Close Reading
Hamlet; To Be or Not To Be Soliloquy; Directed by Kenneth Braugh
Analysis
One of the key components of this enactment that Ii believe makes this soliloquy the best of the ones we watched was the use of the mirror. Hamlet is literally and figuratively reflecting on his life, considering whether or not he should let himself continue to suffer. As Hamlet continues to speak going deeper and deeper into his thoughts he walks closer to the mirror and the camera zooms in to a close up of Hamlet's face, this emphasizing again how these are Hamlet's thoughts that he is saying out loud. When Hamlet says "with a bare bodkin" (3.1.74) he pulls out his dagger, and though one may not know that a bodkin is a weapon, from this choice we can infer due to Hamlet words right before, "when he himself might quietus make"(3.1.75). During this entire scene there is good lighting, which I believe to be a good choice because we can really see Hamlet, he is having a moment of clarity and the mis en scene choice reflects that.
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