Rather than try to compare and contrast every aspect of these two performances, students should focus on a single question or idea. Each of the following questions illustrate possible approaches that could be taken in a comparison/contrast essay of these two performances. You may use one of these or create a focus of your own.

 

1. What is the significance in Branagh=s performance of

$ the play of black and white?
$ the numerous Asecret@ panels of which everyone is aware (walls/bookcases which are actually doors)?
$ setting the play in the early 19^th century?

as opposed to Gibson=s performance which uses a traditional medieval setting (particularly since Gibson=s version makes so many other changes)?

 

2. Shakespeare apparently intended viewers to compare Hamlet as a leader with other characters in the playBClaudius, Polonius, Laertes, Fortinbras. How well do these two performances succeed in revealing Hamlet=s leadership ability compared to the other male characters, and what importance does this issue have in each?

 

3. Why does Hamlet delay taking vengeance for his father=s death? What motivations do these two performances offer as explanation, and how effective are they in persuading viewers?

 

4. Both Laertes and Hamlet swear to take vengeance for their fathers= murders. How is that dramatic conflict interpreted in these two performances; what significance does this issue play in each, and how are Laertes and Hamlet compared to each other in each performance?

 

5. How is Hamlet=s relationship with Gertrude and Ophelia developed in each performance, and what significance do these relationships have to the central drama of the play?

 

6. A key issue in Hamlet is whether the ghost is an actual apparition of Hamlet=s murdered father or a demonic spirit sent to tempt Hamlet. Each play presents these scenes (Act I, Scenes 4 & 5) differently. What are the implications for interpretation in the way in which these two performances are developed?

 

7. In Act III, Scene 1, Gibson=s version moves the ATo be or not to be@ soliloquy after Hamlet=s meeting with Ophelia and moves the AGet thee to a nunnery@ lines to another scene. In addition, both scenes are staged quite differently, one in the entry hall of the palace and the other in a passageway and in the family crypt. What implications do these changes and these different settings and situations have on how this scene is interpreted by viewers?

 

8. There are distinct differences between the performances of the play within the play in Act III, Scene 2 with regard to the sequence of lines, the presentation of lines privately or publicly, the attitudes and physical responses of the principal characters, and the performance of AThe Mouse Trap.@ What effects do these different performances have on readers understanding and interpretation of this scene?

 

9. At issue in the play is Hamlet=s mental state. After seeing the ghost, he pledges his companions not to reveal anything even though he may Aput an antic disposition on@ (Act I, Scene 5). He tells the queen AI essentially am not in madness,/ But mad in craft@ (Act III, Scene 4). But prior to his combat with Laertes, he announces that his actions were the result of madness and no Apurposed evil@ (Act V, Scene 2). In what ways do these two performances reveal Hamlet=s mental state at various moments within the play?

 

10. In the combat between Hamlet and Laertes and its aftermath (Act V, Scene 2), a number of differences exist between these two performances. What do these differences suggest to viewers about the character and motivations of the principal characters?