Ophelia we miss you

 

                Ophelia Ophelia we miss you so much. Ophelia was like no other character in the book, she was beautiful, soft spoken and a courteous young woman. I remember read the book with anxiousness because I wanted to see what Ophelia had to say. She as changed my life for the good, showing me that know matter who you are, there will be a time when you will become one of the most important person in your society. Ophelia was a caring and good person, always wanting to know if you were ok. She always cared about Hamlet and his feelings. Ophelia love for Hamlet brought her happiness and also would have brought her the crown if Hamlet becomes king.  Ophelia was the daughter of the king's adviser, Polonius. Ophelia was one of the most important person in Hamlet's life. Being Hamlet's lover brought her great responsibilities such as the King asking her to perform a really important task.

            

                Ophelia was the type of girl to always look and act like a princess before her life came crashing down on top of her. She was a playful and happy girl, who was always looking to have fun before a dramatic change in her life. When her father died and Hamlet rejected her, Ophelia became full blown crazy. What can she do but became crazy when her father is murdered and the guy you are in love with does not love you.  I remember her give the king and the queen chicken bones and hay which she taught was flowers, to be fear that was really funny. Some say she killed her self but I say she was a girl that fell of tree branch and drowned. Ophelia is now in a better place with her father, Polonius. Ophelia I hope you and your father is watching over each and everyone of us. I miss the way you smile when you see Hamlet and your beautiful and flowing red hair. What I will miss most of all is hearing you speak and your sensitivity.

 

 

 

                 Ophelia I definitely won't miss your madness that brought this sad moment to my heart. I feel as if a part of my soul has been taken away from me. The rest of the book won't be the same without you. Ophelia you have thought me to be very caring and don't let anything limit me from achieving something I really want. Your death has shown me that when you die you will definitely be missed by a lot of people that you thought would never care about you. You also showed me that I should take life more seriously because at anytime you can lose it. Laertes I want you to know that I loved your sister dearly and I feel the pain that you are feeling right now. I want you to know that I am always here if you need any help because I am sure your sister would want that. Ophelia I want you to know that you will be in my memory forever and I will never forget you. I feel really lost and heart broken but I am also happy for you because  Jobs 1: 21 says "The lord giveth and the lord taketh." He has taken you to a better place now. I love you Ophelia and I can't wait to be with you again and sing the praise of the lord.



 

  Donahue's The price of revenge on a man who is in repentance!!!

 

               Revenge is the act of inflicting harm on someone for an wrong suffered at their hands. The bible says in Roman 12:19 " beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord". Besides from what the Bible says about killing a fellow human being, I believe that killing someone is the most evil thing a man can do. Hamlet plot to revenge his father by killing his uncle came to a halt when his uncle started to repent of his sins. Hamlet decided not to kill his uncle while he was repenting because he know that his uncle would go to heaven, rather than suffer in hell. I believe that Hamlet hesitation to kill Claudius showed his knowledge of the after life and that he was not a cold hearted person. I once thought that man was the evilest thing that walked the face of the earth but Hamlet decision proved me wrong. Hamlet decision was the right move because if he did kill Claudius, he would go to Heaven and Hamlet would have to answer to God at the gate about why he killed him when he was repenting. Revenging someone death is just as cold as killing someone for what they have in my opinion.

              Other than the consequences of sending Claudius to heaven, Hamlet life was at stake because if he killed Claudius his soul would be condemned. The fact that everyone already thought that Hamlet was crazy this would only give them more reason to believe that. In all honesty I don't think you should kill  anyone no matter what the reasons are because you will be the one that has to answer to God rather than them answering to him. The biggest reason to why Hamlet waited was that he wanted Claudius to suffer through all the pain his father was suffering through. My biggest reason to why I would let him wait would be that if I kill him I would be in the same position as him later on. The scene shows that we are all humans and that there is a high being that we have to apology to, hoping to be forgiven. It also shows that Claudius knew that his life was coming to an end, so it is better for him to repent now before it is too late. The scene gives me an understanding on how all human beings behave when it comes down to a life and death situation. To be honest Hamlet seem to not understand the bible all that well because there are tones of messages in the bible about why revenge is wrong and hateful.

Donahue's To Be or Not To Be

Olivier's version was like a 1950's movie, with black and white display. The scenery was dark, windy and foggy. Hamlet was sitting on a rock by a cliff with the ocean just below. Hamlet looked calm but at the same time confused. The director was trying to show that Hamlet was contemplating whether to kill himself or not and the mood of the scenery showed that. The use of the dagger was another good decision that the director made. The director uses the ocean to show Hamlet's sea of troubles that stood before him. Hamlet had two ways of killing himself which was jumping off the cliff or stabbing himself with the dagger. Even though the scene was black and white, Hamlet himself was showing gray and dull emotions. I think another reason why the director uses this scene is to give Hamlet an easy access to get rid of the baggage he is holding on to. As a whole in this version the actor was really calm and it also looked like the actor voiced the words, which I totally disagreed with.

