Saturday, January 12, 2013
Response to Course Material #5 -Jan.13-
Hamlet. So much Hamlet. I find the play to be an interesting one, and is probably the play I had the most fun annotating. I enjoyed watching the first two movies, and I look forward to watching the one we started on Friday. Each movie has it's similarities and differences which show how there are many interpretations to certain parts of Hamlet. Which brings me to Ophelia and her innocence. I believe Ophelia's innocence is based off of how one interprets the play. Was she pregnant? How much does she know? Why was she so willing to lie to Hamlet?, the answers vary, but they're what determine Ophelia's innocence. I also wonder if Gertrude cheated on Old Hamlet with Claudius. From my understanding and interpretation of the play, I believe that she didn't and thinks that she married Claudius for the people of Denmark. I think that maybe Claudius not only wanted the throne, but also wanted Gertrude. Back on the topic of the movies, I find the most modern movie to be very interesting (the one we just started). Hamlet's attitude towards his mother is very different compared to the Hamlets in the other movies. He seems to be colder in this version. Between the first two that we watched, I think the second movie was my favorite. As said in our discussion after watching that movie, it's more "viewer friendly". The sets were a lot more elaborate, and the scenes were a lot more intense, and so overall appealed more even though the lines were the same in both movies. Lately, we've been doing atmosphere/mood exercises. I actually find those to be a bit fun, and it teaches how to write with a certain mood in mind.
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Hi Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI too think Hamlet is very interesting! There are so many interpretations, but I feel like, after I did that final...I think there's usually a "preferable" interpretation. In every act I watched, it seemed one came just a little more naturally and made sense a little more in context. But, like you said, some things are still super ambiguous, like Ophelia's innocence and Claudius's reasoning for taking the throne. They're never really touched on directly so we don't really know!
I think the movies are definitely a lot more fun after we've read the play, annotated, and understood it. I agree that the second one we watched was definitely more viewer friendly. However, like I said earlier, some scenes, were interpreted in a way that I thought was less supported by the text of the play, though it did make for a more interesting movie. For example, the last scene when Fortinbras takes over. I think the the first movie we watched with a peaceful takeover was more supported by the words that came out of Fortinbras's mouth.
But anyways, enough of Hamlet. I'm liking the atmosphere/mood exercises too and I'm glad we're able to apply our knowledge of the words we know.
Hi Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you talked about the differences in the multiple movies that we have watched. I agree with you in that Gertrude married Claudius for the people of Denmark. I think she truly loved Hamlet Sr., but after he died, she felt obligated to marry Hamlet Sr. and continue to help rule Denmark. My question is that if there are so many interpretations of Hamlet, I wonder how we are going to be tested on different events during the AP exam? Or maybe the test writers will give us passages and we'll have to identify different terms and meanings (like in the terms test). I also like mood exercises. They are quite fun and I love seeing the creativity they inspire. One suggestion I have is that when you posed questions about Ophelia's innocence, try adding afterwards your own answers to those questions. It would be nice to see what you thought about Ophelia. Other than that, this was a nice blog post. Good job!