The Analysis of Hamlet (1996)

Hamlet (1996) is a film adapted from William Shakespeare’s play with the same title. Hamlet is produced by David Barron, a British film producer who also produced Harry Potter, and directed by Kenneth Branagh, an actor and film director from Northern Ireland.

The story is about Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who comes home for his father’s death and his mother’s wedding. He commits revenge to his uncle, the new king, whom he believes as the murderer of his father after meeting the ghost of his dead father. He acts like a madman and pretends (or might not pretend) crazy to cover his hatred to the new king. He manages his madness and waits patiently for the best moment to take revenge in a genius way, which is by revealing the murder in a play.

This paper analyzes the film version of Hamlet using several elements of drama.

 

Characters

Character is a representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities or functions in literary works. In the film of Hamlet, there are several important characters which can be distinguished as follows:

1. Main characters:

     a. Protagonist is a character that revolves around the story. The protagonist in Hamlet is Hamlet, starred by Kenneth Branagh.

     b. Antagonist is a character that opposes the protagonist. In Hamlet, the antagonist is Claudius, starred by Derek Jacobi.

2. Minor character is a character that often provides support and illuminates the protagonist. The minor character in Hamlet is Horatio, starred by Nicholas Farrell.

3. Round character is a character that has many aspects to his or her personality. The character may have a good side and a bad side; he or she may be unpredictable. There are several round characters in Hamlet:

     a. Gertrude, starred by Julie Christie.

     b. Polonius, starred by Richard Briers.

     c. Ophelia, starred by Kate Winslet.

     d. Laertes, starred by Michael Maloney.

     e. Rosencrantz, starred by Timothy Spall.

     f. Guildenstren, starred by Reece Dinsdale.

     g. Fortinbras, starred by Rufus Sewell.

4. Static character is a character that remains the same, does not change his or her outlook in response to events taking place. The static characters in Hamlet are:

     a. The Ghost, starred by Brian Blessed.

     b. Osric, starred by Robin Williams.

     c. The guards.

     d. The officers.

 

Characterization of the Characters

1. Hamlet

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. He is the son of King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude, and the nephew of the new king, Claudius. He is melancholy, cynical, and full of hatred. He has obsession to take revenge to Claudius. He also disgusts Gertrude sexual life by marrying Claudius not long after King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet has very deep sorrow, reflected by the black clothes he always wears before going to England. Hamlet’s madness might be a mask to hide his plan for taking revenge, but he might also really mad of his father’s murder. However, he is also romantic. He has deep feeling to Ophelia and loves her very much.

2. Claudius

Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet, uncle of Prince Hamlet. He becomes king after killing King Hamlet and marrying Queen Gertrude. Claudius is ambitious for power. He poisons to death his own brother and marries his sister in law to be a king. He is genius as he can act that there is nothing wrong happens, but actually he is scared of Hamlet’s crazy acts and madness. Claudius seems to love Gertrude sincerely, but in the end of the film he does not prevent Gertrude from drinking the poison that supposed to be drunk by Hamlet. It shows that he just loves Gertrude for lust.

3. Gertrude

Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark, mother of Hamlet. Hamlet says that she has problem with her sexual life as she gets married with Claudius soon after his husband’s death. She is a beautiful woman, but always hungry for affection. She cares and loves Hamlet very much. In the other hand, she also respects Claudius. It is impossible that she does not know about King Hamlet’s murder and Hamlet’s plan of taking revenge. This situation puts her in the dilemma. Gertrude is a picture of a shield. She defends her son and protects her husband in same time.

4. Horatio

Horatio is Hamlet’s closest and best friend. He is loyal, trustworthy, and reliable. His loyalty to Hamlet is shown in the end of the film when he commits to drink the poison after knowing that Hamlet is dying of poison. Hamlet convinces him to stay alive to tell the story to Fortinbras, and he does what Hamlet asks in name of loyalty.

