Blog #22: Hamlet Act 3 Social Media Post

Imagery:

1) "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause"  In death’s sleep who knows what kind of dreams might come, after we’ve put the noise and commotion of life behind us.

2) "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows...or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them?" Is it nobler to put up with all the nasty things that luck throws your way, or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all?

Logos:

"When he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin" This quote shows logos by Hamlet making the a choice based on logic-whether or not to kill King Claudius.

Ethos:

"when we have shuffled off this mortal coil Must give us pause. There’s the respect

That makes calamity of so long life." Establishes ethos through this quote as the "we" and his already noble status builds his ethos.

Pathos:

"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely," Hamlet if reflecting on the tremendous hardship he has faced recently and this quote, by exemplifying that emotion, adds pathos to the soliloquy.

Paradox:

Hamlet Sr. appears as a ghost in the play which is in contrast to Hamlet's belief that no one has ever risen from the dead.

Parallelism & The Infinitive:

Hamlet has to answer the question "To be, or not to be?". This means is it nobler to put up with all the nasty things that luck throws your way, or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all? However, this parallels to King Claudius who already answered this when he killed King Hamlet.

Synecdoche:

"flesh" is used to represent the whole body

Tone:

The overall tone of the soliloquy is confliction.

Diction:The word choice is used to create metaphors for the audience. Examples of these metaphors are listed below.

Metaphors:

1) “...slings and arrows...” represent the difficulties of everyone's lives.

2) Also, uses sleep to represent death.

Oppositions:

1) " And lose the name of action" Action vs Inaction and their consequences

2) The level of corruption in the society

3) Beyond death is unknown as no living man has experienced it.

Conclusion:

Hamlet concludes that when you think about an action, such as seeking revenge, for an extended period of time, inaction occurs instead.

Best Clip:

The best version of Hamlet is the 1996 version with Kenneth Branagh. The main reason that this is the best version is that it follow what Shakespeare intended and it was executed well. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet's soliloquy as an vocal conversation with himself. This is further explained in the section below. The other reasons that elevated this movie was the well chosen mis en scene choices made by the director. These include the omission of background music, having Hamlet being dressed in all black, and the fading of light throughout the soliloquy. The most impactful is the continuous over-the-shoulder shot and playing off the mirror to capture Hamlet's emotions. Also, there are no abrupt angle or audio changes which makes the soliloquy more continuous and free flowing, much like how a play would be acted out. For all these reasons, the 1996 Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet is best adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most impactful plays.

Other Clips:

The second best clip was the Laurence Olivier version released in 1948. Finally, the worst movie adaptation was the Ethan Hawke version. The major reason I did not like these two versions is that the Hamlet character in these two movies are talking to the camera during their soliloquy. They do this by breaking the "fourth wall" of film making. This goes against what Shakespeare intended as he wrote Hamlet's soliloquy as an vocal conversation with himself. This is done so we can get an insight into what Hamlet is thinking after the events that have occurred so far. I realize that breaking the fourth wall was a mis en scene choice by those two directors, but it was not executed effectively.  The 1996 version follows Shakespeare and the 1948 breaks the tie for last based on acting alone.