Ophelia

       I believe Shakespeare tried to portray Ophelia as an important person that helped develop Hamlet's character. Ophelia was a loving character that was madly in love with Hamlet but was insecure about her feelings. Shakespeare seems to show that Ophelia is easily persuaded by her father and brother opinions of Hamlet's supposedly true nature. Without a mother's guidance, Ophelia seems to be lost and insecure of Hamlet's feelings for her and is swayed by her father and brother's opinions. She is Hamlet's lover who truly impacts him the most because he does love her. She is an innocent girl of that time period who had no insecurities like any other girl and was dutiful of Hamlet's love. Ophelia may have portrayed the average girl that has her doubts of their lovers love for them and have relatives who disapprove of their relationship.
      Although, after Hamlet murdered her father Ophelia became crazy and lost complete sense. When she died she might have let herself drown or she might have been to crazy to notice. I think that she did not know what was happening when she was drowning. She was to out of it that she did not even make sense of her falling in the water. There have been many cases where people just lose themselves and are never able to comprehend their surroundings. In Ophelia's last moments she did not know she was about to die. A father's death impact people differently and some may go mad or crazy. For example, women have postpartum depression after giving birth in which they lose themselves and most of the time end up killing their babies. Ophelia did not know she was  dying at that time and if she did she probably let herself die. The only thing that could have prevented her from dying is if some good person were then she could have saved her. Although it is not stated whether Gertrude were there or not, I believe that she would not have saved Ophelia because she held pity for her. She saw what Ophelia had become and wanted to end her pain, which meant letting her die there.
      I feel that Hamlet, Her brother, and father had all contributed to Ophelia's madness. It was like a cause and effect type situation where her father and brother made her break off her relationship with Hamlet, which in return made him turn "mad." Then he killed Polonius which drove Ophelia to madness be cause she believed Hamlet's killing her father was her fault. I feel sorry for Ophelia because she is a naive young woman that has no guidance whatsoever and just listens to whatever her father and brother say. Of course the Mother, if she had one, would lead her and tell her if the relationship would work or not. Her brother's opinion is biased because he thinks Hamlet is like him and he will throw her away once he is done with her. Although when the picture painted by John Everett Millais shows Ophelia at peace compared to the other paintings. It looks as if she has found peace and is sleeping beautifully instead of crazy like she was. Everett shows Ophelia as a beauty that has found rest and is a normal person who does not portray the characteristics of ever being crazy.
      As for the eulogy I would begin by saying she was a lovely young woman that was kind to others. Ophelia was considerate of both her father and brother, and always took their opinions to mind. She loved her father and always took to account his well beings to her. She might have gone mad at the end of the road but it was not her fault. She was lost after having father die by her lover's hand. She did not intend her life to be this way but it just occurred. Ophelia was a bright girl that truly loved life and was naive to the world. So I invite everybody to honor Ophelia's death and not have malicious thoughts of how she died. Her death was sudden and we did not expect it to occur but she did not think it would happen either. So lets all pray for Ophelia to find peace and to find the light at the end of which ever road she takes.

The Dilemma???

I think that being a man of thought or a man of action depends on the situation that is presented. Hamlet had a great opportunity to kill Claudius because Claudius was not alert at the time. It is understood that Hamlet did not want to kill Claudius while he repented because Hamlet believed that killing him then would be sending him to heaven. The hesitation Hamlet had whether to kill his father's murderer then or wait for a moment when Claudius is doing a sinful act again must have conflicted Hamlet. It was difficult for him to not kill his father's murderer right there but I believe Hamlet gave up a the only chance he had And it would never come again.
In my Hamlet was wrong to wait and murder Claudius later and think it would be the right moment. Claudius killed his brother in envy and that is the greatest and oldest sin in the bible. Hamlet should have already known or thought that if a sibling kills another by envy than he or she shall be punished by god. Also, Claudius did not repent on his sins because he was glad to have all of what was his brother's possessions, including his wife. Hamlet should have shut up and killed him then and there because Claudius would have probably gone to hell. If Cain was sent to live and wander forever through the Earth as punishment than Claudius would have been sent to hell. Hamlet could have thought for a second and killed Claudius if he came to the same conclusion as me. I know that Hamlet's mother would not have forgiven him for this and he would have gained an enemy but the moment she remarried to her brother-in-law was the moment she betrayed Hamlet. Hamlet was losing a mother but not a very caring one if she thought so little of her first marriage. Although Hamlet might have lost the thrown position because I think it was treason or something if someone murdered the king. That was the only thing that was important that he might have lost if he killed Claudius. However, the throne was already snatched from him the moment his mother remarried.
I think that in Hamlet's time it was bad to kill the king but I believe that relatives hied assassins or secretly killed them theirselves in order to succeed the throne. It was not uncommon for a king to be murdered in his palace due to the greed a d envy of people wanting to rise to the top. Hamlet is mostly guilty for killing Polonius because even though he was angry he had no right accidentally killing Polonius. Even if he thought it was Claudius he should have never trued to murder him. I think the biggest pain that could have been done to Claudius is Hamlet revealing the truth in some kind of plot and taking away everything Claudius had ever gained and then locking him up or executing him. It was treason to kill the king so Claudius would have been killed immediately if truth was to get out and if Hamlet would have seen this option he might have spared the life of many people. Hamlet should have let justice take its own course and just plot a way to reveal Claudius murder to the world. Everyone would not have judged Hamlet and they would have not thought of him as a madman. Hamlet was dumb to want to kill Claudius because he is not God to decide whether his uncle lives or dies. Claudius would have got what was coming to him but Hamlet just had to go and act crazy like a spoiled brat that misses his father. Killing Claudius would not have brought his father back, it would have just made him the same type of monster his uncle was. There were many smart options Hamlet could have taken but he overreacted and did not think like a level headed adult or king to be.

