This short, educational video explores Ophelia's madness. In staging the confrontation between Hamlet and Gertrude, directorial choices significantly affect what audiences see when Hamlet says, "Look here upon this picture, and on this." OpheliaĮxplore the evolution of artistic ideas about the character of Ophelia. But this approach to the role was a break with convention in the 1860s.
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Today we might assume that every Hamlet will be colloquial, familiar, and down to earth. Hamlet wasn't always the prince with the common touch Hear the behind-the-scenes story of Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit, an hour-long virtual reality adaptation of Shakespeare’s play that puts the viewer in the center of Shakespeare’s tragedy. In 2014, Shakespeare’s Globe in London sent a group of actors on a two-year tour to perform Hamlet all around the world. Renowned actor Derek Jacobi talks about the Shakespearean role for which he is best known, Hamlet. Hamlet in performance: Notable actors and productionsĮxplore how Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Michael Redgrave, Jonathan Slinger, Richard Burton, and many others have portrayed one of Shakespeare’s most memorable and mercurial characters. When Hamlet first encounters his father’s ghost, the Danish prince’s reactions reflect Shakespeare’s understanding of the theological differences between early modern Catholics and Protestants regarding the spiritual realm. How Catholic and Protestant beliefs affect Hamlet’s reaction to his father’s ghost Soliloquies feature heavily in Hamlet as the troubled prince of Denmark examines himself and works through a plan to take his revenge. This video provides an introduction to the play's major characters and plot points.Ĭast and crew from Folger Theatre's 2010 production of the play discuss the main character and his transformation.
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Then first Laertes and then Hamlet die, both victims of Laertes's rapier. At the match, Claudius prepares poisoned wine for Hamlet, which Gertrude unknowingly drinks as she dies, she accuses Claudius, whom Hamlet kills. Hamlet, who has returned safely to confront the king, agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, who secretly poisons his own rapier. Claudius sends Hamlet away as part of a deadly plot.Īfter Polonius's death, Ophelia goes mad and later drowns.
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Hamlet, now free to act, mistakenly kills Polonius, thinking he is Claudius. To confirm Claudius's guilt, Hamlet arranges for a play that mimics the murder Claudius’s reaction is that of a guilty man. When the councilor Polonius learns from his daughter, Ophelia, that Hamlet has visited her in an apparently distracted state, Polonius attributes the prince's condition to lovesickness, and he sets a trap for Hamlet using Ophelia as bait.
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When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet's father, suddenly dies, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king.Ī spirit who claims to be the ghost of Hamlet's father describes his murder at the hands of Claudius and demands that Hamlet avenge the killing. Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy.