|
|
|
Writing Photography Past Projects Interact Artists |
Scene
Selection for Hamlet In a world where movie theaters provide an intermission for features over three hours, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is, like its title, too long to present to the modern audience uncut. However, one must be careful when meddling with the words of a famous master. There are scenes which cannot be cut because of their necessity to the plot; there are also scenes which cannot be cut because they contain famous lines, which, to many people, are the soul of the piece. Several scenes stand out as necessary to the plot. Among these are three scenes of utmost importance: Act I, scene v, where the dead King Hamlet speaks to his son; Act III, scene ii, in which the players act out the murder of Prince Hamlet’s father, and Act IV, scene iv, when Hamlet finally develops a firm resolution of his intent to kill Claudius. These events spur almost every other single event that occurs in the play. It is the ghost that turns Hamlet’s mind to murder of his uncle; it is Claudius’ fear of the exposing of his brother’s murder that cause him to send Hamlet away and to set up the fight at the end of the play; and it is Hamlet’s resolution that finally drives him to return and kill Claudius, even as Hamlet himself is dying. In addition to these important scenes, a director must remember that he has two specific duties: 1) to preserve the integrity of the play, and 2) to please the audience. It is because of this last duty that some dialogue that might otherwise be cut because it adds little to the plot becomes necessary to the audience’s enjoyment of the production. Chief among these are two speeches. Polonius’ advice to Laertes upon his departure to France has become monumentally famous for the lines “Neither a borrower nor a lender, Boy: / . . . / This above all, to thine own self be true”. Much of this scene could otherwise be cut, and even an audience unfamiliar with the tale of Hamlet would not be confused at all. Shakespeare has already revealed that Laertes is going to France. In addition, Polonius has already warned Ophelia about the dangers of Romance with Prince Hamlet, thus making Laertes’ warnings redundancies. A director might also turn to Hamlet’s soliloquy from Act III, scene i. This is an extended contemplation of suicide, a subject which Hamlet seems to have already addressed in Act I, scene ii, when he asks that his flesh would melt and form a dew and says “How wary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world?” However, the soliloquy of Act III, scene I contains one of the most famous line of Western literature: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This soliloquy has become so famous that it nearly defines Hamlet in the minds of the modern audience. Clearly the scenes containing these famous lines can be cut to limit the amount of extraneous or redundant dialogue, but for the purpose of audience appeal, they cannot be completely eliminated. There are, however, scenes which can be entirely cut from a production of Hamlet. For example, the first scene, while providing an intriguing opening, relays no information that is not rediscovered within the next three scenes. Also, Act IV, scene ii is mostly unnecessary. In this scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern chase after Hamlet, inquiring about the location Polonius’ body, information which is revealed to Claudius in the next scene. The full text of Hamlet, while composed of beautifully crafted prose and poetry, is far too long to present in its entirety. A director must choose those points which are crucial to his interpretation of the story and plot and to the maintaining of his audience’s respect and make cuts where the text strays from these two purposes. top – discuss – essays
|
All original material © 2003 Erika
Salomon.
