Preview

Hamlet Comparison Essay Example: Movie vs. Play

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2591 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet Comparison Essay Example: Movie vs. Play
Ambrosia Mitchell
3/6/13
English 12

And the Academy Award for Being Over Dramatic Goes To… Tony Robbins said, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others”. Shakespeare’s writing has had many different ways of being presented because people perceive it in different ways. Whether it is a literal representation or a spin, directors like to show viewers the way they perceive the text. In the movie version of Hamlet the director, Kenneth Branagh, wanted the viewers to find Shakespeare interesting and full of action and drama. Kenneth chose the right direction to go in to keep the audience’s attention but it did not show the true tragedy of Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is very depressing because many people are betrayed and die. Hamlet’s own uncle killed his father and married his mother. It is easy to feel sympathy for the characters that had lost people they loved; such as Hamlet and Ophelia but the movie did not show that emotion. The movie was too over the top to really show true emotion. All of the scenes were very dramatic and Hamlet’s character was one that was too overdone. Branagh chose to have Hamlet act extremely crazy but Shakespeare wrote Hamlet’s character as possibly being crazy but the reader does not know for certain. Although Kenneth did make the movie dramatic he did make right choices when showing certain themes such as hatred. He highlighted the hatred that Claudius had toward both Hamlets and he also made it known that Hamlet hated Claudius even though in the play it was not that apparent.
Who is the man that lost his father? Is he a lost little puppy or is he a violent lion? In the play, Hamlet was a young man who was weak because he had been betrayed but the movie did not show that he was hurting and weak. The movie depicted his character as being arrogant. In the play Hamlet was depressed and hurting and he

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A book and a movie are never the same. Many times there are quite a few differences between the two. Some differences in movie tend to emphasize certain scenes that we the director believes are the most important ones in the movie. In general the movie tends to add or leave out certain things in order to make the movie more interesting and capturing to the audience. For this essay, the movie that Hamlet is being compared to is the version with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. In this version, the direction left out details of the original play and added new scenes in order to make the play more appealing and emphasize what he thought were the most important parts of the play.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people do not know this, but various Disney movies are based on ancient tales. For example, the movie Lion King contains many of the same aspects and occurrences as Shakespeare's Hamlet, but their stories are not exactly the same. The families in Hamlet and Lion King are both royalty , both kings are murdered by their brother, but these two stories have different endings.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The audience is probably feeling remorse in The Lion King probably because they see the great and powerful King of Africa murdered by the brother. Especially when even Simba witnesses the tragedy. But as the story grows deeper, it grows into being happiness is key to going through tough times and with the help of Timon and Pumbaa, there are “No Worries.” When the story comes to a closing, people see a prince that had to start all over, rise to the top, and conquer the great evil uncle to be indebted into the Royal Throne. They are urging for joy and happiness. But with Hamlet, the audience is a different story. Shakespeare writes tragedies all the time with love sequenced into them. So as the story is created, the audience is saddened because of important roles dying throughout the story that are all specific references to each and one…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two completely different kingdoms about two completely different types of species can be more in common than someone would think. Character is a suicidal, depressed Prince of Denmark and the other a singing, animated young prince of the jungle. How does William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet relate to the Disney movie, The Lion King? Although Simba, the main character in The Lion King has an ending that is more compatible with its juvenile audience, and Hamlet’s ending was literally deadly. They both have to go head to head with their evil uncles and they must overcome moral conflict within themselves. Simba and Hamlet have their obvious difference but also share more unique traits in their stories than some would think.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragic Flaws In Hamlet

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hamlet by William Shakespeare focuses on the drive of a young prince, prince Hamlet, who is driven to act out revenge on King Claudius for his role in the death of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father, and the many who get trapped between the familial battle and power struggle between Uncle and Nephew. Throughout this tragedy, it is the realizations and the hidden truths that trap many of the characters for their ineludible death. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet and Gertrude are perfectly capable of hearing and seeing, yet they are deaf and blind to the truth of their circumstances. Their lack of sense eventually leads to their own demise. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses the senses, especially hearing and sight, to reveal the tragic flaws of both of these characters.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Book Vs Movie

