Saturday, February 29, 2020

A Filmic Analysis of Hamlet Essay Example for Free

A Filmic Analysis of Hamlet Essay Film (1251) , Hamlet (634) , Claudius (325) , Polonius (224) Haven't found the essay you want? Get your custom sample essay for only $13.90/page ? Shakespeare’s Hamlet inspired many film directors to adapt the play onto the big screen. In Kenneth Branagh’s version, he takes on the challenge of both directing the film and portraying Hamlet. In Marco Zeferelli’s edition, celebrated actor Mel Gibson stars as Hamlet. The directors use different aspects of cinematography and mise-en-scene to depict distinctive interpretations of the famous â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy. Branagh interprets the scene as a contemplation of Hamlet’s decision whether to kill himself or Claudius, whereas Zeferelli construes the scene as a deliberation of life, death, and the afterlife. Branagh uses props, varied camera angles, and thoughtful acting to describe the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy as a brooding decision haunting Hamlet of action versus inaction. Branagh begins the soliloquy facing a two-way mirror, with Polonius and Claudius hidden behind it. The audience sees Hamlet staring directly at himself, while also facing the concealed men behind the mirror. This personifies the idea that Hamlet is hesitant about taking action against his own life or taking the life of Claudius: â€Å"Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And, by opposing end them† (3. 1. 65-68). The camera angle consists of a medium close-up on the intense concentration of Branagh’s face, expressing the critical contemplation of his life and Claudius’s. Later in the soliloquy, Hamlet uncovers a bodkin, pointing the weapon towards the two-way mirror in a manifestation of action versus inaction. The lighting of the scene highlights Branagh’s face and disposition with explicit detail, leaving no question to the viewer about his intent on either killing himself or Claudius. However, Branagh neglects to analyze Hamlet’s actual contemplation of death itself. Zeferelli focuses on Hamlet’s reflection of death as an experience and also the ambiguity of the afterlife. Mel Gibson recites the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy in a royal tomb where his father is buried. The morbid setting suggests a theme of death. The low-key lighting emphasizes an ominous quality associated with Hamlet’s musing of the afterlife. Gibson meticulously edges through the graves, using composed speech to reflect upon his life and the life of his father: â€Å"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause. There’s the respect / That makes calamity of so long life† (3. 1. 74-77). Hamlet believes that the hardships of life become resolute through death. The turmoil of human affairs perishes along with an individual’s life. Gibson’s acting and disposition suggest that he thinks death is more appealing than life. His ponderings are not a question of action and revenge but a question of the actual prospects of death and what comes after death. The setting in a tomb highlights this as well as Gibson keenly looking up towards heaven during the soliloquy. Although the two directors interpret the â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy differently, similarities exist between the two scenes. The acting of Branagh and Gibson both reflect deep contemplation; Branagh being more concerted and Gibson being more reflective. Both actors use Shakespeare’s words very thoughtfully and precisely, and keep their voices in a soft but convincing monotone. The camera angles of the scenes are also similar with the shot situated intently on the actors’ faces, either focused in a fixed position on Branagh to represent great credence or zooming in slowly on Gibson’s face to represent a more reflective quality. Both directors do an exceptional job conveying the message that their cinematographic and acting choices suggest. The â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy is interpreted in many different ways, but Branagh and Zeferelli artfully choose one aspect of the scene to focus on. A Filmic Analysis of Hamlet. (2016, Sep 14).

