WORDS WORDS WORDS!!!!

"Give thy thoughts no tongue." It basically advices not to be quick to speak out one's thoughts. This quote spoke the most to me personally. It was a piece of advice Polonius gave to his son, Laertes. I felt that this was the most basic and helpful advice. To give one's thoughts no tongue is a very strong foundation for a successful life. Holding one's tongue can keep one out of sticky situations. It could also prevent damage to one's on reputation or relationship with others. I felt that this advice would be most helpful in not only my own life, but others as well. A person's words have tremendous influence and power. One would be wise to choose them cautiously.

Something is rotten in the high school of Bloomfield!

After watching the three different versions of Hamlet, I liked Zefferelli's version the best. I think he did a great job of setting a dreary mood with the opening scene. The cloudy sky made the atmosphere dark and melancholy. The soldiers and the castle looked very forlorn. I loved Zefferelli's choice of actors. Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius were all exactly as I imagined. There is not a hint of weeping or sadness in Claudius' face. He is watching Gertrude the entire time. Gertrude also looks up at Claudius when she is weeping over Hamlet.Sr's grave. I thought that Zefferelli did a great job of highlighting Gertrude's seeming virtuousness. She walks around as if she is a young girl in love. There is not a hint of despair over the death of her husband. Instead of weeping, she runs around giggling and kissing Claudius. Mel Gibson was a great choice for Hamlet. I especially like the fact that he has a beard. It gives his person a more disheartened mood. His hate for his mother is seen through his eyes. His soliloquy was okay. He did not do a great job with it. I felt like he could have put more anger into it. The sadness in his voice and body is clear but the anger is not. Instead of feeling angry, I felt like he was frustrated. Hamlet in the other versions are not as I imagined. In the Almereyda version, Hamlet looks more like he is hungover than sad. He just looks like a bum off the streets. I also felt that Gertrude was best played in Zefferelli's depiction. I liked the costumes and the setting better in the Zefferelli version. The mediveal castle was better than the Victorian castle or the Modern tower.The knights costumes were exactly what I imagined them to be wearing. The Almereyda version had suits, which just took away the entire royalty feel of the novel. Overall, I feel that Zefferelli did a better job of choosing the actors, the costumes and the setting as well. The only aspect of this version that I disliked was that the movie did not open with the ghost scene as in the book.