Monday, February 25, 2013

Supertramp The Logical Song #6



When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, it was beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily, joyfully, playfully, watching me
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible, logical, responsible, practical
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable, clinical, intellectual, cynical
There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep for such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am
I said now, watch what you say, now we're calling you a radical, a liberal, fanatical, criminal
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable
But at night, when all the world's asleep
The questions run so deep for such a simple man
Won't you please (Won't you tell me), (You can tell me what) please tell me what we've learned (Can you hear me?)
I know it sounds absurd, (Won't you help me) please tell me who I am, who I am, who I am, who I am
But I'm thinking so logical
Did you call, one two three four
It's getting unbelievable

I have no plans in dying soon. But, if I did, there is one certain tune that would have to be played at my honorary funeral. None other than "The Logical Song" by Supertramp. As suggested by the name, it is a song about thinking clearly and always being dependable, to others and to yourself. The line "they showed me a world where I could be so dependable, clinical, intellectual," really relates to who my parents brought me up to be. I have always been there for my Lord Hamlet and for numerous others around the castle. It was I who confirmed what Bernardo and Marcellus had seen while standing guard. At first I made it very clear that I did not believe in the whole Ghost affair: "Horatio says 'tis but our fantasy," (1.1.21). However, after I described what I had seen to others, it was immediately considered truth. "Before my God, I might not this believe without the sensible and true avouch of mine own eyes," (1.1.54-56).

"But at night when all the world's asleep the questions run so deep for such a simple man," reminds me of my role with Prince Hamlet. I consider myself a worthy companion of his, one who is always willing to give the necessary advice. When my Lord went a little crazy in the cranium and wanted to go chase after the ghost, it was my first response to inquire if "he waxes desparate with imagination," (1.4.91). After Hamlet went to go talk to the Ghost of his father, he came back and entrusted me with what he had seen. Surely there is something to say in that. He asked me to swear "upon my sword," (1.5.148). A man's word is not enough these days in Denmark I fear, although I do believe my Lord trusts me more than any other man he has ever met.

"When I was young, it seemed life was so wonderful" relates to my general optimistic attitude towards events. However, with the events of recent times, it is wise to take caution. People all around me have been spying, such as dear Polonius, who lost his life for his sins. "I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune. Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger," (3.4.32-34) said my Lord Hamlet after discovering Polonius. With so much trickery going on around me, I want a song portraying my honesty to be played at my funeral to remind people that logic and good will still exists even in the darkest of times. There is yet another time where the Ghost appears to Hamlet while he is with Gertrude, but Gertrude believes Hamlet is talking to no one and considers him mad. It is I, with all of my logic, that confirms what Hamlet sees to be the truth to all who are looking into our situation in Denmark. Gertrude asks, astonished ,"To whom do you speak this," (3.4.133). I provide the support and testimony necessary for certain events to be given validation, which I take great pride in.

"I said now, watch what you say, now we're calling you a radical, a liberal, fanatical" reminds me of the words that were used to describe my Lord Hamlet after people believed he had actually lost his mind. My Lord Hamlet was too good for that. He knew what he was doing all along. Another person considered to have gone mad through grief recently was dear Ophelia. Her status was that "she is importunate, indeed distract. Her mood will needs be pitied,"(4.5.2-3). No one knew what should be done with the girl, as no one seemed to want to ask her what was wrong, or to try to find out. Troubled by my conscience I pleaded that it was "good she were spoken with, for she may strew dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds," (4.5.14-15). In times where few others know the route that should be taken, I pride myself in always being level headed enough to come to a rational solution.

Lastly, the words that I feel describe me from the song best are "sensible, logical, responsible, practical,". When Fortinbras entered the Court Room just the other day to find dead bodies all around, someone needed to be there to tell the tale. And that is the role I am willing to play. "You from the Polack wars, and you from England, are here arrived, give order that these bodies high on a stage be placed to the view, and let me speak to th' yet-unknowing world how these things came about," (5.2.380-384). I can not have my great Hamlet's name die out in vain or have him go down as a villain in the history books. Although it will pain me to speak of the events that have occurred here in Denmark, it is my duty to spread the true word. "Even while men's minds are wild, lest more mischance on plots and error happen," (5.2.398-399). I may currently be troubled like any other mortal being, but it is also my job as a close companion of the Prince to make sure no other horrific things occur in our nation.

This song encompasses all of the traits I truly strive for and have been told that I encompass. I will always remain loyal to my lord and when the going gets tough, as it is now, logic will always win out. Those with clear minds may find a resolution.

With a Heavy Heart,
That Dude Horatio

Embedding Practice

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Blog Assignment #5

It was just the other day when I came across a startling newspaper article surrounding the death of our dear Ophelia. I commonly read the columns done by Mr.Seng as I find them quite entertaining to read. While there are parts of the column that I do not agree with, I feel like Peter has nailed Ophelia's purpose on the head. I had heard that Polonius had been rather rough on Opehlia as she felt like she was falling for my Lord Hamlet. As I have heard Polonius to say, "You do not understand yourself so clearly as it behooves my daughter and your honor," (1.3.96-97). Furthermore it came to my attention that while her father was giving her a hard time, her brother Laertes was confirming what Polonius had already said by stating, "For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, hold it a fashion and a toy in blood," (1.3.5-6).

