The Striking Aspects of Branagh's Portrayal of Hamlet

After watching Kenneth Branagh discuss his approach in portraying the fifth scene of the first act of Hamlet and then actually watching his portrayal, the aspects of the video that strike me the most include the lack of a role that Hamlet plays, the relationship between Hamlet and his late father, and the images of betrayal that Branagh decides to incorporate into the scene.

First, the camera never lingers on Hamlet, so it displays only seconds of his reaction to the ghost. However, we can see Hamlet in the video when he speaks; for example, when Hamlet says, "O, my prophetic soul! My uncle!" (1.5. 48) in response to his father revealing the identity of his murderer, we can see Hamlet's pain, confusion, and the realization of the confirmation of his suspicions regarding his uncle. I agree with Branagh that minimizing the role of Hamlet is the optimal way of conveying the scene because it allows audiences to interpret Hamlet's feelings more accurately than the actor can imply, and it draws attention away from Hamlet's pain to shine a spotlight on the ghost and the late King Hamlet's brutal and traitorous murder.

Next, in my opinion, the characters representing Hamlet and the ghost in the scene interact in a way that deserves attention. It is made clear from the beginning that their meeting is not a light-hearted reunion and that there will be no jubilant, slow-motion running into each other's arms. The late King Hamlet consistently looks down on Hamlet throughout the scene, especially when he commands, "Let not the royal bed of Denmark be/A couch for luxury and damnèd incest./But, howsomever thou pursues this act,/Taint not thy mind, nor let the soul contrive/Against thy mother aught" (1.5.89-93). In addition to looking down on Hamlet, the ghost makes obviously apparent and ominous eye contact with his son to imply the importance of the message he gives. At the end of the scene, when the ghost tells Hamlet to remember him and his message, they touch hands briefly. The looking down, the eye contact, and the touching of hands perhaps serve to convey the nature of father-son relationships and the respect that Hamlet perpetuates for his deceased father.

Finally, I believe that Branagh incorporates images of betrayal into the scene to convey why Hamlet must avenge his father. The scene cuts away to show Claudius and Gertrude joyfully playing a game together, and it later cuts away to show Claudius unlacing Gertrude's bodice; these images exist in the video to paint a picture of the ghost's message to inspire Hamlet to take action and get revenge. In addition, I think these images also validate the need for revenge to the audience because the members of which may have a hard time deciding the degree of Claudius' sins from simply hearing the ghost's words. The scene also shows the merciless murder of the late King Hamlet, which I believe exists to convey the same idea that Hamlet needs to take action.

In summation, I believe that Branagh has a great approach in portraying this particular scene in Hamlet because he really captures Hamlet's fear and the degree of the traitorous sins of Claudius.