then he sees the shadows of her dad and the king. In the play, it is not mentioned that Hamlet sees the men hiding and Hamlet comes off as very cruel to Ophelia. In the video, however, after discovering that they are being watched, he realizes that he must continue to hide his true feelings for Ophelia and act crazy. He begins to rant, like in the play, about how terrible women are and degrades Ophelia. Towards the end of the video, Ophelia appears to be very hurt as she leans against the wall. In the play, Ophelia appears to not be affected by Hamlet’s words, since she is not mentioned after the encounter. As Ophelia and Hamlet act, their emotions and voices bring their characters to life, as opposed to in the play when they appear emotionless.
ReplyDeleteThis video changed the way I see Hamlet, because it is obvious that he was only mean to Ophelia because he saw people watching them. He was very hurt and quiet at the beginning of the video, but after he saw the shadows, he started demanding that Ophelia tell him where her father is. In the play, when Hamlet yells at Ophelia and degrades her, I felt like Hamlet was cruel. After seeing this video, I believe that Hamlet is a noble man who is struggling with many different aspects of his life—love, family, friends, enemies, etc.
Patel, D 2
When I read this scene I thought Hamlet was just acing crazy and did not put much thought into the emotions being portrayed because I could not imagine any and was very confused. I could not read it with any emotion being expressed by Hamlet, just him being flippant to the situation. I also thought Ophelia was acting desperate and was pleading with Hamlet when I read it, but in this clip that is not the case. Hamlet is expressing a great deal of emotion, anger and frustration. When Hamlet grabbed Ophelia and started shaking her head and eventually pushed her I was shocked that there was that much emotion expressed in the scene, when I read it without any. Also, Ophelia was not acting desperate at all, she was standing up for herself. She was showing a strength that I did not imagine in this scene.
ReplyDeleteLoDolce, A 7/8
When reading this scene I didn’t see it as dramatic as it was portrayed in this movie version. He seems angrier then I also imagined. When Hamlet is saying he never loved Ophelia, I though that he was saying it in a more sad than angry way but this scene showed me otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThis made Hamlet to me seem crazier. Instead of him being a character who fakes madness, this scene makes me believe he truly is mad with his intense anger and yelling in a then empty room at the end of the clip. When reading the play, I interpreted this scene in a different and lighter tone and did not know he was also being spied on as so. The clip created a different feel for me than it did while reading the play because I saw a more calm conversation than the one that was had.
-Camille
Well for starters I found the video version to be a lot more angry and violent than what I had imagined in the book. Hamlet poses this sort of anguish and fury in the video that I did not paint with just the mere lines from the play. Based on the play and the video, the text is the same. But through both an audio and visual field, a very different portrayal comes to life. Through things like throwing Ophelia to the wall, yelling at her and grabbing her face, stage directions that are specific to the video, Hamlet is depicted as not just mad, but abusive and crazy. Additionally, Ophelia did not appear as weak as she did in the play either. In the play, again using the same text, I imagined her to be whimpering and like an animal of prey to Hamlet. However, in the video, she shows strength. For instance, she uses strong facial interactions and a very stern tone to show individual power and thought. Unlike the play, it was in the video I actually saw Ophelia as stern and independent. Overall, I found it very interesting how the exact same lines, with the addition of extreme tones and mannerisms, could completely change within the context of a certain medium.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it was through this change of pace and content that I also acquired a different opinion of not only Ophelia, but the play as a whole. In terms of both Ophelia and Hamlet, the video portrayal changed my view. Initially, when reading the play, I saw Hamlet as this wise and cunning character that was outsmarting Polonius and Claudius and creating this beautiful scene. I saw him as cynical and almost funny in a sense. Additionally, I saw Ophelia as weak. I expected her to cry and whimper and ask Hamlet “how he could not love her” and so on. In the play form, I saw Hamlet as this smart and domineering character with some humorous undertones, given the concept, and I saw Ophelia is the weak, blind, pure girl that most of my classmates did. However, the video or the physical reenactment of the play really changed my view. Hamlet suddenly became less funny and conniving and more of a jerk. The way he threw her, and the things he said, really aggravated me and shifted my loyalty from him to Ophelia. Additionally, Ophelia’s biting tone and sometimes dominant expressions made me appreciate her as a character, more than ever before. Overall, I began to like Ophelia and feel sorry for her, and I also have begun to grow a bit of hatred for Hamlet. This piece really changed my view of the play and definitely shifted my loyalty.
