The Movie Interpretations of Hamlet: Ghosts of the Original?
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a tenet of English literature, has been interpreted in many different ways since its inception over 500 years ago. Shakespeare manipulates the text to purposely leave an aura of ambiguity. He uses this as a hook, so that the reader involves himself and emotionally invests in the book. Being a play, there are many things one can alter in a physical manifestation of Hamlet, such as intonation and humor such as sarcasm which are hard to infer from text. The film adaptations have a unique opportunity to use film techniques and narrative to create an atmosphere of suspense, to generate feelings, mostly of empathy for Hamlet, that would not be present otherwise, …show more content…
Shakespeare begins with a few minor characters, Barnardo, Francisco, Marcellus and Horatio, standing guard and discussing having seen a ghost. This ghost, robed in armor, is described as being Old King Hamlet who has recently passed away. Shakespeare uses scene 1 act 1 to establish the credibility of the ghost; there must be a reason that two trained guards are palpably shaken and frightened. The audience then witnesses the ghost on stage, while one of the guards remarks that “it comes again” (I.i.49). Furthermore, Horatio, a scholar and a educated man of reason, also sees the ghost and exclaims that “It harrows [him] with fear and wonder” (I.i.53). This ‘sets the stage’ that the is “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (I. iv.95). While Shakespeare begins after King Hamlet’s funeral, Zeffirelli instead decides to begin at the former king’s funeral—a scene created solely for the movie. While an organ plays solemn, formal music in the background, the camera reveals the castle’s crypt, where a body lies, surrounded by a grieving family members, a son, a new king and a widow. In a sequence of dramatic pan-ins (camera pans in on a face), Zeffirelli quickly links all the major characters. This shows that he has chosen to concentrate on the personal side of the story, alternative to the political aspects that Shakespeare displays with the new Claudius and
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a tenet of English literature, has been interpreted in many different ways since its inception over 500 years ago. Shakespeare manipulates the text to purposely leave an aura of ambiguity. He uses this as a hook, so that the reader involves himself and emotionally invests in the book. Being a play, there are many things one can alter in a physical manifestation of Hamlet, such as intonation and humor such as sarcasm which are hard to infer from text. The film adaptations have a unique opportunity to use film techniques and narrative to create an atmosphere of suspense, to generate feelings, mostly of empathy for Hamlet, that would not be present otherwise, …show more content…
Shakespeare begins with a few minor characters, Barnardo, Francisco, Marcellus and Horatio, standing guard and discussing having seen a ghost. This ghost, robed in armor, is described as being Old King Hamlet who has recently passed away. Shakespeare uses scene 1 act 1 to establish the credibility of the ghost; there must be a reason that two trained guards are palpably shaken and frightened. The audience then witnesses the ghost on stage, while one of the guards remarks that “it comes again” (I.i.49). Furthermore, Horatio, a scholar and a educated man of reason, also sees the ghost and exclaims that “It harrows [him] with fear and wonder” (I.i.53). This ‘sets the stage’ that the is “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (I. iv.95). While Shakespeare begins after King Hamlet’s funeral, Zeffirelli instead decides to begin at the former king’s funeral—a scene created solely for the movie. While an organ plays solemn, formal music in the background, the camera reveals the castle’s crypt, where a body lies, surrounded by a grieving family members, a son, a new king and a widow. In a sequence of dramatic pan-ins (camera pans in on a face), Zeffirelli quickly links all the major characters. This shows that he has chosen to concentrate on the personal side of the story, alternative to the political aspects that Shakespeare displays with the new Claudius and