Underground man

The first part of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky was a bit difficult to read but at the same time, it was interesting to decipher the underground man’s thoughts. At first, I dismissed the underground man as being totally crazy because he simply contradicts himself too much and it takes away his credibility. Further into the book however, I realized that it is important to pay attention to his contradictions without easily dismissing his opposing arguments.
            As I read, I noticed some similarities between the underground man and other characters I have read about. At one point, the underground man talks about the difficulties he would encounter if he ever wanted to take revenge and he says, “I would certainly never have made up my mind to do anything, even if I had been able to.” (Dostoevsky 9). When I read this I immediately thought of Hamlet because throughout the play he keeps telling himself that he will kill Claudius but it takes him a long time to actually go through with it. Neither Hamlet nor the underground man are men of action because they are very indecisive.
           At the end of part one,the underground man reveals that even though he refers to an audience while writing, it is only to make it easier for himself to express his thoughts. Then he moves on to add that a memory from the past has been bothering him and  says, “For some reason I believe that if I write it down I will get rid of it.”( Dostoevsky 38). When I read this it reminded me of Esperanza from The House on Mango Street who also resorts to writing in order to escape and free herself from the memories that cause her pain. Both of these characters rely on writing to help rid themselves of their troubled thoughts.
           I hope that during the second part of Notes from Underground, the underground man will reveal the memory that has been floating around in his mind.

Hamlet: Denmark High School for troubled kids

       Hamlet has been performed by many productions in different settings and time periods. If I had to choose an alternate time and place for Hamlet  to be performed in I would choose a high school for troubled kids in the present day. To be more exact, in Denmark High School run by principal Claudius and vice principal Gertrude. This high school would be of high prestige and very well known to enforce good behavior on their students. Hamlet would be spending his senior year at Denmark high school as opposed to boarding school because he has been asked by his parents to serve as a model of the perfect student for the others. Polonius would serve as a counselor for the kids and a close friend of Claudius that he trusts very much. His daughter Ophelia would be one of the many trouble makers in the school that is obviously not good enough for Hamlet. Horatio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern would be students and friends of Hamlet.

An interesting part of the play to be performed in this time and place would be Act 3 Scene 1. In this scene Rosencrantz and Guildenstern would be meeting with Claudius in his office, ashamed of disappointing their dear principal because they failed to find out what was causing Hamlet's madness. Then to try to prove that Hamlet was going mad from his love for Ophelia, Polonius would set up a meeting between them. Ophelia would be all alone in a classroom pretending she is a hardworking student that is doing her homework. Hamlet would walk in and would find it suspicious that she is actually working for once. Meanwhile Claudius and Polonius would be spying on them through an air vent. Hamlet would become aware of the set up and make fun of poor Ophelia for thinking that he ever cared about her. Then Ophelia would run out of the classroom broken hearted. Claudius would then resolve that Hamlet is not mad for love and would then plan for Hamlet to go back to boarding school.

"To Be or Not to Be" Soliloquy

    

      In Act 3 Scene 1 of Hamlet, Hamlet delivers his "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy. In this soliloquy he is debating whether it's better to suffer the troubles that life brings you, or to take matters into your own hands, and end your troubles by committing suicide. Here are two videos that I found portraying the scene. 

The only aspect in which the videos relate is that they made the scene appear very dramatic. In Gibson's video, the fact that Hamlet is surrounded by tombs makes his words about death seem more vivid. In Branagh's video, Hamlet staring at himself in the mirror makes it seem like he is searching for an answer in himself.

In Gibson's video, Hamlet is in a dark underground crypt surrounded by many tombs. This setting has a huge impact on the soliloquy that Hamlet is delivering because you can see his strong desire to be in their place. I like how throughout the video Hamlet walks around, sinks to the floor, and can't stay still because it shows his restlessness about the subject at hand. In this video, Hamlet emphasizes the downside of death, and his distress about what awaits in the afterlife. Hamlet also shows his anger about being too scared to die and having to endure what comes. 

As opposed to Gibson's video, Branagh's video incorporates Ophelia, Polonius and Claudius. This setting really differs from Gibson's because there is a lot of light, mirrors, and the color white. I like how at the beginning, Hamlet walks in, looks around, and makes sure he is alone. Then he proceeds to study himself in the mirror and question what he should do. I think it was a great idea for Hamlet to take out a dagger because it really shows that he wants to kill himself and end his troubles. He progressively walks closer to the mirror and puts the dagger dangerously close to his face.