5. Polonius

Polonius is the father of Ophelia and Laertes. He is the right hand of King Hamlet and the new king, Claudius. Polonius is a hypocrite. He says that he is loyal to King Hamlet, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet, but in fact he is loyal to Claudius. He is mean and slithery. He breaks off the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. He also convinces everyone that Hamlet is mad. However, as a father, he is admired and loved so much by his children. After he is killed by Hamlet, Ophelia becomes crazy and Laertes plans for revenge.

6. Ophelia

Ophelia is Polonius’s daughter and Laertes’s sister. She is a beautiful noble woman. She is innocent and naïve. Although she loves Hamlet, she still obeys her father and brother. She is also romantic. Even she gets mad because Hamlet kills her father, she can still make poems and sing a song about flowers. She finally drowns in the river near a garden full of beautiful flowers.

7. Laertes

Laertes is Polonius’s son, and Ophelia’s brother. He is an educated young noble man. He spends his life studying in France. He is obsessive of killing Hamlet after the death of his father and sister. He is slithery like his father. When he has fencing duel with Hamlet, he puts poison in the point of the sword.

8. The Ghost

The Ghost claims as the spirit of Hamlet’s father who has been killed by Claudius. The Ghost is evil as he asks Hamlet to kill Claudius. It is unclear whether the Ghost is really the spirit of King Hamlet or he is only Hamlet’s imagination. Although several character see the Ghost, only Hamlet has a dialogue with him.

9. Fortinbras

Fortinbras is the Prince of Norway who seeks for his father’s death. He also wants to claim the land of Denmark under his power. He is greedy. He attacks Denmark with his army and takes the Danish throne. However, in the end of the film he realizes that Hamlet has nothing to do with his father’s death. After listening Horatio’s story, he treats the dead body of Hamlet with respect.

10. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the former friends of Hamlet. They are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover what makes Hamlet acts strangely. They are like twins and always together. They are dishonest and incompetent as they only want to be paid for the information given to Claudius.

11. Osric

Osric is an officer in Elsinore Castle. He is foolish and hilarious. He is the one who has idea that Hamlet should have fencing duel with Laertes.

 

Plot

Plot is the events that unfold in a story; the action and direction of a story; the story line; the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story.

Exposition

Exposition is the part of the plot that introduces the setting and characters and presents the events and situations that the story will focus on. The story of Hamlet begins with the view of Elsinore Castle. Outside the castle, a guard sees the statue of King Hamlet moves its hand. The scene introduces the character of the Ghost.

This part of story also introduces all of the important characters of Hamlet, which are Prince Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes. All of them are introduced on the event of the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude. Hamlet feels sick of his mother’s wedding while he is still mourning of his father’s death.

In this part of story, Fortinbras is also introduced as the enemy who wants to invade the land and take the throne of Denmark kingdom.

Rising Action

Rising action of a plot is the series of events that build up and create tension and suspense. This tension is a result of the basic conflict that exists and makes the story interesting. The rising action can be identified as the ingredients that complicate matters in a plot.

The complication comes after Hamlet meets the Ghost and finds out that his uncle, Claudius, is the murderer of his father. He starts to act mad and strange that complicates all of the people in the castle. The coming of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern complicates even more as they are paid as the spies to find out what is happening with Hamlet and his madness.

The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia also becomes complicated because Polonius does not give his approval to their love.

Conflicts

Conflict is the struggle in a work of literature. This struggle may be between one person and another person or between a person and an animal, an idea or a thing (external conflict). It may also be between a person and himself or herself (internal conflict).

The internal conflict happens as Hamlet tries to manage his sorrow and act mad. He struggles with himself by faking crazy after his father’s death.

There are several external conflicts happen in Hamlet. The conflict between Hamlet and Claudius happens along the story. Hamlet shows the conflict with Claudius open to public through the play.

The conflict between Hamlet and Polonius happens because Polonius does not agree with their relationship. When Hamlet shows that he really cares of Ophelia, Polonius calls him mad. His conflict with Ophelia’s father drives new conflict with Ophelia because she obeys her father more than to love Hamlet. The peak of the conflict with Polonius is when Hamlet and Gertrude are having quarrel. Hamlet finds out that Polonius is hiding over the curtain, and stabs him.