Zeffirelli's version of Hamlet was the most realistic one of all the versions in my opinion. This version gives you the advantage of knowing what the 1600s would be like. As usual the scene was very dark and it took place in a tomb. Hamlet looks very confused and angry about the decision he has to make. This version enlarged Hamlet's emotions, showing his anger and suffering. When Hamlet spoke of killing himself he stood in the dark but when he spoke of living he would look up to the light. In my opinion this is a sign saying that if you commit suicide you would have to live in darkness for every but him finding a way out of his misery was somewhere towards the light. The director did well to have this scene take place in a tomb because Hamlet was on the verge of killing himself or not killing himself. Unlike the other versions Hamlet looked like he was speaking to someone rather than to himself.  The director had Hamlet kneel before the coffin and speak, as if he was talking to the dead about what their after life was like. I believe the director use all these actions to show us that Hamlet was really close to making either decisions.

Branaugh's version was of course colorful, more modern than Olivier and Zeffirelli's version. It was much easier to see Hamlet in this version because it had a lot of light. Hamlet looked confused but at the same time calm. Unlike the other versions you can actually hear the music and with that said, the music was very confusing and breathe taking. The background in this version was gray, showing Hamlet's attitude towards the decision he has to make. I believe there is two reasons to why Hamlet was looking at himself in the mirror; he was arguing with himself and he was looking at himself because he was trying to figure out how to get rid of the burden that was dragging him down. Hamlet arguing with himself was like having a bad and good conscience on your shoulder that you had to chose between. The director uses the dagger as a prop to show us how close Hamlet came to killing himself.

Almereyda's version was really modern and colorful. The actor playing Hamlet looked like he was suffering from depression problems and he also looked really confused. In all respect, Hamlet looked like he was on some type of drug. As he walk around the store he looks on all the stuffs he would miss, if killed himself. The television was showing someone getting blown up while the rest of the room was calm. I believe the director used the television as a prop because it would show how Hamlet was getting influenced by both the disaster shown on the television and the calmness of the room. Media is the one of the greatest influence on young people in modern society, so showing the television was really helpful to my understanding. Committing suicide is one of the hardest things someone can do, so understand why it was hard for Hamlet to do.

I think there are different version because people tend to interpret Shakespeare in their own way and sometimes totally different from others. Hamlet can be described as multicultural and the fact that it is hard to translate into modern language. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare best work that he ever wrote. Hamlet affects people on personal levels because it explains deceit and revenge in a close settings. This play is widely read and used as an example all over the world. I like Zeffirelli's version the most because it looks more original and it put you in the mind set of what old Denmark would look like in the 1600s.

 

 

 

donahue Hamlet's ghost scene

Zeffirelli version of Hamlet was very windy, bleak and dark, I guess he was trying to portray to us how that time period would look. The music was very scary and the scene when Hamlet was looking for the ghost foreshadowed something horrifying was coming. Hamlet seemed to be both scared and anxious at the same time find the ghost. The ghost was very enclosed because he really didn't show himself to Hamlet. The scene moved from scared to sadness to anger which is probably three of the most used emotions. Throughout his father's speech of on he really died Hamlet felt sorrow but in the end when his father said he should revenge his death, Hamlet showed anger as he begin to plot his revenge. The ghost portrayed his anger towards his murderer which was his brother. This version was mostly face to face interaction; I guess the director wanted you to focus more on what the ghost was saying rather than what was going on around them.
 

Branagh version is more colorful and  musical until it became really scary. The music was very triumphant and it made you very anxious to see the ghost scene. Of all the three versions the ghost was more scary and angry with his current situation. This scene is not that dark so you can see the ghost more clearly with his battle armor on. This ghost looks like what anyone would imagine how a ghost would look, he looks very demonic. The ghost seems to have breathing problems. This version is really weird and more modern than Zeffirelli version. Of all the versions this is the only one that shows you a flashback of how king Hamlet died; I think this was done to make you feel like you were there when the ghost was murdered. This version made it really easy for you to understand the scene because it shows you how happiness is short lived. This version went from anxiousness to panic to sadness. I believe the director made this version like this because he believed that it would be easier for the audience to understand when there are flashbacks.

Almereyda version is by far the most modern one of all the three versions. This version is not at all dark because it is filled with lights that brightened the room. The director uses the scene around the room as a way to foreshadow the terror that will come, along with the TV that was showing somewhere burning. The music was really loud and foreshadowing. The tone of the music is getting you ready for the conversion that is about to begin. The ghost is clothed with clothes that shows his importance and his high class with no evidence that he was in a battle. The ghost was very angry and he was very touchy. Hamlet was really scared because his father was really loud and angry. There was a lot of physical contact between Hamlet and the ghost. Unlike the other versions you can actually see the ghost full body from head to toe rather than just seeing his face. The ghost kept on dabbing his ears with a towel, which shows us that he was in pain. I think the ghost was trying to hint to Hamlet that he was poisoned in the ear. I really think there is no point of modernizing the film if you are not going to modernize the words. I understand that it is hard to decode some of Shakespeare words, but it is really weird to be speaking Elizabethan English in a 20th century movie.

All three versions are portraying that the point of the ghost scene is to let Hamlet know how his father really died and to start plotting revenge on his uncle. How can some one kill their own brother?  We can all say that Hamlet's uncle is genuinely a evil person that deserves whatever revenge that comes his way.