ipl-logo

Hamlet Mousetrap Essay

588 Words3 Pages

In the 1996 movie adaptation of the famous play Hamlet, one of the most important scenes in the movie was the mousetrap scene, a scene in which Prince Hamlet finds out the truth of his father's death via the help of the acting company he hires in order to help him uncover the truth. The acting company, in theory, is supposed to act out a scene that Hamlet gives them which expresses the way that Hamlet's father truly perished in order to find out if his uncle was really the cause of his father's demise. The day of the play the acting company then recites the supposed “Death of Hamlet's father,” the way they were told by acting every detail down to the bone out, doing as they were told by Hamlet to do. During the play one of the most important pieces that the audience has to take into account is the portrayal Hamlet makes of himself being mad in the head in order to dig deeper in the truth about his father's death, and …show more content…

Wit all the details being put into not only the stage, but also the audience, it sets up a perfect atmosphere for which we see the play take place. The reaction in which Queen Gertrude and King Claudius both give to the play also portrays to the believability that the original play is intending its audience to believe, with Claudius not giving full attention to the play once it starts, but begins to slowly notice what Hamlet knows about his fathers death, as Hamlet was the person who made the play. After noticing what the play is abn slowly see Claudius slowing going into a meltdown as he realizes his plan is slowly being unraveled by his own stepson, this occurs until Claudius has a full on outburst capturing the anger and emotion that someone would have once they have been figured out perfectly and portraying a eerie feeling that something nefarious is about to occur in order to eliminate the person whos unraveled his

Show More
Related
592 Words | 3 Pages

The interpretation that is best is the, Kenneth Branagh. The interpretation the acting company is trying to convey is a very dramatic staging by making the Mousetrap a very public play to the people from Denmark. The company wants to include the people from Denmark so they could witness the indirect accusations from Hamlet to King Claudius about his father’s death and his mother’s marriage. They convey an interpretation in which what is said by Hamlet is not private, but heard by the audience. They also display reactions from the audience.

Read More
609 Words | 3 Pages

Both films are trying to convey the fact that Hamlet’s facade works in making the audience believe Hamlet is actually mad and to expose his parent’s relationship. The purpose of the “Mousetrap” scene was to find out if Hamlet sees that Claudius has a reaction to his play similar to his father’s death, so he could know if he really killed his father or not. During the scene, facial expressions, and movement will determine whether or not Claudius or anyone else have a reaction to the play making them guilty of the murder of King Hamlet. The film that does well in executing these certain characteristics is the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet. The acting company in the Branagh version shows Hamlet’s mad character and how it affects Claudius’ facial expressions and behavior within the scene.

Read More
561 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1996 “Branagh” Hamlet movie, the MouseTrap scene from the play is portrayed very theatrically, and the chosen actor and the approach the director took with this scene in the film offer a very different interpretation of the scene. The way the film is able to convey the problems of proof is more effective than the play, because the audience is able to see just how hard Hamlet has to try to “prove” Claudius’ guilt. The movie conveys the problems of proof by representing how Hamlet and Claudius interact, and how so many of the situations surrounding this scene, and Claudius’ reaction can be speculated which is not proof because there are too many probabilities on both sides of the argument of Claudius’ guilt or innocence. Hamlet is so set on proving that Claudius is guilty that he doesn’t realize that the only proof he has is from a statement made by a ghost, who may or may not be his father, and his

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

At first he procrastinates and even questions if his father’s ghost is real or not. He uses a play that he calls the “Mousetrap” to find out if Claudius is truly his father’s killer. Before the play even starts Hamlet says, “The plays the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King” (Shakespeare 2.2 633-634). Hamlet has the best opportunity to find out the truth and he takes this play as an advantage. It is mainly for Claudius to watch and react.

Read More
1758 Words | 8 Pages

In this show, the players enact a scene in which the king is poisoned in his sleep and dies, the exact same thing that the ghost of his father said happened to him. Upon seeing this, the king is seething with rage, and storms out of the room, now aware that Hamlet knows what he did. This thickens the plot because now not only has Hamlet confirmed that his uncle killed his father but now Claudius wants Hamlet dead because he

Read More
620 Words | 3 Pages

This play has many twist and turns of events. Throughout the book of Hamlet you see many struggles he goes through in his life, but unfortunately Hamlet’s life is short lived along with the rest of the cast. We see Hamlet go on a rollercoaster of emotions and the reasons/causes for his unnatural behavior. In the beginning Hamlet went through a lot of emotional turmoil. It started out with Hamlets mother Gertrude getting remarried to her dead husbands brother, Claudius.