Overall, I preferred Gibson's video a lot more than Branagh's. First of all, I think that the setting of the crypt made Hamlet's words a lot more credible. Also, in this video Hamlet shows many of his emotions such as confusion, anger, and concern. In Branagh's video, I don't think Hamlet shows much emotion at all.

Branagh's Decent Portrayal of Hamlet

Kenneth Branagh's depiction of Act 1 Scene 5 of Hamlet was acceptable. Although there were many parts that ruined the mood, there were also some that I thought were true to the play.

At the very beginning of the scene, it really bothered me that the ghost of Hamlet's father scared him by coming out of nowhere and by grabbing him by the arm. In his discussion of the scene, Branagh did say that he meant for Hamlet to be scared, but it would have been a lot better if Hamlet had been scared because he was about to see a ghost, not because the ghost purposefully scared him by grabbing him. Another thing that I disliked was that throughout the entire video, the ghost was speaking in a very annoying, raspy, and whispering voice. Hamlet is hard enough to understand, and the ghost's voice made it even harder to tell what he was saying. Also, I think that throughout most of the chat with the ghost,  Hamlet had a blank expression and it was hard to tell what he was feeling. 

The best part of Branagh's portrayal of scene 5 was when they passed the background story and the recounting of events. I liked the image of the old king sleeping peacefully in his garden, although they don't provide much detail about that scene in the play, I think it was portrayed well in the video. Same goes for the poisoning of the king, it was a good touch to pass a visual of  how awful the poisoning of the king was because it made it even worse that his own brother would cause him that pain. Branagh said that he wanted Claudius to look affected by killing his brother. Although it is not mentioned how Claudius reacts in the actual play, by making Claudius look affected, Branagh made it seem like he might have regretted killing his brother.The illustration of Gertrude spending time with both the old King and Claudius added to the point that she moved on too fast, which is just how Hamlet explains it in the play. I also liked that at the end, Hamlet seemed vulnerable and showed some of his grief and affection by touching his father's ghost's hand.

The best aspects of Branagh's portrayal of Act 1 Scene 5 of Hamlet were definitely the parts that showed the illustrations of the background story. They provided insight on what Hamlet might have been imagining as his father's ghost spoke to him.Some of Branagh's choices on how to present the ghost could have been better, but overall his depiction of the scene wasn't too bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNF1MADUz2E&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgQiHPDvpx0&feature=player_embedded

First Impression of King Claudius

       When king Claudius is introduced in Hamlet, he immediately sets off a bad impression. The first thing shakespeare lets us know about Claudius is that he marries his dead brothers wife, an action that I find very unsettling. Claudius is doing his best to demonstrate his superiority now that he is king, but in my opinion, he comes off as arrogant. I also think he serves as a bad fatherly role towards Hamlet by being insensible and inconsiderate towards his feelings.

Only one month after the death of his brother, the old king of Denmark, Claudius marries his wife. He makes it seem like he is providing a balance of emotions for himself and for the kingdom, " Have we (as 'twere with a defeated joy, /With an auspicious and a dropping eye, / With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage, / In equal scale weighing delight and dole)" (1.2.10-13). But how can he feel both sorrow for his brother's death, and happiness for marrying his dead brothers wife? I find this balance to be unnatural and his ideas contradicting. Still, he pretends that everything is fine when it most clearly isn't.

During his speech to the court, Claudius seems insulted because Fortinbras doesn't believe in his ability as king, "Now follows that  you know. Young Fortinbras, /Holding a week supposal of our worth/ Or thinking by our late dead brothers death / Our state to be disjoint and out of frame," (1.2.17-20).  Since the kingdom is at its lowest for just losing its king, and because Fortinbras doubts the abilities of Claudius, he is ready to get back land won over by the old king. Claudius is clearly insulted by this criticism and has to show that he is worthy of the throne by resolving the problem. Claudius is proud and arrogant, and he is most likely looking to surpass the old king and be more admired than he ever was.  

When Claudius tries acting fatherly towards Hamlet, he does a pretty bad job. First of all, he steels Hamlet's throne by marrying his mother after his father's death. Then he tells Hamlet to look at him as if he were his father, when clearly Hamlet does not want his father to be replaced. Instead of being understanding towards Hamlet's feelings and providing comfort, Claudius tells him that, "But to persevere/ In obstinate condolement is a course/ Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief. / It shows a will most incorrect to heaven," (1.2.96-99).Who wants to hear that they should man up and stop mourning when they've just lost a loved one? No one, especially not from the person that is trying to replace them. 

       So far, my first impression of king Claudius is very lousy and I'm expecting the worst from him.