Ophelia becomes crazy and drowns in the river. That situation drives the conflict between Hamlet and Laertes. Laertes frustrated of planning revenge for the death of his father and sister.

Climax

Climax is the highest point in a story. In Hamlet, this point occurs when Hamlet and Laertes finally gets their revenges. They have fencing duel and wound each other. They fights violently. Laertes cheats by using poisoned sword. Hamlet grabs Laertes’s sword and wound him with his poisoned sword.

Falling Action

Falling action is the sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. This is in contrast to the rising action which leads up to the plot's climax.

Falling action of the story is when Gertrude dies after drinking poisoned water that supposed to be drunk by Hamlet. She finds out that the poison is prepared by Claudius, his husband she loves so much.

Denouement

Denouement is the point close to the resolution. The denouement of this story is when Fortinbras comes, and everybody lying on the floor, dies, except Horatio. Horation tells the story to Fortinbras.

Resolution

Resolution is the part of the story's plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or worked out. This occurs after the falling action and is typically where the story ends.

The resolution of the story is when Fortinbras takes the throne and becomes the king of Denmark. After the funeral of Prince Hamlet, the statue of King Hamlet is torn down.

 

Setting

Setting is the environment in which a story unfolds. It includes:

     (1) the time and period of history,

     (2) the place,

     (3) the atmosphere,

     (4) the clothing,

     (5) the living conditions, and

     (6) the social climate.

Sometimes the setting is extremely important. For example, the atmosphere can influence characters in a ghost story; the living conditions can influence characters in a story about class conflicts or life in prison.

Setting of Time

The film does not tell the setting of time. To discover the setting of time, it refers to the original play. The story of Hamlet is set in the late middle ages (14^th and 15^th centuries or in 1300 to 1499).

What can be seen obviously from the film is the atmosphere. The story happens in the cold winter. Most of the scenes are in the night time. The indoor scenes cannot be identified whether they happen in the day time or night time.

Setting of Place

Generally, the story takes place in Denmark. Most of the scenes take place in the Elsinore Castle.

The hall is used for the scenes of the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude, the meeting of Hamlet and Horatio, the arranged meeting of Hamlet and Ophelia, and the fighting scenes. When Hamlet has quarrel with Gertrude and stabs Polonius, it takes place in Gertrude’s bedroom. There is a love scene might happens in Ophelia’s bedroom. Few scenes show the office inside the castle. There is a room used to keep Ophelia with her madness. Also, there is a huge room used for performing the play.

The outdoor scenes set in several places. The scenes with the guards take place in front of the Elsinore Castle. Hamlet meets the Ghost in the wood. The scene when Claudius poisons King Hamlet is in the back yard of the castle. The scene when Hamlet meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern takes place somewhere outside the castle. The funeral of Ophelia takes place in the grave yard. Also, the army of Fortinbras stands by on the war field away from the castle.

 

Theme

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. There are three important themes of Hamlet, which are madness, revenge, and the mystery of death.

All of the madness of the characters begins with Hamlet’s madness of his father’s death. Either he is really mad or only acts mad, his madness drives his strange behaviors and leads to bigger problems among people in Elsinore Castle. Polonius gets mad because he does not want his daughter have love affair with a madman. Claudius becomes mad after being accused by Hamlet as the murderer of his father. Gertrude is mad of Hamlet’s madness. Ophelia becomes mad after his father killed by Hamlet. Laertes is mad that Hamlet is the cause of Ophelia’s drowning.

The madness keeps the hatred alive. It drives to revenge. Blood for blood, life for life, and it is all paid. Hamlet takes revenge for his father’s death by killing Claudius, Laertes challenges Hamlet in fencing duel with poisoned sword for his father and sister, and Fortinbras gets the throne as the compensation of his father’s death. Hamlet points out that taking revenge does a matter.

