Tough Love in Mel Gibsons Hamlet and Branaghs Hamlet Essay -- Essays

Tough Love in Mel Gibsons Hamlet and Branaghs Hamlet One of the most unrestrained and moving scenes in William Shakespeares tragedy Hamlet is in Act III, Scene I lines 90-155 in which the title character becomes somewhat abusive toward his once love girlfriend Ophelia. It is interesting to examine the possible motives behind Hamlets blatant harshness in this Get the to a nunnery scene toward the easily manipulated and mild mannered girl. spell watching Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibsons film adaptations of the play, the audience may recognize two possibilities of the many that may exist which may explain the Princes contemptible behavior Kenneth Branaugh seems to suggest that this disclose of animosity will help the troubled man convince his enemies that he is in fact demented, whereas the Mel Gibson work may infer that Hamlets repressed anger toward his pay off causes him to vent his frustrations upon Ophelia, the other female of importance in his life. Though the reader real izes Hamlets extreme anger and brooding throughout the entire play, he has no factual confrontation with another character until the aforementioned lines in Act III Scene I. One may notice the Princes biting tone aimed at Claudius, Polonius or even Gertrude, but until his Get the to a nunnery speech, no outbursts of pure rage in the presence of others can be found. This harshness in relation to Ophelia may be one of Hamlets first moments of action. The Prince seems reluctant to act upon any of his emotions toward anyone, though he often does give off an aura of discontentment and sorrow all over his fathers death. However, in these specific lines the audience sees Hamlet take an active stance in purging this young ladys once p... ...he primary cause of the violent reply to Ophelia. Living in an environment of deception and hostility, the reader can easily identify with Hamlets anger. Most all compassionate audiences will be sympathetic to his plight. However, the origins of Ha mlets glowing actions toward his once beloved Ophelia can be debated from several different points of view. Whatever his reasoning may be, it is probably correct to assume that he regrets late every harsh world spoken toward Ophelia. He only realizes again what a beautiful and kind person she was- after her death. Works Cited Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Videocassette. Warner Home Video, 1990. William Shakespeares Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, and Kate Winslet. Videocassette. fort Rock Entertainment, 1996.