Thesis Statement
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s television production of William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet in 2008 is a refreshing and breathtaking depiction of the famous play and honestly one of the best in recent years.
Overview
- The name of the play is Hamlet.
- The play’s author is William Shakespeare, and director Gregory Doran adapted the play to a cinematic version (IMDB)
- The Royal Shakespeare Company presented this production (IMDB).
- I personally watched the play on the Tuesday of 31st December 2013 at around 9.30 p.m.
- I watched the film with my girlfriend and we both thought that the production was quite good.
This particular film cannot be considered to be theater because it does not essentially meet the official class definition of theater. Theater was defined as “a body of artistic work in which actors impersonate characters in a live, that is not filmed or mediated, performance of a scripted play” (Daw). However, the film’s production follows a theatrical theme and by through this it is able to reach or achieve certain events of theatre. The production is an extensive adaptation by director Gregory Doran and producers Sebastian Grant and John Wyver (IMDB). It is very clear that the directors and the actors had a brainstorming session so as to bring out the best creative and idealistic ideas to the television audience. This is because of the various adaptation elements that the film’s producers to appease a modern audience, for instance, the use of modern costumes and dressing. Hard work accompanied each craft and this contributed both directly and indirectly to each scene creation. Hamlet is indeed a classical Shakespearian art masterpiece that even included that appearance of fictional and supernatural characters like the ghost of Hamlet’s father. It is this ghost who guides Hamlet in his pursuance of revenge for the death of his father but this unfortunately leads him to death. Patrick Stewart (IMDB) who plays two characters, The Ghost and Claudius in two alternative scenes, brings impersonation to light in this production. However, the most outstanding cast member would have to be David Tennant who plays Hamlet. Great passion and strong emotions that involve tears, frustration, anger and occasionally some intense happiness accompany Tennant’s portrayal of Hamlet. This is in fact, the, reason why he has won many awards when it comes to the depiction of many Shakespeare characters as well as other conventional ones (IMDB). Hamlet in this case is not a live performance since it is television production and is therefore scripted and previously rehearsed. This performance abides by a script that is a modified version of the original Shakespeare play that adapted for a television screening.
Plot Summary
The genre of Hamlet is that of tragedy because the proceeding in the play represents a lot of death and suffering in addition to the main character Hamlet having a self-destruction mechanism. In this Royal Shakespeare cinematic depiction of Hamlet, the inciting incident of the play is the appearance of the old Hamlet ghost. Before the appearance of the ghost, Hamlet is upset because of his father’s death and the fact that his mother and his uncle have married very fast after the death of his father. He however has no reason to exact revenge on anyone. Up to this point, there is nothing out of the ordinary. The ghost then appears and narrates to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for his death and that Hamlet should avenge him. This particular incidence sets the play into action and stimulates the events that occur later in the play. Some of the conflicts in the play include Hamlet’s feeling of responsibility to avenge the murder of his father, King Hamlet by Claudius, his uncle. However, this is inadvertently hindered by the fact that his uncle is now King and is therefore well protected and additionally, Hamlet is struggling with doubts of whether the ghost that informed him of the nature of his father’s death is trustworthy and whether murdering his uncle is an appropriate thing. The climatic incident of the play is when Hamlet kills Claudius finally. The killing of Claudius by Hamlet is the singular thing that the play has consistently built up to. Hamlet has several chances to kill in the play to kill Claudius but he does not take them. He spends too much time debating whether he should kill and how he should do it if he indeed decides kills him. Hamlet does not kill his uncle until the final moment when some of the major characters including Ophelia, Polonius, Gertrude, Laertes and Guildenstern are dead or are dying. The resolution or denouement of the play occurs after Hamlet kills Claudius and after the death of Laertes and Gertrude. Hamlet tells Horatio that he should be the person to pass on this tale to those people who need to hear it. Fortinbras then comes to the castle after Hamlet’s Death and Horatio tells the story to him. Fortinbas then takes over the monarchy of Denmark.
Character
As mentioned earlier, this 2008 depiction of Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company comprises a superb cast that gives full justice to the characters written by the original playwright, William Shakespeare. In the play, the protagonist is Prince Hamlet, a young student who has recently lost his father, King Hamlet of the Kingdom of Denmark. He is a vibrant young man who often contemplates difficult philosophical questions, this is in fact, what, happens when his father passes away, and he returns home to find if foul play was involved in the death of his father. Hamlet seeks to right the wrongs of his uncle Claudius who murdered his father. Hamlet is the protagonist because he battles his own demons and tries to avenge the killing of his father. The antagonist who is pitted against him is his uncle King Claudius who murders Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet and marries his mother Gertrude. Claudius is indeed the antagonistic in the play because he is the one who offers primary opposition to the protagonist Hamlet. He commits several actions that cause him to be at opposing ends with protagonist of the play, that is, Hamlet. An example of such action is the killing of Hamlet’s father. Hamlet does not engage conflict with other characters and Claudius is in fact, his, primary enemy. Apart from these two, other characters in the production have less pronounced functions. One is Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain whose murder provides the climax of the play. The other character is Gertrude whose quick marriage to Claudius infuriates him and further propels him towards the seeking of revenge. Other characters like Ophelia, Horatio and Laertes mainly play supporting roles in this production.
