Viewing Hamlet’s soliloquiesThis assignment asks you to choose one of Hamlet’s soliloquies and write about how it is represented on film. You will choose one soliloquy, and explore how it is depicted in either one or two film versions of the play. The task will be to provide a careful analysis of some aspect of the soliloquy that becomes evident in the film or films you choose. You will write a four- or five-page (double-spaced, regular font and margins, approximately 1000-1250 words) account of the filmic representation of Hamlet’s speech. Note: As outlined below, you also have the option to design your own film-related assignment. Please consult the requirements detailed below should you wish to pursue this option.Goal: This assignment invites careful attention to how Shakespeare—and some of his modern interpreters—represent private speech and individual consciousness. The exercise asks you to think about the plays as written to be performed, and the variety of approaches to interpreting the play directors and actors use.Details:Before you begin, visit the following web page, which provides brief definitions of the term “soliloquy.” Make sure you understand what the word means. https://www.britannica.com/art/soliloquy (Links to an external site.)Next, as you review Hamlet, pay attention to the main character’s seven soliloquies, which can be found here (in the assigned Pelican edition):Act 1, scene 2, lines 129-159Act 1, scene 5, lines 92-112Act 2, scene 2, lines 487-545Act 3, scene 1, lines 56-88Act 3, scene 2, lines 381-392Act 3, scene 3, lines 73-96Act 4, scene 4, lines 32-66Before you turn to the film versions of the soliloquy you choose, I recommend you spend some time reviewing the speech. Building on the skills we worked on in the annotation exercises—as well as in lecture and recitation—read the soliloquy carefully with an eye to Shakespeare’s language, the words he chooses, the way he builds Hamlet’s sentences, the figures of speech he employs, the rhetorical structure of the speech, the structure of the argument and so forth.Next, choose one or two film depictions of the speech you’ve selected. Several film adaptations of Shakespeare’s play are available below:The Tragedy of Hamlet (Peter Brook, 2002)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT5rLk40fnMHamlet, Sir Laurence Olivierhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNP_2OmaciwDavid Tennant – Hamlet’s Soliloquy (only 1 soliloquy – “to be or not to be” – so if you choose this one you can use this video)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZHb2xo0OIAs you watch the film or films you choose and as you plan your essay, you will want to pay careful attention to the following questions:How is Hamlet presented during the speech?What choices are being made in the film’s presentation of the soliloquy? (The choices referenced here include those by the director, actor, costume designer, set designer, lighting director, sound engineer, editor, and so forth. The prompt invites you to consider anything that impacts visual meaning.)Is any part of the speech left out or altered?Where are the emphases in the delivery of the speech?What’s the visual mood or tone of the film at this point in the movie?How does the actor use his face, voice, and/or body to communicate meaning? To what effect?What kind of impression of Hamlet or his situation does the film create? What do you learn about either the main character or the play as a whole through this scene?Since you are being given the latitude to choose either one or two film versions of the soliloquy you select, you will want to be careful to focus your analysis. Rather than try to write about every aspect of the given soliloquy and how it appears on film, select one aspect of the language or filmic representation upon which to focus. You might focus on a figure of speech or set of figures Hamlet uses to make sense of his situation. Alternatively, you might focus on some aspect of Hamlet’s rhetoric, how he crafts his sentences and the logic of his arguments with himself. Or you might focus on a specific line of argument, a concept, or problem the prince worries over. Or you might simply pick just a few lines of the soliloquy as a whole on which to focus. The point is to think carefully about how you define your topic and how you focus you claims in order to avoid a rushed or overly broad essay.Your paper should include the following components:A short discussion of the soliloquy you choose. Provide a very brief overview of the speech and account of what’s going on in the play at the moment the soliloquy is spoken.Identify the film or film versions with which you are working.A strong thesis, that is, a clear statement up front of your basic claim.Concrete details as evidence to support your primary claim, specific references to Shakespeare’s language and its depiction on film which you carefully analyze.Your paper should not include the following components:A long preamble attesting to Shakespeare’s greatness, or to the beauty of his language, and so forth. Such introductions add nothing to the argument.Errors of spelling or grammar.Lengthy plot summaries. (You may assume your reader knows the story.)A weak thesis statement or meandering argument with weak or no connections between points.
