Ophelia has been a source of inspiration for countless artists over the years and each artist chooses to represent Ophelia in a different way. In the John Everett Millais painting, Ophelia is portrayed as a young women. This painting of Ophelia most represents the Ophelia in the actual play. They have the most similarities. In the painting, Ophelia is drowning in a lake which she also does in the play as well. If you look closely in the painting, it looks like Ophelia is slowly dying at no fault of her own. She looks helpless and innocent.

Elaine Showalter writes, there can be Hamlet without Ophelia, but there is no Ophelia without Hamlet. Perhaps if Hamlet had never told her any of the things that he did while he was upset, Ophelia would not have died the way she did. She became crazy because of Hamlet while on the other hand, Hamlet was not even concerned about her. He was completely focused on his father's death. Shakespeare intended for Ophelia to be entirely dependent on Hamlet. Per haps he intended for her to be portrayed this way in order to demonstrate how women were dependent on men in that time period. Or, he may have wanted to show how love makes you do crazy things which in Ophelia case she did.

Invisible Children

Last Thursday during our English class, we watched a special presentation on the children of Uganda. We saw how bad and chaotic it really was over there. What's most unfortunate about it, is they have no one to call for help in their times of trouble. Unlike them, when we have a problem, we can immediately call for help whether it is through a phone call, a text message or even an e-mail. Because of our advanced technology, we can take immediate action. It is so bad over there that even news reporters and journalists often do not repot there. It is one of the most dangerous places in the world. There is a civil war that is taking place right now between the government and the military which eventually rebelled against the government. The children became the heart of the war. Every day, children are abducted from their villages in large numbers and forced to become a part of the war. They are given weapons to shed blood and kill. When these rages take place in their villages, most of the time their families are killed and there, mothers, sisters, aunts, female cousins are left raped and helpless.

No child should ever have to go through such catastrophe. This is a crime against humanity. A group of college students left their comforts and luxuries here at home, to go help to the children of Uganda. They founded Invisible Children. Through Invisible children, many children have been able to get an education. One of the African ladies working with Invisible Children said, "The best gift you can give a child in Uganda is an education". That way they will grow up to be future leaders of their country and they will do a much better job than their government is doing now. The children of Uganda need hope for tomorrow. They need someone to hear their cry for help. They are so innocent and helpless forced to live a life they did not choose to live

Ghost Scene:

Branagh"s Version:
Branaugh does a good job of portraying Hamlet in the ghost scene in Act 1 of the play. The setting takes place in the dark woods. This already adds a sense of fear to the scene. Hamlet is frightened by his father's ghost. The scene starts off with the ghost's voice. After a few seconds he appears. While the ghost voice is talking, Branagh uses props such as bubbling waters and smoke. These are only seen for a couple of seconds. The whole time, there is music playing in the background but it is not loud.Throughout the scene, the ghost has alot of flashback to when he was alive and one of the flashbacks he has is how his brother killed him by pouring liquid from a vile into his ear. Towards the end of the scene, there is an emphasis on Hamlet and the ghost's eyes as they exchange looks. The scene ends with their eyes.

Zeffirelli's Version:
Zeffirelli's version of the ghost scene is not very long but enough to understand the jist of it. The setting takes place outside in the dark. Mel Gibson is Hamlet. The wind is blowing very strongly in the background but there is no music. As Hamlet, hears the voice if the ghost, he holds out his sword. The ghost does not really come to him directly but rather leans on a wall the whole time he is speaking to Hamlet. The ghost is not really as scary as the ghost in Branaugh's version of the scene.

Overall, both directors did a good job of portraying Hamlet in the ghost scene. As for Zeffirelli, he could have done a better job at making the ghost appear more frightening. The ghost could have had a bit more emotion and movement rather than just speaking to Hamlet from a distance. Other than that, everything else was fine. The setting in both version agrees with the scene that was taking place. It was not contrary to the scene. Also both director did a good job at using props. The version that I prefer is Branaugh's version. The music in the background builds up more suspense and so do the ghost's light blue eyes.

*I could not find Ameyrelda's version of the ghost scene on youtube*

"TO BE OR NOT TO BE"

Olivier's Hamlet:
Olivier's version of Hamlet is clearly a much older version of the play. The setting takes place on a cliff in the middle of the waters. The camera is strictly focused on Hamlet (the actor).Throughout the scene, there is music playing. As Hamlet talks louder and becomes more dramatic, the music gets louder as well. The author uses the music to add more suspence and excitement to the scene. As the music is playing in the background, Hamlet is holding a knife. He brings the knife closer and closer as if he is going to kill himself. Instead he throws the knife in the waters beneath him and the music stops there.

Zefferelli's Hamlet:
Zefferelli's version of Hamlet is a bit more modern than Olivier's version. His version takes place in a dungeon type room. The room is mostly dark and the whole time as Hamlet is speaking he is walking. Perhaps there is meaning to Hamlet's footsteps throughout the scene. In this version of the play, there is no music in the background, simply just Hamlet talking. Also the author does not use much props. The only prop that he uses is the small statue of a dead person. This adds more meaning to the speech. It is ironic that Hamlet is speaking about death and there just so happens to be a statue of a dead person near him.

Branaugh's Hamlet:
In this version of the play, Hamlet is in a mansion room talking to himself in a mirror. There is music playing but it is very soft in the background. Also, Hamlet is not as dramatic as in other versions of the play. He whispers the whole time. Hamlet is also dressed up rather lavishly. As he gets more into the speech, he starts to become dramatic but not much. He pulls out a knife from his pocket and as he gets louder he holds the knife to his face as if he is about to kill himself.

Almeyrada's Hamlet.
His version of the play is perhaps the most modern of all four. Hamlet is walking down the aisles of what seems to be a movie rental store. As he walks downs the aisles, he walks down the action movie aisle. The television is on and playing different scenes of natural disasters such as fires and things burning up. In this version. Hamlet has no weapon and he is dressed more casual.

Hamlet is can be interpreted in so many different ways. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there are so many different versions of the play. The version of the play that I liked the most was Almeyrada's version which is the most modern. I liked it the most because not only did I understand it better, but Hamlet's emotion is expressed so much more vehemently and the director uses good props. The props that the director used add more drama to the scene. You get a better feel that Hamlet is suicidal and you understand more where he is coming from especially when he mentions the natural disasters. Almeyrada's version of Hamlet was the easiest for me to understand.

"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy and a thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own for the children, and the children yet unborn."

Based on what we have studied so far in class, I agree with this statement. You don't have to physically harm someone for them to be hurt. Your words can hurt them too. The way you talk to them, the attitude you give them, the prejudgments you make of them; these can all be ways you can hurt them. Mankind is the only species that can kill their own kind with words.

Page 1256 " Let God blame me, not you, not you Rebecca! I'll not have you judging me anymore.

-In their community people were always quick to judge people but never themselves. Everyone seemed to live to lives and can easily be considered as hippocrates.