Megan Lear 2nd
When I had first read this part in the passage I had always thought Hamlet was being whiny and overaggressive to Ophelia, but perhaps that was just because I had sympathy for Ophelia whilst Hamlet did not know why Ophelia had stopped communication to him. This scene frustrates me because there was no honest expression of feeling from Ophelia due to her loyalty to her father’s request. At least that’s how I pictured it in the book. However, when I watch this film interpretation of the scene, I believe Ophelia is more secure in her actions and displays no inner conflict between her true feelings and what she speaks. She truly commits to her act. And I believe Hamlet assists in making this easier for her because of his rude actions to her. He is just as mad and whiny as I pictured him to be within the play. Despite his harsh words, however, Ophelia appears to keep herself together and muster what strength she can in the confrontation with him.
ReplyDelete-Javorsky, R 2
When reading Hamlet, I envisioned both Hamlet and Ophelia to be much younger, closer to teenagers, but in the Mel Gibson portrayal, both actors seem older than I imagined, especially Hamlet. Al while reading Hamlet, I thought Ophelia was a much weaker presence, and passive in a way. In the text Ophelia says things like “O, help him, you sweet heavens!” (3.1.143), and “O heavenly powers, restore him!” (3.1.150). These little statements seem like she is calling out for help, but in the clip, Ophelia is defiant to Hamlet, and holds her ground. Hamlet is also much angrier and malicious with Ophelia in the clip. In the text it seems as though Hamlet is simply rejecting Ophelia’s rejection in order to save face and preserve his maniac act, but in the movie he is genuinely livid and erratic. He grabs Ophelia’s faces and throws her against a wall, and only then does she seem shaken by him.
ReplyDeleteFlorek, E. 7/8
What is interesting about the video is that it properly shows that the only reason that Hamlet acts in such a way is because he knows that Polonius and the King are watching and he wants them to believe that he is mad due to the loss of Ophelia’s love. In the book, the reader is meant to think that he is being cruel and evil to her, and in the movie it proves that it was all just a part of his plan. As for the interactions, Hamlet, once he knew that they were being watched, changed from being calm to yelling and screaming like the crazy person he wanted everyone to believe he was. Ophelia’s reaction, however, seemed too tamed for having someone that she loves scream horrible things in her face. It was clear by the look in Hamlet’s eyes that he figured that this scene would create an alibi for his loss of mind because they brighten ever so slightly at the sight of a person’s shadow in the hall. His dramatic change of tone in the video helps the reader understand that this is an over exaggeration whereas in the book the reader cannot truly discern the change of Hamlet’s tone which helps to understand what is actually happening in this scene of the play.
ReplyDeleteDame, E 2
As for the scene in the film, it is almost exactly as I had imagined it. Hamlet’s aggressive diction was portrayed by Mel Gibson very well. Ophelia was weak and just took her punishment as she did throughout the entire play. I like how the movie portrayed the book extremely accurately in that Hamlet only acted the way he did because he knew Polonius and the King were watching, simply so he could continue his act without being foiled. However, the only thing that struck me was when Hamlet used physical force with Ophelia. I knew he treated her poorly and constantly talked down to her, but using brute force added a pure anger to the scene that was not conveyed in the play.
ReplyDeleteGettle, B 2
This scene kind of made me lose respect for Hamlet as a character, like the whole play I had all this sympathy for him because he contemplates suicide and feels alone, but when he is degrading towards Ophelia just because he is being watched is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, a lot of how Hamlet acts towards Ophelia I feel has a lot to do with time period and women being weaker characters and having no say in anything.
Where as if Hamlet took place in present day, it would be a lot different. I feel as if Ophelia would be a lot stronger of a character (go feminism) and wouldn't take all the degrading mistreatment from Hamlet.
The interaction between the two characters is harsh and oppressive and not similar to how I thought it was when I read it.
Westphal 2nd
When I read this scene in the novel, I noticed that Ophelia did not carry herself with much power or authority. She acted weak towards Hamlet and did not come across as a strong or confident individual. The scene that I watched above changed my idea of the interaction between the two characters. Mel Gibson made Hamlet’s character come across more strong and dynamic. He comes across this way because of the power commanded from Ophelia. In the scene, Ophelia is much stronger and not afraid to speak her mind. Ophelia’s strong action definitely make Hamlet act more crazy and dominant over Ophelia, something I didn’t see in the written play. Gibson is able to use his actions and his voice inflection to demonstrate his sporadic thoughts and ideas. Overall, the scene truly made me see Hamlet in a different way and helped change my opinion of the scene.
