Act 3 Scene 1 Hamlet's Soliloquy: Video Critique

Laurence Olivier’s version of Hamlet’s soliloquy from Act 3 scene 1 is the best interpretation of the lines. Hamlet’s soliloquy begins with the line, “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (line 55) in which he is basically questioning himself, if he should die or continuing living. In the video, Olivier is looking down at the ocean, standing high up on the edge of a mountain, while saying the same words from the first line. The effect that is given in the video is his vision starts to get blurry, where it gives you the impression that he is beginning to get dizzy, almost as if he were going to commit suicide. The music on the background also helped give some suspense to the lines as he spoke the words, which interpreted perfectly what Hamlet meant on the first few lines of the soliloquy. As Hamlet goes on, he intensively expresses his feeling saying, “..Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/ and by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep-” (lines 59-58) where Olivier is able to show every bit of emotion that the words describe. Also, while saying these words, Olivier closes his eyes and his tone of voice becomes more desperate. He closes his eyes and takes a knife from his pocket, pointing it towards himself while he repeats the words, “..end them. To die, to sleep-” which is the exact interpretation of dying.

Not only does Olivier point the knife towards himself to explain what the words in the soliloquy mean, but he also stops talking, and the words seem to be coming from his thoughts in his mind, and not from his mouth. This passes on the feeling that Olivier is deeply confused, and intensively hurt. Olivier’s facial expression shows the true meanings of the words on lines 60-63, “No more, and by a sleep to say we end/ the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/ That flesh is heir to ; ‘tis a consummation/ Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep-”

As the scene goes on, Olivier still holding the knife in his hand, once again brings it towards his chest, watching it as it approaches his body, while interpreting this lines, “ When he himself might his quietus make/ With a bare bodkin; who would fardels bear.” (lines 74-75) In these lines, Hamlet means that he would end his burdens (fardels) with a bare dagger (bodkin), meaning when or if he killed himself. Then, after a few lines, Olivier comes to a part where he drops his knife, and watches it as it goes down into the ocean, while saying Hamlet’s lines, “Thus conscience does make cowards [of us all],” meaning that when he realizes that he was almost going to kill himself, or when he became conscientious of his action, Hamlet says that it makes him or everyone a coward, which is when or why Olivier drops the knife.

At the closure of the scene, Hamlet’s tone seems to quiet down, as if he realized that he did not have the courage to commit suicide and that he would just have to deal with his problems, which is also when Olivier, while repeating the last few lines, gets up from the rock and walks away in a daze. All in all, the tone of Olivier’s voice helped describe the words and the meaning of the lines from the soliloquy. Also, the music in the background created an adrenaline affect when Hamlet would talk about actually dying, or killing himself. Olivier’s facial expression of being in a complete daze also helped interpret Hamlet’s confusion and his inner conflicts with all the problems he is going through.

Tom Phillips: A Humument, Page 131

On page 131 of Tom Phillips’ A Humument, Phillips creates this peaceful image, transmitting hope and courage to the ones who have given up and life to the ones who live in the darkness. The first images that catches the eye on this page are, what appears to be, three butterflies. These three butterflies are not drawn with the exact form of the insect but later on when reading the poem, the word “moth” is a hint towards what the images are. Phillips uses pastel colors for each butterfly, such as red/pink, green, and yellow. These colors give the butterflies a calm, almost peaceful appearance. A thin black outline surrounds each butterfly, except for the yellow one. It looks as if the outline were a wall, preventing them from coming out. The yellow butterfly, on the other hand, seems to be breaking that ‘wall’ or outline, like it were setting itself free.

These small details are accompanied by the words that Phillips uses on the Humument. Phillips starts by saying, “hamed of your derness terness” which at first appear to be unknown words that were thrown together in a phrase, but with no intention of creating a meaning. After reading it a couple times, it seems as if what Phillips really meant to say was “ashamed of your…” Then he writes, “You have made my moth fect her soul.” Combining these two phrases, or thoughts, together, Phillips explains how by hiding, or being ashamed of who you are will ‘infect’ your soul; or in other words it will kill you inside. Phillips uses the moth which turns into a butterfly to symbolize freedom. He demonstrates how a moth will be infected or hurt if it keeps itself trapped and afraid to open up. These words describe the picture of the red/pink butterfly with the outline surrounding it. The color he uses on the butterfly can be symbolized as feelings of anger or of embarrassment, going back to where Phillips used the word ‘hamed’ or “ashamed.” The outline can also be symbolized as the butterfly’s shadow. Phillips uses the words “from her shades” to describe the outline.

The other words that are written more towards the end of the page are used to describe the yellow butterfly. This is so because of the position in which Phillips drew the butterfly and wrote the phrases. On the top of the paper, the first phrases are written beside the red/pink butterfly. Then on the middle of the page, the next few phrases are written beside the yellow butterfly. This same pattern also happens with the last butterfly, which is not entirely drawn, but still shows half of it’s body on the bottom right corner of the page.

The yellow butterfly, unlike the other, does not have an outline that completely surrounds itself. It has a gap in the middle, where the both ends do not connect, but instead they make an opening, almost as if the butterfly was breaking through it. The color of the butterfly, yellow, symbolizes the sun, which in many cases is a symbol of life. The words that accompany this butterfly’s action are “that Moth Great simple life simple life.” These words explain how simple life could be if we break through that wall or when we stop hiding in the shadow. A butterfly itself is a symbol of liberty and happiness; so in order for the happiness to take its place its necessary to overcome the obstacles, or these walls, as the yellow butterfly did.

The last words on the page are, “And one only- my soul children out My been and suffering moth.” These words are accompanied by the green butterfly, which appears to be leaving because it was only half drawn. The words describe how at last all the suffering and pain will leave once you step up and out of the shadow. Phillips uses the word children to symbolize hope. Children are usually looked at as a signal that there’s still hope. Adults look up to the children, hoping that they will be the ones to make a difference.

Analyzing the page closely, the three butterflies also appear to be the signal lights. The red is a sign for you to stop and analyze everything around you deciding whether you should make a change, the yellow is a sign for you to cautiously make your choices, and the green is a sign for you to go and not be scared to step out of the ‘outline’ and start over.