Week 10: Branagh vs Gibson

Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson both did a good job making a movie of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, however I believe one is better.  Branagh did a good job keeping his version very close to the actual play.  Keeping his version so close the the play also hurt his move though because there was lots of time when it was dead and boring, which is not what I like in a movie because it makes me fall asleep.  Branagh also made some poor actor choices, the worst choice being Robin Williams because Williams did not fit the role well at all.  The worst part of Branagh's version was the time period that he chose to set it in.  Gibson cut quite a bit but the parts that he cut were the dead boring parts.  In the end Gibson showed the same main story line that Branagh did but in half the time.  The actors that Gibson chose fit their parts very well and they were better actors then the ones in Branagh's version.  Gibson also set his version in the correct time period.  I do think that Gibson could have done a better job with the ghost though.  Because of the things that I have listed I like the Gibson version the best.

Week 10: Thought Question 7

Thought question seven starts of by asking, "How does Hamlet describe man in 2.2.321-329?"  However in 2.2.321-329 Hamlet is not describing man, he is talking to Rosencrantz about why the actors quit acting in the city and are now traveling act.  Because thought question seven is flawed I can not answer the rest of the question.

Week 9: My Thoughts

I did not like the Branagh version of Hamlet.  Then Branagh turned Hamlet into a girly movie and come on there was only one scene that had very much blood.  Branagh could have used lots of blood at the end of the movie when everyone was dying but no he turned that decent action scene into a girly action scene.  The fight between Hamlet and Laertes would have been ten time better if Hamlet and Laertes would have been bleeding every where or if when Hamlet threw his sword at his uncle blood would have squirted everywhere when the sword hit him.  But no the only person that bleed was Robin Williams, seriously.  I also did not like the time period that he put it in. However Branagh does play a good crazy person.  These are my thoughts on Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet.

Week9: State of Mind

Hamlet appears to be in a depressed/angry state of mind at the beginning of the play because of his fathers death.  He wears all black clothes and hardly talks to anyone.  He is angry towards his mother and uncle for getting married so fast after his fathers death.  After discovering that his father had been murdered his state of mind changes greatly.  Once he devises a way know if the ghost was telling the truth about being murder and sets his plan into play he begins wearing clothes with color.  I think Hamlet would describe his state of mind at the end of the play as a vengeful state.

Week8: Politicians...blah disguesting

Since this is an election year I suppose I will find people from Julius Caesar that are similar to the presidential candidates.  I think that Obama and Caesar have similar attitudes because they act like they so much better than everyone else and only some stuff they do isn't a waste of their time.  Obama especially acted like this during the first presidential debate.  Joe Biden is pretty much just a face that doesn't do much, although he has very good speaking skills like Cicero who in Julius Caesar is renowned for his oratorical skills.  Paul Ryan and Casca have very similar political view points, they are both opposed to one person having lots of power.  And last but not lest Mitt Romney, I guess I will have to jump on the band wagon of comparing him to Brutus because their is no other character in Julius Caesar that is similar to Romney.  Both are trying to help a country by taking political control of it.  However Brutus turns out to be a terrible ruler, hopefully Romney won't be like Brutus.

Week8: Friendship

It seems like Brutus is only friends with Cassius so that he can use him as a tool and does not see their friendship as a true one like Cassius does.  I say this because in Act 4 Scene 3 Brutus pretty much tells Cassius that unless he has zero flaws then he dosen't want to be around him because, "I(Brutus) do not like your faults."  Cassius views their friendship very differently, he says, "A friendly eye could never see such faults." meaning that if Brutus was a true friend he would not be so fixated on his falts and would be more understanding of his actions.  Brutus and Cassius view their friendship totaly oppisite.

Week7: You can't Justify Murder

I think Brutus and Casca are trying to justify killing Caesar by saying that they are, "...Caesar's friends, that have abridg'd his time of fearing death."  It seems to me like they are not sure killing Caesar was really what they wanted.  They are very wrong when they think they have done him a favor because to Caesar, "It seems to me most strange that men should fear death..."  Caesar believs that the "...The valiant never taste death but once."

Week 7: He Could Have Saved Himself

"Hail, Caesar! Read this schedule."  That "schedule" could halved saved Caesars life, instead of reading Artemidorus's letter Caesar was wooed by Decius(one of the conspirators) into reading a letter from Trebonius by saying, "...at your best leasure, read this humble suit." This is the second time Decius has led Caesar closer to his death with his deceitfully talking.  Caesar said he would not read Artemidorus's letter first because, "What touches us ourself shall be last serv'd."  He could have thought that Artemidorus's letter would be a waste of time to read though and that was why he didn't want to read it.  I think with Caesar as long as you praise him he will do nearly anything you want.

Week6: Why Shakespeare Why?

"The clock hath stricken three."  The funny thing about a clock striking three in Julius Caesar is that clocks with gears weren't invented till 1400 years after Caesars death.  I don't know why Shakespeare would say the the clock struck three, it could have been that he didn't realize that mistake.  It's more likely that because this is Shakespeare it has some in depth meaning, if this is right I have no clue what the meaning is.

Week 6: Women always worry

There isn't much to say about review question 1.  All I can see that is significant is that in scene one Brutus's wife Portia is worried about Brutus because, "...yesternight at supper you(Brutus) suddenly arose, and walk'd about musing and sighing, with your arms across..."  Portia knows that Brutus is planing some, "...some sick offence with in your(Brutus's) mind..."  In scene two Caesars wife Calpurnia is worried that Caesar will be killed because of a dream that she had.  She says's to Caesar, "You shall not stir out of your house today."  She also says, "...I never stood on ceremonies, yet now they fright me."  Calpurnia begs Caesar to stay home but Caesar believes he is invincible and ignores her.  I believe the fact that both Brutus's wife and Caesars wife are worried for them is the only thing significant in act two scene one and two.