Blog #23: Hamlet Act 3 Social Media Post

Imagery:
--"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (3.1.59). Hamlet is immediately questioning the validity of life, by asking whether it is better to endure hardship or give up.
--"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause." (3.1.67-69). Hamlet explicitly expresses concern with the assumption that life after death will automatically be happier.
--"To grunt and sweat under a weary life" (3.1.78). Emphasizes just how difficult life is for many people with vivid actions that may take place.

Ethos:

--"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought" (3.1.84-86). Hamlet applies a natural rule of nature to all human beings which improves his credibility to the audience.

Pathos:
--"The fair Ophelia!—Nymph, in thy orisons

Be all my sins remembered" (3.1.90-91). The relationship between the two is remembered. It is sad to think of people who will miss you when you're dead, so this discourages death.

Logos:
--"The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes" (3.1.74-75). Plays on the fact that current leaders are inefficient in society, logic that can be defended.


Paradox:
--"To die, to sleep—

No more—and by a sleep to say we end" (3.1.61-62). The only way the struggle to survive goes away is when a person is dead

Parallelism:
--"To die, to sleep" (3.1.61). Repeated various times in the soliloquy that emphasizes death cures heartache

Infinitive:
--"To be or not to be" is what Hamlet is discussing for thirty lines. This is talking about deciding to to live or die determines quality and happiness of life
 
Tone: The tone is distraught and conflicted since Hamlet has multiple opinions on the purpose of life. He is genuinely struggling to cope with events and thoughts in his head at the moment.

Diction: The diction is very elevated to show he is understanding of the conflict he faces. He also uses bleak imagery to develop the tough conditions people live in

Metaphor 1: States that death and sleep are essentially the same thing
Metaphor 2: Shows that death is uncertain by comparing it to an undiscovered country

Comparisons:
-- "No more—and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache and the thousand natural shocks" (3.1.61-62). Compares sleep to death

--"When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause" (3.1.68-69). States how we should think long and hard about this subject

--"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time" (3.1.71). Going to list how difficult life on earth is for many people

Opposition 1: If he commits suicide, he will be giving up everything of benefit on Earth
Opposition 2: If he doesn't commit suicide, he will have to deal with hardships on Earth instead of going into an easy sleep
Opposition 3: He says fear stops suicide, but often times fear of life on Earth can actually push people towards suicide

Philosophical questions: Is it a person's moral duty to forge on throughout life, or is the ultimate prize afterlife? If life is this unfulfilling, is it really worth living at all?

Conclusions: Hamlet believes people should take their time when making important decisions. He also thinks it would be cowardly to not follow the ghost's commands as there is no 'correct' answer to death.

Mise En Scene Analysis
I personally believe the Branagh intepretation is the best Hamlet adaptation of the four videos. First I like how Hamlet is staring at a mirror, which also acts as a door. A couple of times Claudius is seen with fear in his eyes on the other side of the door. This embodies overarching reasons Hamlet is so emotionally torn apart by symbolizing the power struggle between the two characters. By having Hamlet stare directly into Claudius' eyes, it reinforces order vs disorder and revenge+spying in the play. All of Hamlet's trust issues and overall sorrow is due to Claudius killing his father. Hamlet is trying to figure out how to best avenge his death - the major theme in this "to be or not to be" soliloquy. The setting was also royal and fancy. This confirmed my mental image of the play. It was a good decision to not move around the camera too much, as the tone shifts and overall topics at hand were not drastic. Hamlet's chain of logic felt more smooth this way. As the camera zooms in from an over-the-shoulder medium shot to an extreme close up of the mirrored image, you can see the intensity on Hamlet's face. It is a serious, thoughtful speech with a lot of 'inward looking' by Hamlet. I also liked how when he pulled the sword that could represent a tone shift of ending a life instead of dealing with real-world problems society has to face.

Rankings
My personal order from best to worst is Branagh, Olivier, and then Hawke. I found the Hawke video to be creative, but it lost the royal 'charm' from that time period. In both of the other videos, I thought there was less acting emotion from Hamlet. Given how this is a famous soliloquy, I was hoping to be moved more. Instead, everything felt too scripted and not geninue enough. I liked the idea of Olivier sitting on a cliff near death, but didn't think the transition to Orphelia was smooth enough. I did like the authenticity of the Olivier video more than Hawke.