Act 1 Scene 3 Video Critique

Act 1 Scene 3 of Hamlet is portrayed in the Shakespeare version as a conversation between brother and sister discuss the love life of Ophelia and what she must avoid in order to remain free from becoming a whore or losing her virginity. In the original version the scene appears to make Ophelia feel quite uncomfortable and almost shying away from the conversation where as in the video she is almost distressed by the conversation as if to agree with Laertes, although in agreement she appears as though she does not want to have a conversation of this nature with her brother. Although on the same subject matter, the video version and play version of Hamlet give off conflicting vibes. Ophelia is portrayed as a good looking blonde girl by the director, her looking this way warrants the fact that many men are probably in pursuit of her love. Laertes is aware of this and deems it necessary to protect his sister that are only in pursuit of her not for love but for lust.The director of the video obviously felt as though Ophelia and Laertes were face to face when having the conversation about Ophelia and her love life. It appears as though they were left close to one another to allow Laertes to give his sister a kiss on the check as if to seal the deal with a brother to sister kiss almost a final agreement between the two. Laertes appears content with how the conversation went despite the fact that Ophlia actually tells him to follow his own rules that he expressed to her. The setting of the scene is in a library to an extent to ensure the viewer that the residents of the home are knowledgeable and have a certain degree of world information to support their claims and statements. The scene also shows the size of the home in order to show the wealth of the residents as well. The home has a an upper floor that appears as a balcony as was commonly found in homes during the 1600’s in homes of people of upper class status. The upper class and wealth that is in the lives of the characters is also portrayed in the manner that the characters are dressed. Their wardrobes are representative of their wealth as well. Polonius then enters the scene.When Polonius enters a power shift is almost immediately felt. He has a loud confident voice when speaking to both Laertes and Ophelia who both respect him although he is seemingly arrogant. The idea that Polonius does not know exactly what to say to his children may reflect the decisions that Laertess made to talk about his sister’s love life directly to her. The video practically shows parts of Ophelia and Laertes in Polonius’ behavior, both his qualities and fallacies. Ultimately the director depicts Polonius to the one who is in charge. A large room is the setting due to the fact that it allows Polonius to express his loud voice and make him seem that much more above the soft tones of both his children.The lighting in the room is also dull but the scenery is bright and colorful which represents the soft tone and importance of the conversation. As the scene continues Polonius moves throughout the house as if to boost the fact that it is his domain and what ever he does is right, all though he comes off as sort of a buffoon filled with ignorance. The conversation between Ophelia and Laertes also may have a deeper meaning of separation. Laertes is moving off to college and the age is depicted correctly as the man in the video appears to be that of a college student and his sister younger. The conversation in the video also gives the viewer the idea that the two are very close to one another and truly care what one another does in life. When Ophelia warns Laertes to follow his own advice she seemingly makes a joke out of it and reacts with sarcasm, as is done the play version.The director of the video also leaves out the tension between the two it is not a very tense scene in the video which disallows the viewer to understand the magnitude of the scene. Although the ending kiss in the scene is one between brother and sister the love between the two seems to be too much, I did not feel as though the two were as close as depicted as the director allows the two to appear.Overall the video version displays a good visual image of the scene but does not completely capture the scene as I felt is was meant to be displayed as written by Shakespeare in its original form.