Henry V, Act One

I've read several classmates' posts about Henry V, but I didn't do any additional research before beginning to read (mostly because holy cow, how is it Thursday already??). Much like Cara did in her post, I'm just going to list the thoughts that occurred to me as I read through Henry V, act one. Maybe some of these will turn into questions that I research in depth later on.

THOUGHTS:

Prologue

• Hey, there's a chorus. That's...Greek. Okay.
• Shakespeare, you and your words. Why are you so excellent? "the very casques / That did affright the air at Agincourt," beautiful. Affright the air, affright the air. I think I'll just say that over and over and make my roommates wonder what's wrong with me. 
• "For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings, / Carry them here and there, jumping o'er times, / Turning th' accomplishment of many years / Into an hour-glass" So, Shakespeare totes wrote this after he met the Doctor, didn't he? (Sorry, non - Doctor Who fans, all my references are probably annoying. You can solve this problem by watching some Doctor Who.)
• So, wait, why is there a chorus? Is it a history-play convention? Would it have made the audience of the time think the play was more genuine?

Scene 1

• Canterbury's comments about Henry (or Harry, I guess. So why isn't this play called King Harry?) are quite interesting. It's an easy way to transition from Henry's behavior in Henry IV to his more kingly behavior here, but it's sloppy as far as character development goes. Tsk, tsk, Shakey. Still, it sounds like I'll be rooting for this guy.
• Seriously, Shakespeare and his WORDS. How does everything sound so sonorous? 
• Canterbury: "It must be so, for miracles are ceased, / And therefore we must needs admit the means /
• How things are perfected." That's a pretty grim view! Is this a commentary on the kind of man Canterbury is, or was this an everyday view?

Scene 2

• BORING HISTORY IS BORING
• Canterbury, this sounds like a terrible argument. "The Bible says you can have the throne!" Would the audience have thought this was legitimate and rousing, or would they have been skeptical about all this sophistry?
• Ely: "You're strong and young and powerful, you should go kill people." Exeter: "That's what kings are 'post to do." THANKS DUDES.
• Henry, I think you should probably focus on the Scots thing and forget the France thing. ...No? Okay, so no. Maybe I'm just not very patriotic...to England...six hundred years ago. 
• On the upside, at least they don't want to invade Russia. 
• Canterbury, are you like the Polonius of this play only not funny? I AM DISAPPOINT.
• Ambassador, I appreciate your brevity, but did you decide that tact wasn't part of your job that day? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Decide to TRY to incite a war?
• TENNIS BALLS ROFL BRB DYING FOREVER 
• Henry, you rock. I'm not sure I believe you about the whole "mingling with the common people totes on purpose" thing, but you sure know how to deliver a stinging retort to this ambassador, who should probably be fired. Or, more apropos of the times, beheaded.
• Wait, so is all of this happening because the Church doesn't want this bill to go through, so they're directing the king to get money by invading France instead? SCUMBAGS. What would the audience of the time have thought of this?

Hey, this is pretty good so far. Maybe I will actually like this play...or at least I'll enjoy raging about it.

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.