Class Notes: November 29 – December 10
We discussed Hamlet extensively and watched segments of three different film productions.
Important things we discussed:
· How innocent/carefree is Ophelia? She was raised by Polonius and is a sibling to Laertes (both are very manipulative men)
· There is significant evidence that Ophelia and Laertes are involved in an incestuous relationship, as are Gertrude and Hamlet (see film productions)
· Ophelia is most likely pregnant. “There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. / We may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays. O you must wear / your rue with a difference” (4.5.180-182). Rue is a flower that symbolizes regret (Gertrude’s use for rue), but it also is an abortive agent (Ophelia’s use for rue)
· Ophelia also drowns herself, which at the time was the typical thing that pregnant, single women would do
The Film Productions:
1. Sir Laurence Olivier (1948)
· The most famous and critically acclaimed film production of Hamlet
· Major plot difference: Hamlet is portrayed as in love with Horatio instead of Ophelia
· Begins with lines 23-36 of Act I, Scene 4 and introduces the play by saying “this is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind”
2. David Tennant (BBC)
· Minimal stage scenery
· Incestuous relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet
· Same actor plays Claudius and Hamlet
3. Kenneth Branagh (1996)
· Incestuous relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet, but not very strongly portrayed
· Set during the Victorian Era because Branagh wanted to use a particular Victorian castle
These different interpretations as well as the Shakespeare in the Bush piece that we read evidence that Hamlet is universal in that it can be applied to all cultures, but each culture reads into the text a little differently.
