Blog 4

"To be or not to be: that is the question"(3.1.56) This is one of the most famous lines in history. Throughout Hamlet's famous soliloquy he is trying to figure out if it is worth living or if it would be better just to die. Hamlet thinks for a moment if he should just commit suicide. When he says "And by opposing end them? To die:to sleep;"(3.1.60) Hamlet goesw on to talk about how hard life is. He asks himself who in their right mind would want to live in a world where so many bad things can happen. Hamlet says "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,"(3.1.70) Hamlet also begins to wonder what life is like after death, or if there is even life after death. He says "The undiscover'd country from whose bourn"(3.1.79) Hamlet continues to talk and it seems to me that he has not made up his mind if he wants to live or die.

In the Kenneth Branagh soliloquy Hamlet is talking into a mirror. The audience gets to see most of his whole body movement. Throughout this version Hamlet speaks pretty softly and even draws a knife. He holds the knife towards his reflection, but that does not really show how he is thinking of suicide. Instead of pointing the knife at himself he his pointing it at his reflection. It looks more as if he is going to attack something rather than himself.

The Laurence Oliver soliloquy is my least favorite. In this one Hamlet seems to be at the top of the castle which is a different location than in the previous soliloquy. This could help reinforce Hamlet's thoughts of sucicide because he could easily fall off. There was also some dramatic music to introduce this scene which also aids in the way that Hamlet feels. I do think that this actor was less emotional then the others.

The Mel Gibson soliloquy was very well done. The location is in the basement of the castle and to me it looks like a burial place. This is the perfect location for Hamlet's sililoquy because he is talking about death while in a place where dead people are buried. I also really like the strong emotion that this one has because it shows how Hamlet is really feeling.

I think the Ethan Hawke soliloquy was good, but it doesn't really fit the original story. It is more comical then serious and that is why I do not like it. It is trying to make fun of something that is pretty serious. In this one you see Hamlet walking through a blockbuster, mainly through the action section. I do not really like this one because it is trying to make fun of the serious thoughts going through Hamlet's head.

The Mel Gibson soliloquy version did the best job in my opinon. I think it did the best job because it did everything right. It had a great location for Hamlet to be in, no music really lets you focuse in on what Hamlet has to say, and Hamlet was very emotional in this one. He really portrayed what was going through his head in the way he talked.

I would have had Hamlet in his room by himself because that is how he feels. He feels alone and he does not share his emotions or feelings with anyone and that is why I think that his bedroom would be a perfect spot for this scene. I would also do what the Mel Gibson version did and that was have Hamlet speaking with emotion. This really draws the audience in and gets their attention. I liked how the Kenneth Branagh verison had a knife in it. In my version I would keep the knife, but I would have Hamlet hold it towards him. This would be to reinforce the ideas that are going through Hamlet's mind about sucicide. I think that these changes would make this scene more intresting and suspensful.