Hamlet Soliloquy

       After watching the four scenes of Hamlet, I have to say that the best one is the Almereyda's Hamlet. I feel like the actor (Ethan Hawke) portrayed Hamlet's character perfectly because his voice seemed to show that he was depressed. I actually felt that Hamlet was truly depressed in this scene and that he was contemplating death. The sad music played in the background helped set up the scene for Hamlet's soliloquy. Even though this film was set in modern times in a video shop I felt that it of all the films this one really conveyed Hamlet's despair.

       On the other hand, Zeffirelli's Hamlet showed a perfect setting for the play unlike the other films. Unlike the modern versions of Hamlet, I feel that the director showed the a perfect time period where Hamlet would be played at. Also, when Hamlet walked through the tombs it helped show that Hamlet missed his father. In this one Hamlet seemed to be angered when he was speaking. Also, Hamlet seems to be more calm and composed compared to the other film scenes.

       Both films that I disliked were the Branagh's Hamlet and Oliver's Hamlet because they seem to not portray Hamlet right. In Branagh's Hamlet the director seemed to only show Hamlet looking at himself through the mirror. The actor seems to whisper his lines and showed a stoic expression. When he holds the knife and speaks his lines I feel that Hamlet is angry and out for revenge. While in Oliver's Hamlet the director emphasis Hamlet thinking about suicide by making Hamlet hold a knife and walking close to the cliff. The music played in the background is ominous and helps display Hamlet's intentions. The bad thing was that Hamlet's voice seemed mundane in this version. The director of these films did not fully portray Hamlet's despair and indecisive to kill himself.

       When Hamlet begins speaking whether he should be alive or dead, it sets up a mood of despair because Hamlet is suicidal. Almereyeda's Hamlet helps set up the mood that of Hamlet's unhappiness. Each actor displayed the line badly unlike Almereyda's version or Zeffirelli's version who actually showed some emotion during their soliloquy. The directors from all seemed to show show different reactions Hamlet could have done but not all of them convey Hamlet's true character when he is suicidal. 

       The reason there is a many Hamlet films may be because directors want to bring up a classic play in modern times. Also, the directors may use different time periods or props to set up Hamlet's setting there are only a few that are good. Hamlet is a play in Shakespeare that appears throughout the years because it displays human nature during certain circumstances of life. They may seem outrageous but it happens sometimes happens and Hamlet shows what goes on. That is why it is displayed in movies and plays, like any other Shakespeare play it can be played at any time period.    

Ghost scene Hamlet

        In the first version of Hamlet the director, Franco Zeffirelli, displays a dark and ominous setting. The eerie music played in the scene contributes to the feeling of something bad will happen. Also, when Hamlet meets his father's ghost Hamlet seems to become more emotional and depressed. Hamlet's character seems to be content when seeing his father's ghost. When the King Hamlet that passed away appears, he is shown to be hiding in the shadows. The ghost seems frantic to convey the message of hie murderer to Hamlet. The ghost is shown to care for his wife and tells Hamlet not to harm her in any way. Hamlet is then shown to burst in outrage and show a hatred towards both his uncle and mother.
      In the second version, directed by Kenneth Branagh the setting is more modern and shown is in the 18th century. The characters seem to rush their words and talk fast when conversing with each other. The setting in the movie is dark and shows Hamlet running in the forest while looking for his father's ghost.  The forest that Hamlet is running in has a lot of fog and shows explosions around it. At first the voice of the ghost is heard and it is creepy when talking to Hamlet. When the ghost appears he seems to whisper the words to Hamlet of his demise and shows flashbacks. Hamlet seems to be calm and serious when talking to his father's ghost. The ghost also cries and it is shown he despises his brother for marrying his wife and murdering him. He also is sad that his wife got over him quickly and remarried. In the flashbacks shown Claudius looks a little regretful after pouring poison in his brother's ear. Compared to the other Hamlet in the other movie, this Hamlet seems more stable and calm after hearing his dead father's words.
      Lastly, in Hamlet film directed by Michael Almereyda, the setting is a modern hotel in this time period. Hamlet is shown to be resting on the couch when the security guards call him up on his floors. When he sees his father on the ledge he goes to open the door which I think is kind of funny because a ghost should pass through walls or doors. The ghost is serious and calm like the one in version two. When talking to Hamlet the ghost grabs Hamlet's hair in order for Hamlet to listen to him. When listening to his father Hamlet is shocked and amazed to see his father's ghost. In the end of the scene the ghost seems sad and hugs his son unlike the other versions of Hamlet. 
    Overall I feel that the director in version two did a better job of displaying in flashbacks the actual murder of King Hamlet. Even though all the films were of Hamlet, they had characters display many reactions and emotions that Hamlet could have shown.