ReplyDeleteWasylko, G 7/8th
The scene in the movie clip is different from how I perceived the scene when reading the play. The characters’ attitudes differed from text to the movie. Ophelia, who I had taken for a weak and useless character seems to be a strong-willed young woman who was not about to take any abuse or insult from Hamlet. Such is seen when Ophelia’s small interjections in the written play were left out in the clip, such as “O heavenly powers, restore him!” (3.1.150), which had made her seem like a weak character who only cared about the well-being of the man who took interest in her. Also the way she walks with back straight and head held high, gives her a strong and regal air about her, which is something that is not seen in her character in text. Also I noticed that there was a difference in her tone in the clip that made her seem stronger than what she seemed to be like within the text. For example, where Ophelia says, “My honour’d lord, you know right well you did” (3.1.97), it seems that she is almost begging Hamlet to admit his love for her and that she did not want him to deny his love for her. She seems to be hoping that Hamlet would beg her to keep the love tokens and accept his love, and when he denies ever giving her the tokens, she becomes a weak young girl as she attempts to coerce Hamlet into admitting to giving her the trinkets and with them, his love. The clip in the movie, however, tells a slightly different story where she almost seems insulted at his denial. She quickly corrects him as if to tell him to be a man and fess up to being in love with someone who turned him down. She reminds him of the tokens and the words of love that came with them, almost mocking him for being a coward and denying it. Overall, in the movie clip, she is a much stronger character than what is portrayed in the written play.
ReplyDeleteHamlet also seems to be different. When reading, I did imagine him to be crazy and angry like he is in the clip, but I was surprised by how abusive he was towards Ophelia physically, rather than verbally. He did seem to be insulting her when speaking to her in the written play, but Hamlet seemed to be much crueler in the clip than how I perceived him in the written play; such likes can be seen around 2:26-2:37 when he roughly grabbed her face and then pushed her into a wall. I never imagined Hamlet to be so abusive and cruel towards Ophelia. A bit of insults I could see, but I never imagined him to actually physically raise a hand against her. It made him seem like a much less likable character.
I also noticed in the movie clip that it seems that Hamlet may have started actually pretending to be mad and violent in this scene because he knew that Claudius and Polonius were there. At the beginning of the clip, the viewer sees Hamlet, but hears Polonius saying “He is coming. Let us withdraw my lord”, and then Hamlet is seen overlooking the courtyard-like area though a small alcove. The camera then switches to a view as if it is looking from that alcove into the courtyard, where Polonius and Claudius can be seen retreating. This makes it seem like Hamlet saw them and may have guessed at what was about to happen. Also, Hamlet did not go on his tirade and did not start acting crazy until around 1:18; right before which, a shadow was seen, and right after that, Hamlet was seen looking off and up to the side where nothing should have been. This was followed closely by the 1:18 mark in which Hamlet started on his crazed outburst. This makes it seem like Hamlet sees that Polonius and Claudius, whom he had seen escaping the scene earlier, are watching him. Thus, Hamlet puts on a show of insanity to keep leading the king astray from Hamlet’s actual intentions of killing him. In the text, I did not get the vibe that Hamlet was ranting for the point of making himself look like he was crazy, but rather that he actually seemed like he was crazy. The clip makes Hamlet seem calculative and his crazed rant actually served a purpose of making Hamlet seem irrational in others’ eyes rather than actually being irrational.
~C. Lenhoff 2nd
At the beginning of this scene from Hamlet, Ophelia is strong willed and resolute. She is determined to “out” Hamlet and show that he is mad because he loves her. However, as soon as Hamlet states, “You should not have believed me… I loved you not” (Act III, Scene I), she loses her resolve and becomes weak, which is not how I initially read her. (It was especially interesting to watch Helena Bonham Carter portray her because Carter usually plays very strong female roles.) In the portrayal, she becomes very nervous and confused, and is obviously hurt by his words. She is caught off guard by his actions and cannot even formulate a response. Though she is not so weak as to cower in fear or run away from him, she appears simply dumbfounded and hurt.
