Kenneth Branagh Film

Kenneth Branagh Film

1. Character

   • Ophelia
     • "There's fennel for you, and columbines. 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! There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father died. They say he made a good end. [Sings] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy." (4.5.204-210)
       • For most of the play, Ophelia had a great relationship for Hamlet as they were lovers of one another. Once Ophelia found out about the death of her father, her whole personality and attitude towards everything completely spirals out of control. She quickly turned into a person who doesn’t care about anything/anyone and completely lost her sanity. This is shown by the quote chosen, as she talks about how the violets wither’d away when her father died, symbolizing herself as the violets. She also began singing in the middle of her lines showing her loss of sanity. Branagh did a great job by showing the true ophelia through the film as the play wasn’t able to completely show the true emotions of ophelia through the text. This is mainly due to the visual aspect that Branagh provided, and because the lines in this scene were word for word with the play.
   • Gertrude
     • “This is mere madness; And thus a while the fit will work on him. Anon, as patient as the female dove When that her golden couplets are disclos’d, His silence will slit drooping.” (5.1.301-306)
       • After the death of Polonius, Claudius tries to get everyone, including Laertes, to turn on Hamlet, but Gertrude throws herself in the situation to save her son. Branagh portrayed Gertrude’s character perfectly as there were many scenes of Hamlet and Gertrude dialogue but through all of those scenes, Gertrude’s character remained consistent and continuously showed love for her son. In this scene, Gertrude is showing her love for her son by defending him while everyone is turning on him showing that she is a caring mother for her son
   • Claudius
     • “Take thy fair hour, Laertes. Time be thine, and thy best graces spend it at thy will. --- But now, my cousin Hamlet and my son---” (1.2.64-66)
       • During this scene, Laertes asks Claudius for permission to leave in front of many people as this was at Claudius’ wedding. After talking to Laertes, Claudius turns his attention to Hamlet and shows “affection” towards Hamlet, recognizing him as his new son. Branagh did an amazing job in constructing how Claudius was to say his lines, because it was very clear that he did not mean the things he was saying about Hamlet, foreshadowing a rivalry between the two later on in the play. This was very significant in showing the relationship the two have with one another.

2. Setting

   • Wedding hall/ Royal court
     • “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ourselves. Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, Th’ imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we (as ’twere with a defeated joy, With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole) Taken to wife.” (1.2.1-14)
       • The wedding hall scene is one of the more important scenes in the entire play. In this scene, we are introduced to Claudius, Hamlet and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. The way Branagh shows the importance of these characters is by having the wedding in a large wedding hall which showed the role Claudius is taking on as a king and the hatred Hamlet has for the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius. Branagh also has a massive celebration for Claudius and Gertrude showing the significance of their marriage as it is going to be a large problem later on in the play.
   • The Forest
     • “I am thy father’s spirit, Doomed for a certain term to walk the night And for the day confined to fast in fires Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison house.” (1.5.14-20)
       • In this scene, Hamlet meets his dead father in the form of a ghost. His father begins telling him about how he isn’t able to talk about the horrors he is experiencing in his after life. This conversation alone, with a ghost, adds an unbelievable amount of suspense to the scene, as ghosts are scary figures. Branagh incorporated the suspense in a compelling way. The forest that the conversation took place in was very chilling, as it was only Hamlet and his dead father between many trees, with fog surrounding them. These visual elements fit the play perfectly.

3. Theme

   • Loyalty
     • “And so he goes to heaven, And so am I revenged. That would be scanned: A villain kills my father, and for that, I, his sole son, do the same villain send To heaven.” (3.3.79-84)
       • Hamlet knows that his father was wrongly murdered. A loyal son cannot allow for wrongful acts to go unpunished. Before this scene, Hamlet seemed to be the type of person to only talk about getting revenge rather than attempting to actually commit the act. Branagh portrayed this scene perfectly as it completely changed the viewer's initial thoughts on Hamlet, as this exchange between Hamlet and his late father showed Hamlet to be a man of action, as he promised to avenge his late father’s death, by killing Claudius.
   • Religion
     • “Thanks, dear my lord. O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, A brother’s murder. Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will. My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent.” (3.3.39-44)
       • In this scene, Claudius is well aware of the fact that Hamlet is going to kill him, so as a precaution, he attempts to rid himself of his sins by praying to god. In shakespearean times, it was believed that by praying to god, one would be able to cleanse one’s self of any wrongdoings done in the past. Kenneth Branagh perfectly displayed the theme of religion in this scene as Claudius’ attempt to rid himself of his sins stopped Hamlet from taking his life as Hamlet believed Claudius would be sent to heaven. Branagh also set this scene up in a church, allowing for the viewers to comprehend the situation even more, as many aren’t educated on different religions.

4. By: Ahmed Charifa

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