The appearance of the Ghost indicates the values believed as the mystery of death and the life after death. The linger spirit of King Hamlet brings to Hamlet question of the way of his father dies. Taking revenge to the murderer is believed as the only way to end of the quest.

 

Genre

Genre is type or kind, as applied to literature and film. Examples of genres are romance, horror, tragedy, adventure, suspense, science fiction, epic poem, elegy, novel, historical novel, short story, and detective story.

Hamlet fits into the generic category of "Tragedy." More specifically, Hamlet is a classic "Revenge Tragedy," a popular genre in England during the late 16^th and early 17^th century that includes plays like Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1587) and John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (c. 1623). This genre is influenced by plays written by Seneca (c. 4 BC - 65 AD), who adapted Greek tragedies for the Roman theatre.

 

Dialogue

Dialogue is conversation in a play, short story, or novel. The dialogue in the film of Hamlet is unchanged from the original play. Hamlet, like Shakespeare's other plays, is written in a combination of verse (poetry) and prose (how we talk every day).

Here is the example of the dialogue in Hamlet:

OPHELIA

What means your lordship?

HAMLET

That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should
admit no discourse to your beauty.

OPHELIA

Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than
with honesty?

HAMLET

Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner
transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the
force of honesty can translate beauty into his
likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the
time gives it proof. I did love you once.

OPHELIA

Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.

HAMLET

You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot
so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of
it: I loved you not.

OPHELIA

I was the more deceived.

 

Audience

Audience is the act or chance of hearing; a reception by a great person; the person to hear. Audience is a group of individual who appreciate drama. Audience gives judgment about the genre, set the rules, determine the stages, and interpret the characters of the story. The contribution of the audience is giving the standard measurement. By the judgment of the audience, the drama will be either famous or drowning.

Hamlet got positive judgments from the audience. Hamlet was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Hamlet received largely positive reviews. Some critics, notably Stanley Kauffmann, declared the film to be the finest motion picture version of Hamlet ever made, and online film critic James Berardinelli has gone so far as to declare the Branagh’s Hamlet the finest Shakespeare adaptation ever, rating it as the fourth best film of the 90s and one of his top 101 favourite films of all time.

The film also was nominated for four Academy Awards; Tim Harvey for Best Art Direction, Alex Byrne for Best Costume Design, Patrick Doyle for Best Original Score, and Kenneth Branagh for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

 

Personal Comments

Shakespeare has successfully brought the deepest feeling of sorrow through Hamlet. It is ironic that a young prince lives unhappy life and dies tragically. Shakespeare’s intelligent in building the madness and hatred is the interest of the story. It is reflected from the character of Hamlet who is also genius in faking insane. That is why the characterization of Hamlet becomes my point of attraction.

Although Hamlet is a man full of hatred, he is also smart. He can manage all of his fear, sorrow, grudge, love, and passion to be a power in seeking revenge for his father’s unjust death. He is patient enough to calculate the best time to take revenge. He executes the action in an elegant way by performing a play satirizing Claudius and Gertrude.

I like the way Hamlet loves Ophelia. His love to Ophelia shows the sanity of the madman. Although his love to Ophelia is not blessed by Polonius, he keeps the feeling for Ophelia. He always loves her. He screams “I loved Ophelia! Forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum” in the grave yard before she is buried.

Hamlet is also a brave man. He accepts the challenge of Laertes to have a fencing duel. On the day of the duel, he shows his good manner as the first person who apologizes. He is such a gentleman by saying “I have done you wrong” to Laertes. Whether I do not know he is sincere or faking it, what he does shows the intelligence of someone considered insane. Hamlet is the best description of lunatic genius.

 

References

http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/fallingAction.htm

http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/resolution.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_%281996_film%29

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/writingabookreport/a/risingaction.htm

http://litera1no4.tripod.com/elements.html

http://schoolworkhelper.net/2010/08/queen-gertrude-character-analysis-hamlet/

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xLitTerms.html#Literary%20Terms

http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/ElementsLit.html

http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/genre.html

http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/setting.html

http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/writing-style.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/themes.html