ReplyDeleteHamlet on the other hand is much angrier than I read him to be. The portrayal cuts out the part where he tells her to, “get thee to a nunnery” (Act III, Scene I), which makes him seem almost desperate, or at least willing, to find some way to help her. By cutting this out, the scene quickly becomes filled with anger as Hamlet circles her, yelling in her face. He becomes violent, grabbing her face and then pushing her into the wall. This is anger that does not read in the text alone, and it makes their relationship more complex and interesting.
-Dushek, K 2˚
Basic text has the ability to show relationships through layers and the author’s choice of diction, however, film has the ability to bring the aspect of a novel to life. This version of Hamlet succeeded in doing so.
ReplyDeleteThe text in the novel led the readers to see Ophelia as a typical girl of that time: Dependent, weak, and submissive. Hamlet, was portrayed in this scene, to be very abrupt in his tone, along with his rude, degrading attitude toward Ophelia. When reading this section, I did not think much of the argument because it felt typical for their relationship. However, seeing the scene played out by real humans, with real emotions changed my perspective. Ophelia, although dependent upon Hamlet was “rough around the edges” in contrast to her innocent appearance. She looks Hamlet straight into his eyes when she is stating her lines. She does not back down, at first, and does not allow Hamlet to succeed in abusing her. Hamlet, although similar to how I viewed him in the play, surprised me. He shows his soft side, then proceeds to become furious, very quickly. This leads me to believe that his words of anger were said with passion, rather than with hate and despise. He pushes her away, but looks back to see that she is alright. Ophelia does not let this bother her, and accepts the actions for what it is. She is not stepping down, but merely accepting fate.
Cika, M 2
This scene, where Hamlet blows off and Ophelia, I originally perceived as quite weak and focusing on Ophelia’s heartbreak. In the scene Hamlet is very angry and much more ‘raving’ mad as opposed to ‘passively’ mad as I thought he might act while reading. Ophelia I thought would just fall onto Hamlet and beg him to love her, but instead she seems to be the stronger one of the two. She uses a stoic expression and it seems that the scene affects her the least of the two while when reading I thought that she would be the more affected one. I think that this changes the way that I perceive Ophelia as a character in that I consider her now less of a poor misguided girl who thought that she was loved and more of a rather sane girl who was so beaten by fate that she was driven mad. It seems now much more likely that she drowned herself- taking fate into her own hands with much the same stoic features as she confronted Hamlet with- than that she accidentally fell in the river and drowned.
ReplyDeleteA. Jankovsky 7-8
When I read this scene in the play, Hamlet seemed fairly pushy, but nowhere near as intense and aggressive as he was in the video. In the play, there were no signs of physical violence and there appeared to be much less anger in his voice. In the video, however, he was shouting at Ophelia. He also pushed her against the wall, which did not happen in the play. Ophelia was very different in the play as well. She was very small and subtle with her words and didn’t fight back. However, in the video, Ophelia stood up for herself and appeared to be much stronger than she seemed in the play. The video above has proven this argument to be much more intense than I had previously imagined. Overall, my views on this scene have changed immensely. What once seemed to be an innocent squabble now appears to be a heated, abusive argument.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at Ophelia's strength in the scene. In this scene in the play I pictured her taking the abuse Hamlet handed her in a submissive way, to keep him from overreacting, while only half listening until he began to question her, which then received his full attention. Ophelia was much younger than I pictured, and she was dressed a lot simpler than I would have thought and had very innocent features about her. I liked that she conveyed emotion(by connecting with the task she undertook) and portrayed herself as a strong presence. I especially enjoyed seeing emotion from Hamlet. I had pictured him as being rude and somewhat creepy rather than yelling and physically displaying his displeasure by pushing and throwing things. The addition of physically displaying dominance was very different from what i had read.
ReplyDeleteSupina R 2
When I was reading the play, I had trouble grasping why the other characters like Gertrude, Polonius, and Claudius thought Hamlet was crazy. I did not read his parts with the inflection that made him seem crazed and so I lost some of the meaning behind his words. As I watched the clip, I began to understand their perceptions. Hamlet yells at Ophelia and gets in her face, even squishing her cheeks together in his hand to make her look at him. One word that stood out to me was “lisp.” His voice goes higher and his facial expressions scrunch up. This is an example of how his tone changes from down grading and mocking her to just plain anger. After this he shouts at her while sprinting up the stairs and making himself farther away so he can/has to yell even louder. This outburst shows how easily Hamlet was enraged by Ophelia simply trying to return his gifts. The characters believed he was crazy because his mood would change at the drop of a hat.
