Macbeth Act I

A place map for "the Scottish play."

Diving into Macbeth! I've never read this play before, although I did see it over the summer in Cedar City. I didn't like it at all. It dragged and didn't make much sense. So I decided, heck, I should read it!

It is possible that I'm a masochist.

Just kidding. Actually, I'm reading because it occurred to me as I was watching the production in Cedar City that the set, which was minimal, was not carrying the weight that it should be. There are lots of lines in Macbeth that help the audience see the setting, especially of the house where the murders take place, but the set didn't look at all like what I imagined the setting should be.

Now, I'm in my English capstone class right now, and we're discussing the Gothic in literature and film. Much of the Gothic is connected with setting, especially of "haunted" houses. Therefore, I want to direct my reading of Macbeth by looking at what elements could contribute to a Gothic adaptation of the play.

All I've read so far is Act I, but there are already things that a director could use to make Macbeth into a Gothic story.

• The witches in the beginning. I can picture them appearing slowly in a dying field, saying their crazy lines, and then fading away into the swirling fog. 
• Scene two doesn't have anything particularly Gothic in it, but setting makes all the difference. If it takes place outside, fog would work well, or it could take place inside a creepy, dark room. The wounds of the Captain and Ross would provide the brightest color.
• Macbeth and Banquo are trying to get back but are lost and meet the witches--this would work well in a foggy field or a "dead marshes" kind of setting. The witches are supposed to be supernatural, "So withered and so wild in their attire, That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth, And yet are on ’t?" (I.iii.40-42) and I can picture them dressed in wispy clothes, appearing neither male nor female, with eyes that faintly glow. 
• Is Macbeth already a little off his rocker? As soon as he hears that he will be king, he immediately starts thinking about murdering King Duncan. A Gothic portrayal of Macbeth might have him be crazy from the beginning. 
• Scene 4 would probably be staged inside. It can't be too far from the battlefield, though. Where was the battle? Is it close to where all the characters live? Maybe the king has a tent set up. This scene is probably warmer than the others, but there could still be something in the setting and the music that foreshadows Duncan's murder. 
• Unlike most Gothic films, a Gothic Macbeth would not deal with repressed females. Lady Macbeth is far from repressed--in fact, it would have done everyone good if Macbeth had reined her in. However, the "unsex me" speech is about Lady Macbeth repressing her own femininity, so that could fit with the Gothic conventions. 
• Macbeth's home at Inverness would definitely be one of those huge, drafty, stereotypical Gothic castles. The first lines of scene 6, remarking on the warmth of Macbeth's house, could be played ironically, or in an awkward attempt to be polite. Birds are nesting in Macbeth's castle, which could point to neglect, draftiness, and disrepair. 

This is probably coming through a lot better in my head than it is in this post, but it's a lot of fun! I'm not a visual reader, so it takes some slowing down to imagine a detailed setting, but it adds a new dimension to the text.

To Be or Not to Be

I'm fascinated by this soliloquy. I love the heaviness of emotion tempered by logic. I appreciate how Hamlet weighs his options, level-headed but in so much pain. He tries so hard to justify taking his own life, but cannot, and with weariness returns to struggling with the mission of revenge that he undertook against his will.

I've watched the Gibson, Branagh, and Tennant versions over and over. Probably all of you have seen the first two, but if you haven't seen Tennant, you should watch his rendition.

It's trimmed down a bit from the original, which I didn't notice the first time I watched it because it still flows seamlessly. Actually, I like the cut better than the original: it leaves out the long, repetitious list of ills that makes the speech lose forward momentum.

I also like his exhaustion. Tennant's Hamlet yearns for sleep, a symptom of his depression. I love the way he says "awry," and how he's cut off by Ophelia's entrance: maybe Hamlet really did have more to say on the subject.

I watched a few other versions and mostly didn't like them: Lawrence Olivier's was stilted, Kevin Kline's was underwhelming (although his little smile after "to sleep" was cute), and Richard Burton's was unnatural. Derek Jacobi did a good job at a frenetic, hysterical Hamlet, which isn't my preferred interpretation but mixes things up interestingly:

[For all you Whovians out there, a fun bit of trivia: Derek Jacobi played the Master in the episode "Utopia," and in his version of Hamlet, Ophelia was played by none other than Lalla Ward, known best as Romana.]

I think that before the death of his father Hamlet was a happy person. He was friends with hilarious people at school and he loved to watch players. This speech may be the first time that he seriously contemplates the idea of suicide. Some readers/viewers complain that Hamlet is "emo" and teenager-ish in his constant complaints, but one must appreciate how good his life probably was before his father died: he had friends and a loving family, and he was a prince secure in his future. Claudius destroyed every aspect of his happiness, rending his family apart and even preventing him from returning to school. Then his father's ghost laid the task of revenge on him, making it impossible for Hamlet to grieve normally and rebuild his life. No wonder he desperately grasped for an easier option.

Of course, you can argue about whether or not he's sincere. If he knows he's being watched by Polonius and Claudius, he may just be acting to the full extent of his grief for their benefit, playing the madman. If he knows he's being watched by Ophelia, he may be pleading for sympathy or trying to renew their love. But if he believes that he's alone, then his speech is a cry to the universe:

Shall I go on?

Must I go on?

And by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Branagh, Gibson, and Tennant

My focus so far in reading Hamlet has been to look for a diversity of interpretations. I'm reading the full text along with the "No Fear Shakespeare" translation and watching excerpts of three different versions--Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson, and David Tennant.

Thoughts:

• Although NFS clarifies the more difficult passages, it makes the easier ones quite ridiculous and saps the life out of Shakespeare's verse. "About, my brain" is translated to "I need to get myself together here!"...*sporfle* I'm digging the exclamation point. 
• With the exception of NFS, I like all the versions of "to be or not to be." I love the setting of Gibson's and the way he interacts with the objects around him to bring more feeling and depth to his rendition--actually, the entire Gibson production does this marvellously. I wasn't convinced by Branagh's version at first, but by the time he got to "When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" I was completely enraptured. Tennant's, however, is my favorite. His sheer exhaustion makes me believe that Hamlet is depressed and ready to give up. What's the point of going on when everything is pointless and draining? When nothing good can possibly happen? He finds no hope, only resignation. 
• All three interactions with Ophelia are played very, very differently. Gibson acknowledges that he's being watched the earliest (immediately before "Are you honest?"), while Branagh seems to be somewhat aware throughout yet doesn't acknowledge the possible viewers until before "Where is your father?"; Tennant seems to be completely unaware that he's observed until just before "Where is your father?" Also, Branagh, while the least "mad" throughout, is the most violent; Gibson is the most sane and also the most genuinely angry; Tennant plays Hamlet as insane throughout, despite not believing he's being watched. (Maybe this is just because Tennant is so darn good at playing crazy.) Of the Ophelias, I think I believe Helena Bonham Carter the most and Mariah Gale (in Tennant's version) the least. 
• The scene with Polonius is one of my favorites, in any version. I love Tennant's especially--both Tennant and Oliver Ford Davies have brilliant comedic timing. Oh, here, just watch it:

 

It's a little confusing trying to find the parallel parts of all these versions because Tennant's has changed the order of many scenes. I'm not sure if Branagh's and Gibson's do. I think I'd like to watch all three versions all the way through, back to back. Maybe I can persuade my roommates to have a Hamlet Saturday.