Blog #17: Hamlet Act V

The song I chose to describe Ophelia's funeral is "When I Die Young" by the Band Perry. The song is from the perspective of a young woman, describing what will happen if she dies at a young age. She says, "I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom," which is fitting for Ophelia because the Priest says that "she is allowed her virgin crants," (5.1.240) meaning that she was only able to receive some of her death rites because she was pure before her death, and white is the symbol of purity. Two of the most powerful lines of the song are "I've never known the lovin' of a man, but it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand," which right before Ophelia lost her sanity, she talked about how she thought Hamlet loved her, but now she knows that she never did, only that it was "Blasted with ecstasy. O, woe is me,"(3.1.174), even though Hamlet confesses in the graveyard that "I loved Ophelia" (5.1.285). In one of her songs, Ophelia talks about being "Larded all with sweet flower," (4.5.43); this is exactly how the refrain of the song says to "lay me down on a bed of roses," which are a symbol of her outer beauty. Gertrude even uses flower imagery to describe Ophelia in her death, in which “fantastic garlands did she make of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,”(4.7.192-193). In the song, she asks that she can “shine down on my mother,” and Ophelia almost began to view and Gertrude as her mother, and Gertrude felt the same to Ophelia, when she says “I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife” (5.1.285). This is despite the fact that Gertrude turned her back on Ophelia when she says “I will not speak to her,” (4.3.1) at the beginning of Act 4, scene 3. In the refrain of the song, it explains her wishes to “sink me in the river at dawn,” which has obvious parallels to Ophelia, when Laertes finds out his “sister’s drowned,” (4.7.188). The song has such a quiet sound to it, and is very peaceful, which correlates with the transition “from her melodious lay to muddy death,” (4.7.206) The song also features many portions without music, which can often portray just as much emotion without the actual lyrics, just as Ophelia’s “speech is nothing,” (4.5.9). Nobody believed the words that she has said until after she said, just as the girl in the song says “A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar They're worth so much more after I'm a goner.”

The tone that this song portrays is one that is almost welcome of death, much more like Hamlet’s feelings in the “to be or not to be” soliloquy. She is expecting her death to come early, such as describing how shes “had just enough time” in her life and how her life is short. The songwriter doesn’t seem scared or fearful of death, as most people do. Rather, they are talking about it as if it something casual, as the words are more just plans, rather than thoughts, like when she tells the audience to “send me away with the words of a love song.” The mood however, is definitely sad or depressed. Most people can relate to the death of a loved one, and many times it is a life that ends before it should. The use of painful imagery, such as “the sharp knife of a short life” can relate the story to a death that is not natural. The description of dressing up can have a double meaning in the context of the story. When she says “put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls,” she sounds so positive about it, almost as if they are going out on a date, but in reality, she is discussing what to wear to her funeral. The music itself is very sad and quiet, much like music that could be played at a funeral. It is acoustic, and it is only one person singing, not a duet, which implies that it is a ballad about death versus just a pretty song.

"If I Die Young"

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in a river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother

She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,

And life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no

Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,

I've never known the lovin' of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand,

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever,

Who would have thought forever could be severed by...

...the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?

I've had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls

What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar

They're worth so much more after I'm a goner

And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'

Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)

The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)

Go with peace and love

Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket

Save 'em for a time when you're really gonna need 'em, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls

Blog #15: Hamlet Act 3

Hamlet Act 3:To Be or Not To Be Analysis

In this soliloquy, there is many references to his father’s murder and his uncle’s guilt over the murder. When he discusses the “dread of something after death,” he is referring to his father’s ghost that spoke to him and is stuck in purgatory. He discusses guilt and how “conscience does make cowards of us all,” an image where he is specifically speaking about his uncle, even though he is unaware that Claudius is listening, and how he is coward for not admitting to the murder of King Hamlet. At the beginning of the speech he questions whether it is “nobler in the mind to suffer…or to take arms,” showing his belief in the hierarchy of being. He is unsure of how to act to keep his place as a noble; he wants to strike and kill Claudius, but isn’t sure if he should deal with the matter within himself, no matter how difficult it might be. The speech appeals to the audience with Ethos, describing how the “mortal coil, must give us pause,” justifying how it is morally and humanely right to be given space when dealt an issue. He uses pathos when talking of love, speaking, of course, about Ophelia, for whom he feels “pangs of despised love” when she begins to ignore him.In the speech, sleep is used as a metaphor for death, and dreams are a metaphor for the afterlife. His repetition of the phrase “to die, to sleep” argues that he is ready for death because he has done much grieving over his father. He describes how the “sleep” will “end the heartache and thousand natural shocks,” which is imagery describing the pain and struggle he has dealt with in the past two months.