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hamlet written by William Shakespeare tells the story about a Prince named Hamlet who has turned mad after his father's death, Hamlet looks at his father as a hero to him cause he was a great king,Hamlet's father was killed by Hamlet's uncle claudius Hamlet knows this. Hamlet acting mad does not only affect his life hamlet makes it affect others life to for example Hamlet's relationship with his mother Gertrude was a very good while his father was alive was amazing but after his father died there is hatred towards her not for who she is but for what she has done, Gertrude was very quick to remarry the king's brother. The Novel shows Hamlet's relationships but can not show the intimacy between the character the film depicts the relationships…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This Essay is about the similarities and differences of Hamlet (a play by William Shakespeare) and the Lion King (a Disney film) and that argues Hamlet is very similar to the Lion King. The following points will be discussed in this essay:…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Comparative Essay

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characters of Fortinbras, Laertes, and Claudius contrast the imperfections of Hamlet through their own success due to their starvation for power, making Hamlet appear vulnerable. Success is accomplished through Fortinbras strong willed assertiveness, Laertes loyalty towards his sister, and Claudius’s ignorance of moral law.…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare's Hamlet has been remade a number of times in film and in plays. I recently watched two movies of Hamlet directed by different people. The directors add little things to make it their own interpretation of the play Hamlet. Some directors like to emphasize different scenes for instance. The Hamlet movies that I watched were one directed by Kenneth Branagh, and one by Franco Zeffirelli. The directors in each of these had their own way of telling the story of Hamlet.…

    • 779 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Explore the ways in which Romeo and Juliet are presented in this scene and elsewhere in Shakespeare’s play, and the performed versions.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of all the treasures in the world, true love is of the most valued. They say that when you are truly in love, the universe around you simply stops, and no one else matters except you and your love. Love has the mesmerizing beauty of a stunning red rose, but it also has spiteful thorns surrounding it. But between friends and family, love can quickly go from black and white to shades of grey and can become fatal and suspenseful.…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Over the centuries many people have complained that William Shakespeare did an inadequate job of steering the readers of Hamlet to a specific interpretation of each character. Each reader is left to decide the true extent of Hamlet's evil and insane ways or to realize that he clearly is a victim of circumstances beyond his control, therefore declaring him innocent. Because of William Shakespeare's writing style, the reader receives little help in discovering who is truly innocent and who is as guilty as Claudius.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet Madness

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In his work Shakespeare manipulates the dramatic structure of the play to build anxiety in the minds of the audience and tension on stage, highlighting the relationship that exists between an individual feeling oppressed by forces out of their control and their reflection about the broader meaning of life that flows from such experiences. This building of tension can be seen particularly in the early interactions of Prince Hamlet and Claudius. My interpretation of the structure of the play is supported by J.K. Wilson who wrote that “the play scene…is constructed so as to emphasise the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius”. Claudius, for example, tells Hamlet that mourning for his father is “unmanly grief” that “shows a will most incorrect to heaven” to which Hamlet expresses his dissatisfaction with the speed of Claudius’ marriage saying that “the funeral baked meats…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sdfsdf

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare throws challenging life questions at his readers. He forces his readers to wonder about humanity, the meaning of life, and the differences between revenge and justice. From the beginning of the play, readers can see Hamlet struggle to answer these types of questions for himself. As he goes on his journey to avenge the death of his father, the former King of Denmark, Hamlet proves to be one of the most humanlike characters and a deep thinker. All this aside, Hamlet also has a darker side to him. He chooses to explicitly tell others of his discontentment and depression.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hamlet Opinion

    • 436 Words
    • 1 Page

    The play Hamlet is a great tragedy, there are many factors that caused the tragedy but in my opinion the three most important are, the personality of Hamlet, the ghostly intervention of Hamlet’s father, and the remarriage of Gertrude to Claudious. Hamlet’s personality is very complex, at times he is thoughtful, reflective and philosophical. He is a thinker and his thought process is extensive. This will bother him at times because he would like to make a decision and act on it rather than keep on going back and forth in his mind his decisions. There are times also in the play where he will act irrationally and without thought, these acts are usually followed by a violent act. At one point in the play Hamlet is so enraged with his mother for marrying Claudious that he ends up killing Polonius as he hides behind a large tapestry. Hamlet thought that Claudious was behind the tapestry and without making sure just shoved his sword through and ended up killing Polonius who was there. Another irrational act that Hamlet does is putting on the play that portrays the marriage of his mother to Claudious and accuses him of killing the King. After the play is over he has a duel with Laertes and this leads to the tragic ending of this play.…

    • 436 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays