Blog #15: To Be Or Not to Be & Analysis of Form and Mise En Scene

Claudius told me that he overheard Hamlet talking to himself again, proposing ridiculous paradoxes while in his suicidal state.  "To be or not to be-- that is [apparently his] question..." (3.1.64).  He said that he was worried about our son, because Hamlet talked with such vivid imagery about his troubled life.  "...The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/ and, by opposing, end them" (3.1. 66-68).  Apparently, the poor boy talked about the hardships of life with great ethos-- almost like he knew them himself.  And he compared the world to a "...sea of troubles..." (3.1.67) and death to an "...undiscovered country from whose bourn/ No traveler returns..." (3.1.87-88).  Just listening to Claudius tell me the story made my heart drop to my stomach, because I can remember plenty of times where I've worried about the "...dread of something after death..." (3.1.86).  Even though Hamlet's rant was full of passion, I can't ignore the reason in my mad son's speech.  "To die, to sleep--/ To sleep, perchance to dream" (3.1.72-73).  His oppositions show how he ponders reasons to live versus to die, what happens after death, and why death is so feared.  I waited in fear for Claudius to tell me that my one and only son had decided to take his own life rather than "grunt and sweat" in this one, but he didn't.  He said that Hamlet did nothing more than come to a few conclusions: life is harsh and people don't fear death itself, only the uncertainty of what comes after.

        

Laurence Olivier's take on Hamlet's soliloquy takes places on a cloudy day, on a cliff above the sea.  A spiraling view of the scene with non-diegetic music leads the viewer into the scene of Hamlet's contemplation.  A long shot of the sea below the cliff, mixed with diegetic sound from the waves emphasizes the high drop and danger presented with the setting for Hamlet's soliloquy.  The camera then angles to provide an extreme close-up of the back of Hamlet's head, zooming into his brain like an x-ray.  By using editing to layer a picture of a brain and the waves shows the viewers the danger that is on Hamlet's mind.  The music ends while Hamlet, clothed in black to symbolize death, begins his lines with his eyes closed is shown  through a medium shot, lying on a rock on the top of the cliff.  The sound is still non-diegetic, because Hamlet is thinking, and not yet talking.  He pulls a dagger out of his costume, which intensifies his thoughts on death and life.  Suddenly, Hamlet's eyes jolt open and he begins to physically speak the remainder of the soliloquy.  As this continues, he drops the dagger into the sea and turns to walk away from the camera, and down the steps to the side of the cliff.  Non-diegetic sound once again comes from the dark sound of the music as the screen fades to black.   The entire scene is in black and white, which further draws upon Hamlet's  thoughts of death.

I've heard so many stories about Hamlet's depression in past weeks, that I'm not quite sure what to believe.  Yes, I know.  The most logical way to find the truth would be to just ask Hamlet what's really bothering him, what he really said, but of course my wayward son isn't too chummy with his dear old mother right now.  So, I asked around Elsinore, and a few versions have turned up.  I hate to admit it, but I think I believe Laurence Olivier's version the best.  Between the spying Claudius, Polonious, Rosencratz, and Guildenstern have done, it seems to me that Hamlet would go so far as to actually almost take his life.  Thankfully his thinking was for the better this time and he decided against it.  I almost had the nerve to believe Kenneth Branagh's rumor.  It's true that Hamlet has been roaming the halls lately, mumbling nonsense, but through all of my research, it seems that he's been very careful not to let anyone know what's bothering him.  I just don't think he would take that risk in our home.  Mel Gibson's story was even less convincing, because Hamlet admired his dad's manliness.  So why would he plan his own suicide in front of his dead father?  Out of all of the outrageous stories I heard, Ethan Hawke's took the cake.  Hamlet hasn't even left the estate since his dad passed, I'm quite sure that a stroll to Blockbuster is what prompted him to ponder the afterlife.