Mis En Scene Analysis:

In Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Hamlet, he is giving his soliloquy as he is walking around in the catacombs. The scene is very dark, as they are underground, with very bright contrast coming from the light streaming down from the openings above. When Hamlet walks from the shadow into the light, it is a close up shot that is slightly lower, to show the pain in his eyes as he looks up towards the light, which could symbolize heaven as he is talking about death. His costume is dark, but does not exemplify any particular time period, like the Olivier and Hawke version do. He is shown with a full beard, which makes him appear more mature than the other versions.The scene is very monochromatic, showing various shades of brown.The use of setting itself allowed the viewers to better understand the metaphor between sleep in death, which is emphasized when he says the words “To die” and it cuts to a view of the skeletons.The only sounds in the scene are diegetic sounds, like the sound of Hamlet walking, or other slight background noises. When he is still, the background noise is almost completely silent, so the only thing the audience can hear is Hamlet’s speech.

The Mel Gibson version was the most effective portrayal of Hamlet and the emotion behind the soliloquy. It best emphasizes the comparison between sleep and death with the addition of the sarcophagus and the skeletons themselves. The room was silent, without too much to distract from the speech, while still having movement to keep the viewers engaged. Next, The Kenneth Branagh version was effective with the use of mirrors to emphasize that things are not as they appear. The Ethan Hawke version was effective because it emphasized the theme of action versus in action as he was walking down the action movie aisle of Blockbuster, which was a very good modern representation. However, the costuming wasn’t very effective because it did not make him appear as a noble, which is an important part when he discusses “whether ‘tis nobler the mind to suffer,” and the costume does not support his struggle to find his place in the hierarchy of being. Lastly, the Laurence Olivier version was not very effective because the loud suspenseful music was distracting to the speech itself, along with the awkward positioning of the character. The editing cuts often did not make sense, and there was zooming in to an extreme close up where it wasn’t necessary.

Blog #14: Hamlet Act II

Steven: "The guy is a psychopath"
Hey guys, I just got back from a friend’s house, and I just saw a great movie. I think it was called Fear or something like that. It has Reese Witherspoon in it, because, you know, she’s totally amazing and everything. And, like, it totally matches how I feel right now. Nicole, like totally loves David, like I love Hamlet, but her dad Steven is totally not okay with him. At the beginning, she was like “you know, you’re not at all like I expected you to be the first time I met you,” which is what I thought too, especially when Hamlet wrote me a letter saying that he “love[s] thee best, O most best, believe it” (2.2.121). Nicole tells her dad "it's your problem with David, not mine" which I can totally relate to my dad, because he thinks that Hamlet went crazy for "the very ecstacy of love, whose violent property fordoes itself" (2.1.100-101). My dad thinks that when he forbid me from seeing Hamlet, it caused his craziness. My father even mentioned to me how when he spoke to Hamlet, he mentioned how I was "one fair daughter, and no more, the which he loved passing well" (2.2.353-354). This means he is still in love with me, even if he is too crazy to see it, right? He still loves me, he just believes my father is a "fishmonger" (2.2.173), and my father doesn't love me. I am just so distraught over how I miss the Hamlet I once knew. But I suppose I understand my father's feelings towards Hamlet now that I have watched this movie. David leads Nicole down a dark and scary path, and I fear that Hamlet might do the same. I guess I shall need to be more weary before he takes "me by the wrist and [holds] me hard" again, or worse. What do you guys think I should do?

Blog #13: Hamlet Act I

Hey guys, it’s Ophelia. Sorry I haven’t been blogging lately, but I’ve had so much going on. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my new boyfriend, Hamlet. Life is so complicated right now because, lately he has “made many tenders of his affection to me” (1.3.99-100) which is awesome, because I love him, but my dad totally freaked when I told him about it. He told me I sounded “like a green girl” (1.3.101), which is totally offensive because I told him that our relationship is “in honorable fashion” (1.3.111). Why can’t my dad be more understanding towards my love? I am an adult now, and I totally understand what love is. And get this, he told me “I would not…have you…give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet” (1.3.132-135). This is just so hard for me, because I love and respect my father, and I told him that I would listen to him, but there is a huge conflict between my respect for my father and my love for Hamlet. What do you guys think I should do? Go be with the man I love, or stay with my father? 

Blog #12: Hamlet Character Analysis

I chose to analyze the play Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia, Hamlet’s girlfriend. While struggled to fully develop her character because it was the role of a women that would be played by a man, it still shows a major struggle for her between Hamlet and her father and brother. She loves Hamlet, but her family believes that he is just using her and would take her virginity, knowing that she will never be able to become his wife. She will ultimately have to choose between her father Polonius and Hamlet, action versus inaction, which will have major consequences. I am interested to see how her relationship with her father and her relationship with Hamlet influence her actions throughout the play.

Blog #11: Hamlet "Who's There?" Passage Analysis