"Oh Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain"

My absolute favorite quote so far has been, "Oh Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain." This quote probably is not one that most people would choose, but as soon as I heard it, I wrote it down in my notebook because it immediately caught my attention. Although this line seems to be so simple, I feel like it has so much power behind it. The dialect in the play "Hamlet" fascinates me. Although many lines of the play are difficult to understand, in other lines such as this one, the words flow beautifully. Gertrude recited this line when Hamlet confronts her about Claudius. Instead of simply saying, "Hamlet, you broke my heart in two", her fancy assortment of words makes this line even more powerful and meaningful. This was also the first line Gertrude recited after Hamlet spoke "daggers but used none" and it really demonstrates the effect Hamlets words had on Gertrude.

Favorite Film Version

My favorite film version is the Franco Zeffirelli version. As I read Hamlet, I try to imagine what the story in my head. The Franco Zeffirelli version best fits the image I have of Hamlet for several reasons. To begin with, although this version begins with the burial rather than the ghost scene, it's spooky, mysterious atmosphere is exactly what I’ve pictured. In my opinion, the actor choice was perfect. Claudius shows no emotion during the burial which leaves you wondering how Hamlet senior REALLY died. In the film, Gertrude’s actress breaks down at Hamlets funeral then looks up at Claudius. This leaves us to believe that Gertrude is possibly faking her feelings and maybe she is scheming with Claudius. Overall, this film has a great choice of actors and the camera angles are perfect for a mysterious twist on the story of Hamlet. When I watched the Ken Branagh version, I thought the actor choice was awful. The film looked very rehearsed and is not how I pictured Hamlet to be. Also, the Mike Almereyda version followed the book word for word but is not how I pictured Hamlet to be. I didn’t picture the story of Hamlet to be so modern. I noticed telephones, cameras and very modern instrumentals playing in the background of this film. Basically, the Franco Zefferelli version was the perfect Hamlet story and really grabbed my attention.