Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet
By Rebekah Johnston"Though this be madness, yet there is a method in it."
Question #1: Hamlet proclaimed that he was not mad, but only pretended to be mad.Could it be that he was mad all along? Or maybe he wasn't mad at first, but as things became more and more complicated, he started to really lose his mind? Or maybe, he was not mad at all?
The "to be or not to be, that is the question" soliloquy was a pause in the "lunacy" for the audience. It allows us to see that this "manic" behavior is coming from the deepest of personal conflicts. The "it could all just stop now" knowledge also sheds some insight into Hamlet's inability to act on the Ghost's instructions.If you believe you could be damned in the afterlife for your actions in this life, and your only two choices are suicide or murder, which do you choose? After all his dad was killed before he obtained the proper church rituals of forgiveness and purification (a "purging of his soul" as it were) and he is in purgatory. Poor Hamlet is screwed either way and he knows it.
The question of Hamlet's madness has vexed scholars since the first production of the play. The answer lies in the actor's performance. In Zeffirelli's film Mel Gibson's Hamlet does indeed go mad while contemplating revenge for his father's death. Olivier's prince is harder to gage but I believe that his madness is more akin to temporary insanity (perhaps due to short running time.) But in Branagh's performance I believe the Prince is merely pretending to be mad in order to gain time to make a decision about killing the king. The only scene where madness may be inferred is when Hamlet kills Polonius and even then Hamlet has whipped himself into frenzy by confronting his mother that he is more confused than truly mad. Branagh's Hamlet is very much a man who can't make up his mind. He spends the first part of the film buying time so he won't have to make a decision and his "madness" allows him the freedom to wander unopposed.
I also observed that when ever Hamlet is alone with Horatio, he's sane enough. Stressed, certainly, but sane. The loony act not only lets him vent his feelings, but also gives him time to adapt to new ideas (i.e.) cold-blooded murder). And just possibly an out should he manage to do the deed and be found out (temporary insanity has gotten more than one murderer leniency.
No Hamlet is not mad, nor ever was.Think about his speech regarding Yorick. "Alas poor, Yorick, I knew him Horatio.When Hamlet was young, Yorick was a fool in his father's court. Hamlet simply takes on the role of a Fool.
copyright 2000 by Rebekah Johnston