PERFORMANCE
Actors and directors vary in the route they choose to take in portraying Hamlet as a performance production. Overall, there tend to be two challenges that they face when looking specifically at the way Hamlet is shot and rendered out for the public, where one is simply how Hamlet’s madness is replicated for the audience (or the lack thereof). The other, more generally, is concerned with whether the play is set to provide the most coverage on the prevalent political issues or instead present the writing as household drama issues. While both of these issues are seemingly different from the main topic of deception, they represent the stem causes of deception - Hamlet’s madness is inherently deceptive both at himself and the others, depending on the interpretation of the work and whether Hamlet himself is aware of his alleged madness, and the political/household issue deceives the audience and the play characters in not knowing the true intentions of the work. The first challenge faced is one of great ambiguity when considered directly from the text because it isn’t clear if Hamlet was actually mad or was rather pretending to be mad. With certain film adaptations and other performances, the audience is meant to feel great sympathy for the character in knowing his disappointment and pain in what his life had changed to (specifically alluding to the “To Be or Not to Be” speech). Therefore, in considering what Hamlet was actually feeling, no director or actor could ever truly replicate the feelings that Shakespeare intended for Hamlet to have felt, making the multiple renditions bad collections of each other. The second issue would be in portraying the acts as domestic drama instead of a political drama. The play itself starts and ends with political mentions, with the inner parts of text focusing on the familial issues and Hamlet’s thirst for avenging his father’s death. However, many renditions of the play emphasize the internalizing of Hamlet’s conflicts and how he manifests his issues into actions, specifically at his personal issues, rather than having an emphasis on his wish to seek the throne. A third difference in portrayal differences of Hamlet as a performance would lie in the representation of the ghost, and how Hamlet perceives said ghost. In certain scenes of certain versions, King Hamlet’s ghost is manifested with an actor, whereas in other scenes, Hamlet pretends to see the ghost, ultimately playing back to his alleged “madness”. Watching different versions of the play ultimately gives rise to understanding new perspectives and modes of communicating the original text.
"To Be or Not To Be" Through the Years |
Source: karldallas. “Olivier's Hamlet Film (1948): To Be Or Not To Be Soliloquy.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Jan. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ks
NbCHUns. In the 1948 film adaptation of Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier, the famous “To Be or Not to Be” speech starts by panning over a cliff where Hamlet is giving his speech. The interpretation of Hamlet’s madness in this version was taken as a literal suicide deliberation, as also supported by the knife the character held and kept gazing towards during the duration of his speech. His overall attitude during the speech was that of a very unconcerned nature, almost like he accepts death if that’s what happens to him. There appeared to be no resilience on his part or a strong wish to remain determined and live through his pain. Dressed in relatively common prince clothes, there isn’t much of a political or household dilemma side that is picked, as there are influences from both perspectives. The music in the background is very alarming at times and grabs the viewer’s attention even if Hamlet weren’t doing anything dangerous, perhaps again to support the idea that he is to be taken as suicidal or to promote the concept of deception and the audience's alignment with Hamlet. (karldallas). |
Source: AyannaChan. “Hamlet - To Be or Not to Be - David Tennant.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Dec. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA_xYXN9Lp0.
In the 2009 film adaptation starring David Tennant, Hamlet is dressed in modern everyday clothes (in jeans and a t-shirt), suggesting that this version of the play has an emphasis on the household drama and Hamlet finding himself in the middle of all the conflict he is experiencing, rather than defining his position within the political hierarchy. This view is also supported by the location of his speech -- a dark corridor of the castle, which may be interpreted to show that though his issues are at the center of a very public, political location, his conflicts fall in the darker places of the castle where no one bothers to look. Instead of realizing that his conflicts are internalized, some characters in the play may assume that part of Hamlet’s unhappiness has to do with political power. Hamlet also speaks of death like a release from his troubled life, supported by his eyes being closed for a good chunk of the speech. His general expressions are those of fear, but he doesn’t overtly approach suicide the way Olivier’s Hamlet did. The privacy associated with his speech indicates that while the other characters are assuming Hamlet is not well, Hamlet himself is just discovering the fact and is awakening from his time deceiving himself. (AyannaChan).
In the 2009 film adaptation starring David Tennant, Hamlet is dressed in modern everyday clothes (in jeans and a t-shirt), suggesting that this version of the play has an emphasis on the household drama and Hamlet finding himself in the middle of all the conflict he is experiencing, rather than defining his position within the political hierarchy. This view is also supported by the location of his speech -- a dark corridor of the castle, which may be interpreted to show that though his issues are at the center of a very public, political location, his conflicts fall in the darker places of the castle where no one bothers to look. Instead of realizing that his conflicts are internalized, some characters in the play may assume that part of Hamlet’s unhappiness has to do with political power. Hamlet also speaks of death like a release from his troubled life, supported by his eyes being closed for a good chunk of the speech. His general expressions are those of fear, but he doesn’t overtly approach suicide the way Olivier’s Hamlet did. The privacy associated with his speech indicates that while the other characters are assuming Hamlet is not well, Hamlet himself is just discovering the fact and is awakening from his time deceiving himself. (AyannaChan).
Source: lizbennetgenova. “Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet): To Be or Not to Be Monologue Theatre (Amleto) Star Sherlock Avengers.” YouTube,
YouTube, 5 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV4fF3rqWqQ.
In the 2015 play adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the speech is delivered by Hamlet, dressed in his royal clothes, and also wearing what looks like a noose around his neck. The outfit suggests that though the domestic drama is an issue for him, his power is also of great importance, making this version of the play support arguments of Hamlet being interpreted as a political drama. For the duration of the speech, he keeps fiddling with this “noose”, much like how Olivier’s Hamlet kept fiddling with the knife. During a certain part of the speech, when saying the lines, “to die, to sleep”, Cumberbatch’s Hamlet looks to the sky as though pleading for some miracle to come and change his circumstances. The overall expressions shown by Cumberbatch ranged from irritation to anger to sadness, and finally to helplessness. The extensiveness of emotional range is vastly different from the emotions experienced by the other two Hamlet adaptations analyzed (Tennant and Olivier), as those were typically stagnant throughout the whole speech. Cumberbatch’s switching to all kinds of emotions signify that his madness had never truly deceived him, which is why there may not have been a point in trying to conceal his feelings. (lizbennetgenova).
YouTube, 5 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV4fF3rqWqQ.
In the 2015 play adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the speech is delivered by Hamlet, dressed in his royal clothes, and also wearing what looks like a noose around his neck. The outfit suggests that though the domestic drama is an issue for him, his power is also of great importance, making this version of the play support arguments of Hamlet being interpreted as a political drama. For the duration of the speech, he keeps fiddling with this “noose”, much like how Olivier’s Hamlet kept fiddling with the knife. During a certain part of the speech, when saying the lines, “to die, to sleep”, Cumberbatch’s Hamlet looks to the sky as though pleading for some miracle to come and change his circumstances. The overall expressions shown by Cumberbatch ranged from irritation to anger to sadness, and finally to helplessness. The extensiveness of emotional range is vastly different from the emotions experienced by the other two Hamlet adaptations analyzed (Tennant and Olivier), as those were typically stagnant throughout the whole speech. Cumberbatch’s switching to all kinds of emotions signify that his madness had never truly deceived him, which is why there may not have been a point in trying to conceal his feelings. (lizbennetgenova).