Hamlet's Soliloquy Act 3 Scene 1

Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1as portrayed by Laurence Olivier is the best out of the three videos with how it delivers Hamlet‘s interpretations. The elements that the director use in this clip portray exactly how Hamlet would have acted perfectly. Everything from the camera angles, color and lighting, symbolic scenery, and actor’s movement make this piece much more entertaining and realistic than the other videos. In the video the camera starts out with showing us the ocean. The massive waves seem to be uncontrollable and unpredictable. They represent Hamlet’s agitated feelings and everything going on inside of him. In addition, Hamlet says, “to take arm against a sea of troubles” (line 58), which compares the sea to his feelings. The sea is compared to the vast amount of problems that Hamlet is going through. Moreover, everyone thinks Hamlet is a lunatic and is crazy. Lunatic literally means possessed by the moon and the moon controls the turbulence of the ocean which is a perfect connection to how Hamlet is. Afterwards, we see Hamlet sitting on a rock. In the background is dark clouds which embrace the confusion and melancholy that Hamlet is going through. In addition, the way Hamlet is sitting doesn’t seem like he is comfortable at all which shows the distortion that Hamlet is going through. The black and white colors add depth and gets you to focus more on Hamlet and his words rather than what is going on in the background. Also, the colors add to the current mood of what is going on in the video which is to be portrayed as melancholy and confusion. As the film progresses, we see the camera zoom in at Hamlet’s forehead into an extreme close-up from a medium shot to portray how disoriented Hamlet is from the sweat dripping down from his forehead. Hamlet says “To die, to sleep- No more, and by sleep to say we end” (lines 59-60), which is very essential as it explains the feelings Hamlet has about how he has been thinking about death and whether or not he should die because of he went to “sleep” forever he would be able to end all his troubles. The scenery and deliverance of lines is in unison to what Hamlet I saying and doing. As he says that line, he also takes out a knife and plays with it as if he were to stab himself with it. However, in a sudden movement, the actor suddenly put down his dagger and switches his facial expression of being scared to being disappointed, since Hamlet knows that dying might not grant the dreams he wishes to come. Hamlet then says “in that sleep of death [we don’t know] what dreams may come.” (line 65). The acting and lines in this video work perfectly together to deliver the message of what Hamlet is trying to get across about his troubles and confusion about everything going on around him.As the video comes to an end, the actor delivers the lines “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (line 82), as he tails away from the camera and walking away into a fog. The fog represents how Hamlet is lost and doesn’t know where he is going but is trying to make things inside his head make sense. Hamlet keeps with this idea about how humans act when determining their fate after dying; stating things about one’s conscience will always make one look scared, because everyone is scared of death. Hamlet realizes that his thoughts are weakening him and that is when he begins to walk into the fog.Laurence Olivier’s video portrays Hamlet’s soliloquy perfectly with every single detail that he puts into the video to make the audience understand the deeper meaning of Hamlet’s obstacles. The details gave a much clearer interpretation about everything going on. From every camera shot and color/lighting arrangements, to the perfect acting that went along with the lines that the actor was saying, this video made it much more interesting and easier to understand than any of the other videos.