Read More
194 Words | 1 Pages

The dramatic importance of the play within a play was executed to display not only the evidence of Claudius being his brother’s murderer, but as well to portray Hamlet and his madness over the whole situation, “‘Whose blood and judgement are so well commeddled that they are not a pipe for Fortune’s finger to sound what stop she please.”(Act 3, Scene 2, 67-69) After seeing how Claudius is guilty Hamlet becomes more obvious about his hatred and intent towards Claudius, “Ah ha! Come, some music; come, the recorders. For if the king like not the comedy, why then, belike he likes it not, perdie.

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

Right after the moment that the actor playing as the king is killed, Claudius hops from his seat and storms out of the theater. This angered action by the king gives Hamlet joy, now he knows for sure that it truly was Claudius who murdered his father. Hamlet is slowly getting closer to avenging his fathers

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

The entirety of Hamlet as a story is initiated by a murder which has taken place before the audience has yet to even see the woes of Denmark and its royal court. Still, much like his own ghost, it’s this death that haunts every action that is to come. Death seeps through every niche and crevice of Hamlet’s pages, even before the string of the play’s events winds itself into a noose. Claudius begins this chain with the poisoning of King Hamlet, a vie for the throne made manifest venomously, but it doesn't stop there. By the end of the show, less than a handful of our original characters are breathing.

Read More
575 Words | 3 Pages

When he learns Claudius is responsible for the death of his father, he intends to reveal this newfound information to not only Gertrude, but the rest of the characters. He is smart enough to know that she will not believe him based solely on his encounter with the ghost, and must create a trap where Claudius will reveal his guilt on his own. When the players arrive at the castle, he alters their script to mimic the king’s murder and “catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.567). During the performance, Claudius shows signs of guilt and worry, making Hamlet’s plan a success and proving his

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

Hamlet’s attitude toward death changes throughout the play from first not understanding to ultimately coming to terms with death. When Hamlet is first introduced, he is very angry and troubled because of the recent passing of his father, as well as the new marriage his mother has entered. Based off of Hamlet’s actions and attitudes towards others it is apparent that he is having an internal conflict with the nature of his father’s murder and revenge. However, many characters write off Hamlet’s aggression as madness caused by various other reasons. The audience acts as an omniscient being when watching Hamlet because they know all of the truths, such as Hamlet’s obsession with the Ghost.

Read More
1534 Words | 7 Pages

Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

Read More
1177 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one may see a strong theme of revenge. The three stories in the book provide contrast for each other but offer only two different endings: life and death. “Hamlet deals with three revenge plots, all of which involve a son seeking vengeance for the death of a father. In the end, though, the resolution of each revenge plot highlights the inadequacy of revenge.” (SHMOOP )

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

While reading this play, several themes seem to make their way to the forefront. These themes include madness, family, and mainly, revenge. Revenge takes center stage because it is the reason all of the events take place. Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly through anger and emotion, rather than through reason. The characters base their thought process on the principle of “an eye for an eye” even if it is not the best way.

Read More
359 Words | 2 Pages

Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy is founded upon the complex nature of revenge in that it ultimately causes the madness and demise of the tragic antihero, Hamlet, who transforms from a state of staged madness to genuine insanity. Hamlet wears his heart on his sleeve as a genuine and honest scholar from the University of Wittenberg. However, Shakespeare introduces the ghost in the earlier scenes of the play, as his demonic symbol is a catalyst for Hamlet’s uncertainty and madness. The ghost imperatively orders Prince Hamlet to ‘revenge (my) most foul and unnatural murder’, a turning point in the tragedy where Hamlet is exposed to the corrupt Claudian court and called to embrace medieval ideologies he inherently opposes. In a bid to ascertain if Claudius was responsible for his father’s immoral death, Hamlet vows to duplicitously put on an ‘antic disposition’, subversive to the genuineness in the preceding scenes.

Read More

More about Hamlet Mousetrap Essay

Related Topics

Open Document