ReplyDeleteWoods 2
This scene was all about power, and in the book I definitely got the sense that it was degrading the way that Hamlet spoke to Ophelia. Mel Gibson did a good job of portraying a very dominant male. The way he spoke to her was typical of the time period I am assuming, seeing that women were not held in very high regard, but I think her responses were a little less typical. Ophelia was not as soft-spoken in this scene as I had imagined her to be when reading, and that surprised me a little. The way that they spoke to each other changed my view a little bit, although I have said from the very beginning that Hamlet was a douche to Ophelia. This scene and it's characters did a very good job of communicating that.
ReplyDelete- Angie G. 2* ^^^
ReplyDeleteMel Gibson’s portrayal of Hamlet is a stark contrast of the scene that played out in my mind while reading it. This could be attributed to the fact that I did not know what was going on a majority of the time, and the fact that I was bored, but when viewing this clip it is definitely more violent and anguished than what I pictured in my mind’s eye. While reading, I focused more on Ophelia and her reaction to Hamlet’s craziness, while in the clip, Hamlet seems to be the main focus. His craziness and anguish is at the forefront of this scene, whereas when reading I saw Ophelia’s heartbreak as being the focal point. I did not expect Hamlet to be throwing objects and pushing Ophelia around, but rather that he would act all shifty and awkward because he was being watched. Also, when reading I pictured both Ophelia and Hamlet to be much younger. Because Mel Gibson and Helena Bonham Carter play the characters they seem much older and less naïve. Along with this, in the clip Ophelia almost seems defiant towards Hamlet instead of weak and timid as was pictured. Her facial expressions and mannerisms show that she is not afraid of Hamlet or his reaction (at first). What I got most from this clip was affirmation that Hamlet may have in fact been crazy instead of just putting up the façade that he was crazy. His actions were erratic and he seemed more distraught than he would be if he were just acting, therefore I believe that he was crazy.
ReplyDeleteAguinaga, C 7/8*
When reading the play, I did not get the idea that Hamlet knew he was being watched as closely as they make apparent in this scene. In this scene, he is hyper aware of his surroundings, and truly pausing to analyze every shift in emotion. When he asks Ophelia if she's 'honest', it seemed insulting in the play, but in this scene it makes it seem as if he's testing to see what side she's truly on - in fact, the whole scene seemed as a push and pull between the two, with Hamlet paranoid from the meeting with his father's ghost, he's desperately trying to weed through who he can and cannot trust, and you see that in the wild way he grills Ophelia. I've always loved Ophelia, and this interpretation lived up to my expectation - desperately trying to find reasoning behind Hamlet's madness, but refusing to sit back and let him attack her.
ReplyDelete- Daugherty, M. 7/8th.
In this video, Hamlet does appear to actually be mad from the love of Ophelia. He spits on her and grabs her face. The anger shoots through his eyes as he screams about marriage and walks off. Ophelia seems to be the sane one. Knowing that Hamlet made her believe at one point that he was in love with her. When he asks where her father is, she lies and says at home. After the lie is told, she brings the book up to her face and looks down, this shows that she did feel good about being dishonest. Ophelia does not fight back or yell when Hamlet screams about love to her, simply because she cares about him and is gentle. Watching this video, made Hamlet come across as even more of a douche than from the perception I received while reading the play. Also, the Ophelia's love made him lose sanity.
ReplyDeleteAsturi V 7/8
As I was reading this particular scene I sensed the anger but did not see it as violent a rage as portrayed in the movie clip. I assumed it was a mocking and fighting words with words. I definitely never saw the shoving coming. Also, Ophelia seemed a little more stronger than portrayed in the book. Although she would eventually look away from his eyes, she always started out looking him straight in the eyes and projecting a bit of strength. In the book, Ophelia seemed to always be speaking in a muttering way. Also, it was weird seeing how Hamlet knew he was being watched because he seemed to change his words after he realized the watchful eyes. I always assumed he was just speaking based on what he was trying to do which was to dissociate himself from Ophelia and make her feel like an idiot.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palmer