Post-Viewing Task on Hamlet

                   Screening Movie: Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Hamlet’. Based on   

 William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’

                                          

    
      

     ➤ How faithful is the movie to the original play?

   

   Ans - The movie hamlet is partially faithful with the original play. The movie and the book has textual similarity. The dialog are adopted from the play itself. but as the play the setting was of 12th or 13th century and in the movie the setting was of 19th century. This can be seen by the dress of characters in the movie and places which was displayed in movie.

          
                another difference was when Polonius and Claudius tells Ophelia to talk with hamlet and they hide behind curtains in the play version but in the movie they hide behind the glass. this differences are there in the movie hamlet.


    ➤ After watching the movie, have your perception about play, characters or situations changed?
    
     Ans  - My perceptions changed while watching movie when the ghost scene came. I thought that it will come after some brief introduction of kings death. and the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius. The character of Gertrude changed my perception because i thought she will be in sorrow no matter she married Claudius but she seems much happier after king hamlet's death.
              In Characters my perception for the character of Gertrude changed. i thought she will be in more sorrow but in movie it seems that she is in more of Joy than sorrow. 


    
     ➤ Do you feel ‘aesthetic delight’ while watching the movie? If yes, exactly when did it happen? If no, can you explain with reasons?

       Ans :-  The character of hamlet is very humors in many scene's it made us laugh also with his madness which made us refresh in this long four hours movie and there are also some long scene's which left us yawing. when the group of player came one of them told a very long story which i think is not needed there, then Horatio finds out that Ophelia became mad that scene is also not needed from my perspective and when Claudius and Leartice talk about the sword fight that scene is also very long and can be cut out from movie or made smaller. 


     ➤ Do you feel ‘catharsis’ while or after watching movie? If yes, exactly when did it happen? If no, can you explain with reasons?

  Ans :- yes I felt 'catharsis' while watching the movie for Ophelia and Hamlet. I felt pity for Ophelia because she didn't knew the motives of her father and went to meet Hamlet and then Hamlet thought that she is with his uncle and came here to spy on him so he becomes angry and does physical violence on her and tells her many bitter words. this lead them towards the destruction of their relationship. 
             I felt sympathetic fear from Hamlet because, after getting known the killer of his father is his own uncle and his mother has a part in this sin of killing her own husband he went in deep melancholy and was reacting as a Mad person may be he can do something in this madness which can lead him towards his destruction.
  
     ➤ Does screening of movie help you in better understanding of the play?

     Ans :-  yes screening of movie helped me in better understanding of the the play because in the movie they tried to cover almost all of the dialogues from the play so it is faithful to watch the movie and as we all know with audio-video visuals one can remember more than reading. 

        ➤ Was there any particular scene or moment in the movie that you will cherish lifetime?

       Ans:-  No, I don't think that there is any scene in the movie which will cherish lifetime.

       ➤  If you are director, what changes would you like to make in the remaking of movie on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’?   
       
            Ans :- If I am director I will try to make the setting of the movie look like 13th century, to give the movie that kind of spark which I think it seeks in this version by Kenneth Branagh.


       ➤ In the beginning of the movie, camera rolls over the statue of King Hamlet out side the Elsinore castle. The movie ends with the similar sequence wherein the statue of the King Hamlet is hammered down to the dust. What sort of symbolism do you read in this?

            Ans :- these two scene's are the symbol of one's downfall by the urge of revenge. in the very beginning we saw king Hamlet's statue was standing in its all power and reputation, after that king Hamlet's ghost came and told Hamlet to take his revenge from his murderer. this urge of king Hamlet after his death lead all of his family and kingdom to the downfall. In the end every one died and Fortinbras concurred the Elsinore castle. that symbolize the downfall of the royal family and the kingdom for revenge of a dead king.   
 

      ➤ While studying the play through movie, which approach do you find more applicable to the play? Why? Give reasons with illustrations.
    
      Ans :- while studying the play I think there are three approaches which are applicable to the play. 

• psychological  approach 
• feminist approach
•  cultural studies                

1.  psychological approach :- Hamlet's madness and Ophelia's  madness can be taken as examples for this approach. when Hamlet finds out about the murder of his father he goes in deep melancholy and Ophelia goes mad when Hamlet tells her bitter words and done physical violence on her. when Hamlet found out that his own mother and his uncle killed his father he thinks about the betrayal of them and acts madness.
2. feminist approach :- Ophelia and Gertrude are two female characters in Hamlet. If we see these both character with feminist approach, Hamlet thought that she is in love with his uncle so she married him but there may be some other reasons, may be she thinks about her protraction against other enemy. Ophelia was misbehaved by Hamlet because he thought that she was sent from her father to spy on Hamlet and she doesn't love him but the actual truth is just the opposite. we saw this all character from Hamlet'' prospective that is why we say that the female character are not moral but feminist reading tells us that there may be some other reasons for both.
3. cultural approach :- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the two character whom are not given proper importance in the play of hamlet or in the movie too. if we see this as cultural approach their are used by the superior power and when they died in the end but the news of their death is just given by two dialogues. this represents the monarchy and its dark side.    

         ➤ Which of the above mentioned approaches (in Pre-viewing task) appeals you more than other?Why? Give reasons.

           Ans :-  Psychoanalytical App  and Feminist Approach are the two approaches are appealing from my views because the madness of Ophelia and Hamlet are apt for Psychological approach and the characters of Ophelia and Gertrude and the violation on them , less importance for both are apt for the feminist approach.