Theme
The meaning of Hamlet is that the inability to make a concise and decisive action culminates in personally tragedy such as the death of one’s loved ones.
Literary Quality or Diction
Diction generally refers to the words that an author chooses to use in his works. In this Royal Shakespeare Company depiction of Hamlet, the playwright maintains the diction of the original author, which is one of the most distinguishable aspects of the play given its modern contextualization. David Tennant is very powerful as Hamlet in regards to diction. His mastery of Shakespearian English is commendable and this further made even more evident by the fact that he has to deliver it in a standard English accent, in spite of the fact that he is Scottish. Other cast members like Patrick Stewart who plays Claudius also embody the diction of their characters quite superbly. Although many individuals not familiar with Shakespeare, plays may complain that they do not understand the production’s diction, anyone conversant with other productions of Shakespeare production will understand what the characters are communicating quite well.
Music and Musicality
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet featured theme music from John Williams (IMDB). Spooky music accompanies the opening scene where the ghost makes an appearance. A synthetic cockcrow also accompanies the disappearance of the ghost. Other musical elements in the film include Ophelia singing and Hamlet playing a recorder. One thing that I found interesting about this production is that a large part of the scenes does not have background music. I figured that this was to give the production a more authentic feel since real life does not have accompanying mood music.
Spectacle
The Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet is a modern adaptation. The use of modern weaponry and dressing helps to give the play a modern touch that resonates with a modern audience like myself. For instance, David Tenant who plays Hamlet is occasionally dressed in modern jeans while some other characters are dressed in tuxedoes. I thought that the set was superbly constructed and was fitted with modern decorations. I conducted research and found that the production designer for this production is the renowned Robert Jones who has previously worked in several similar and once again, his work does not disappoint (IMDB). The results of his work in this production are spectacular. An ascetic mood emerges from the shimmering marble floors and the church’s pillars. There are the false bedroom warmth and exterior concrete hallways that arm the entire production with an intricate as well as a visual look. The natural lighting or rather the lack of it helps to create a somber or dark mood to the production. A shattered mirror depicts a stellar imagery of character faces and there are rays of light that pour into the production set through the specially constructed circular windows that resemble pincushions that lead to a brighter world. Indigo-hued scenes coupled with haunted smokiness that are utilized when the Ghost makes his appearance is another set decoration by the director that I thought he did brilliantly.
Conventions
Several theatrical conventions are visible in this production of Hamlet. For example, the actors make a point of facing the camera although not directly so that that they can always be in the view of the audience. Another convention is the use of soliloquies where a character talks to himself and the audience is supposed to take this as normal. For instance, Hamlet is constantly talking to himself in debating whether he should move forward with the plot of murdering his uncle. Another conspicuous convention utilized in the play is ‘asides”. This is where a character makes a remark that is fairly audible to the audience but that is not audible to everyone on the stage. There is also the convention aspect where a character plays more than one role. In this case, Patrick Stewart plays two roles, the Ghost and King Claudius.
Outstanding Moment
The most outstanding moment of this production in my opinion is the part where Hamlet and his mother are talking in the bedroom. He takes his anger about her quick marriage to Claudius and tells her that her present husband murdered the previous king. Hamlet realizes that there is an eavesdropper hiding in the closet and he quickly shoots him with a revolver thinking it is Claudius when it is actually Polonius. There is clear disbelief and bewilderment on Hamlet’s face and his mother is also shocked. This scene is outstanding because from in addition to the sheer violence that is made possible by the relatively anachronistic setting, it provides a pivotal point in the plot of the entire play. A psychologically suggestive shattering of the closet mirrors into what resembles a spider’s web is further testament of the power of this scene. The scene creates a great discomfort in the audience and together with the other characteristics mentioned above; it is definitely the outstanding moment of the entire play.
Summary
As seen above, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s depiction of Hamlet is this 208 production is quite spectacular and provides a refreshing as well as a breathtaking outlook of the most famous characters brought to life by William Shakespeare. Form the costumes, set decorations, lighting, setting and casting, everything is stunning and the production can be ranked to be among the best in recent years when it comes to the play Hamlet.
Picture
“Revenge only brings more problems than solutions (Francis Bacon)”.
Works Cited
Daw, Curtis, Official Class Definition of Theater. 24th Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Sep 2013.
"Hamlet: Watch the Film | Great Performances | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 28 Apr. 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.
"Hamlet (TV Movie 2009)." IMDB. 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
"Sir Francis Bacon "On Revenge"." Rich Geib's Humble Outpost in Cyberspace. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Jan. 2014. <http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/revenge/revenge.html>.