Thursday, February 13, 2020

A Literary review of William Shakespeare's play Othello Essay

A Literary review of William Shakespeare's play Othello - Essay Example He is admirable in many ways, and seems to have led a blameless life before the meddling of Iago in his relationship with his wife Desdemona. Despite all his heroic attributes, there is one thing that proves to be his downfall: Othello cannot free himself from the prejudice against his religion and race which he faces, and this makes him over-sensitive to criticism and much too hasty in defending his honor. Iago describes Othello at the very start of the play as â€Å"The Moor† (1.1.39) and Roderigo calls him â€Å"the-thick lips† (1.1.65) before we have had a chance even to meet him, and this sets the scene of a society which judges people by the color of their skin. In Shakespearean times English audiences would very rarely have seen a black man, and so this element of difference would have been something exotic and perhaps also a little shocking to them too. It is clear that Iago does not like Othello. The men of Venice suspect that he has used witchcraft, which is n ot permissible for Christian citizens and a Senator asks â€Å"Did you by indirect and forced courses/ Subdue and poison this young maid’s affections/ Or came it by request and such fair question/ As soul to soul affordeth? (1.3.111-113) Against such a scandalous suggestion, Othello responds with an answer that would stresses his own bravery and her own freely given love for him: â€Å"She loved me for the dangers I had passed,/ And I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used.† (1.3.166-168) Othello wants to be like the rest of them, successful in his job and happy with his wife, whom he loves. Unfortunately, this is precisely what Iago resents, because Iago is jealous and thinks that people who are not Venetians and Christians should not enjoy the benefits of a noble position. When Iago sets up his plan to trick Othello by pretending that Desdemona is unfaithful, he is targeting the point where Othello is most weak. His pure and beauti ful wife is, to Othello, the most precious thing in his life. For Othello, Desdemona’s love signifies acceptance in this new world, and her conventional innocence and beauty are the qualities that he cannot have himself, because of his appearance and background. Through her, he feels at peace with the and successful at last after many years of hardship. This is a kind of pride, but most people would forgive him for this because he is a faithful husband and dutiful servant of the court. One of the interesting aspects of the play is the fact that Othello believes Iago’s accusations, and does not trust in the faithfulness of Desdemona. His reaction to the accusation is very extreme and he can hardly speak before falling down in a trance. (4.1.42) His honesty and truthfulness are no use to him in the face of such deceit, and the supposed knowledge completely overwhelms him so that all he can think of is revenge. The irony of the play is that it is his high moral standards, and his attachment to honor and duty that make him so intolerant of supposed infidelity. At the end of the play, when Desdemona is dead and Othello is about to kill himself he tries to explain this paradox to himself and to the audience. He wants to be remembered as he was, a man of high honor but also one who made a dreadful and violent mistake: â€Å"An honourable murderer, if you will,/ For naught I did in hate, but all in honour.†

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Before these theories one important concept to be understood is from the Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and the Mclleland's need theory. These theories do set the steps for other theories, as organizations tend to fulfill their employee needs so as to prosper. Coming to the theories we have Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. This has been a quite a study as it focuses on the employee behavior and how to handle such type of employees. Theory X states that employees are lazy and dislike work. It said that it's a human psychology to dislike work and put less effort. It demanded that people be coerced to work and some do not work until they are threatened for punishment or so. The theory also suggested that as they are de-motivated to work, employees require close supervision and direction to complete the task involved otherwise there would be an organizational loss. It also emphasized on the fact that most people want to delineate authority and avoid responsibilities therefore they prefer to be directed and moreover have no or less self control. People lying in this category mostly feel un-secure and have little ambition to go beyond. On the other hand Theory Y states that work is natural activity. People inducted in this theory are said to have self-control and ability to self-direct. They want to have authority and ambition to go beyond. They put in their best to achieve a task involved. The flow of rewards makes them more committed to the organizational objectives. As stated they seek responsibility and want to create something that can fascinate or at least that can be well regarded within the organizational framework. This theory has helped managers to bring out the most from their employees and have made it possible to design ways of improving productivity. Fredrick Wilson Taylor Moving forth we have the Scientific Management Theory by F.W. Taylor which also tends to focus on employees. This theory made it possible for the employers to make betted use of their resources and achieve the organizational objectives in a better fashion. There are 4 pointers in this theory which are the core. The core elements of this theory are: 1. The development of a discipline for each constituent of a man's work to substitute the old 'rule-of-thumb' techniques. 2. The scientific development, selection and training of workers instead of giving them choice of selecting their own task which they think they can best do. 3. There should be a good relationship among the employees and the management in order to carry out the designed procedures. 4. The distribution of work between workers and the management in about equal allocation, such that each group takes authority of what it can better do instead of relying more on workers only. Taylor's observation of the motivations of workers has had a deep influence throughout the century. According to Taylor we all have to make choices and thus are rational and this belief led him to formulate payment systems that very much related the kind of effort he wanted with the level of reward offered. As a fact, there was strong criticism of this premise that treats humans like machines and presupposes that workers