It becomes very easy for me to see why Ophelia had turned mad directly before she drowned in the lake. In the article, Seng goes on to say that Polonius had caused "the spoliation of her mind's purity and her child-like trust," (Seng. pp 220). While I believe that Ms. Ophelia should be given much more credit than being called a simple child, I do believe that the demands from her brother and father went very far with her to her corruption. Other than her brother and her father, the king and queen also believe that Hamlet is simply acting strangely because of "this hot love on the wing-" (2.2.133). By saying this, they are, in a way, thinking both Hamlet and Ophelia to be nothing more than naive children, which is surely not the case.

On another note, I believe that while Ophelia may have been considered mad, she spoke nothing but the truth. Seng agreed with me in his column, saying that Ophelia's songs "reflect, if only darkly, all the major issues of the play," (Seng. pp 221). While no one is taking Ophelia seriously because they consider her to be mad, she is actually speaking of all of the evil that has been occuring in this decrepit land Denmark has become. While nobody has really had the guts to speak of these issues out in the open, Ophelia brings up all of the troubling acts that have been occuring. When Ophelia sings "He is gone, he is gone, and we cast away moan, God ha' mercy on his soul," (4.5.194-196) she is bringing up the poor funeral that was held for her father.

At the same time, she also sings of the late, older King Hamlet and how Gertrude could take a new husband so quickly. She sings of her falling in love with Hamlet, possibly too quickly when she says, "Alack, and fie, for shame!Young men will do 't, if they come to 't," (4.5.58-59).  In the end, it is apparent that all of the people in Ophelia's life have pressured her in some way, possibly to the point of madness. She was confused at exactly what her relationship was with my Lord Hamlet. At the same time he was saying he truly loved her, she was gaining a different perspective from her father and her brother. Ophelia's mother is not present and thus she has no womanly advice in which to work from. After her father's death and her Hamlet being transformed into what appeared to be a shadow of his former self, the grief drove her to apparent "madness".

Peter Seng got it right when he realized just how important these ballads of Ophelia's prove to be. He correctly states that these "ballads have produced a number of imitations," (Seng). These imitations all cover the common themes of love, betrayal, and death. While Ophelia is considered mad, Seng agrees with me when he says that  the things she is saying have definite merit to them. While I do not agree with Seng that Ophelia is a "child like figure", I do believe the purity of her mind was destroyed through the demands of her father, brother, Hamlet, Claudius, and Gertrude. We will surely miss dear Ophelia.

Horatio

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Blog Assignment #4

The "To Be, Or Not To Be" soliloquy is perhaps the most famous in the entire play. In the excerpt, Hamlet is weighing the pros and cons of life and whether or not he wishes to perish. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," (3.1.58-59). Hamlet uses imagery in his speech to discuss what death would be like, saying "To die. . .to say we end the heart ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd," (3.1.61-65). "The whips and scorns of time" and the "weary life" are words spoken by a man who clearly feels defeated and simply wishes to give up. Being a man of great emotion, Hamlet mainly uses pathos to get across his point to the viewer. "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil," (3.1.72-73). The tone of these words "weary" and "scorn" suggest that Hamlet is in a very depressed state. The diction is further used to confirm this tone with words used such as "despised" and "calamity".

The two most common literary devices Hamlet uses are personification and metaphors. Hamlet is constantly personifying death as a "sleep of death what dreams may come"(3.1.67). Throughout the speech, Hamlet is opposing whether or not he should die. He asks himself how "the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes,"(3.1.74-75). He takes life to be unfair to those who most deserve a good life. He claims that "no traveller returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills have than fly to others we know not of?" (3.1.81-83). While he at times finds reasons he does not wish to die, Hamlet gets across to the reader his hate of life in general, brought about by the cruel murder of his father.With many different visual representations of how this soliliquy plays out, we will analyze just four of them.

We first watched the version done by Branagh. There was no non diegetic sound present in the scene to bring further emphasis to only the voice of Hamlet as he spoke. Hamlet is dressed fully in black to show his depressed state. For props, Hamlet wields a knife and holds it to his face as he talks about death, further giving the viewer the idea that Hamlet wishes to end his own life. The setting is the large white court room where Claudius often receives his guests. Hamlet is talking into a mirror to show the idea of self reflection. When it comes to camera angles, the camera zooms in closely on the figure of Hamlet in the mirror, not directly on the man himself. This close angle is meant to amplify the emotion that the main character is putting into his speech. Focusing only on the mirror image represents Hamlet looking within himself internally. Lastly, Ophelia comes in directly after his speech in this version in order to act as reality bringing Hamlet back down to Earth.

Next we watched the version performed by Lawrence Olivier. Unlike the Branagh version, this version of the solilquy was partly done with non diegetic sound, including a voice over done through parts of the speech. Once again, hamlet is dressed in black garments, directly representing the mood in which he is in at this time. Hamlet gives this speech as he is on the edge of a cliff. Down below, water crashes on the pointy rocks jutting out from the sea. Once again, Hamlet is wielding a knife. The knife coupled with the cliff setting further portray the fact that Hamlet is very much wishing to end his life at this moment. It is very windy and cloudy out to represent the main character's unpredictable future. At the end of his speech, this is also confirmed, as Hamlet walks away into a cloudy smoke. Antic music is blasting in the background at the beginning of the speech to show the non logical fashion in which Hamlet is thinking. Camera angle wise, the camera shifts around a lot at the beginning of the clip, causing the viewer to feel the same anxiety as the main character. Like the Mel Gibson version I will discuss, the image of winding steps was used to perhaps illustrate the confusion in young Hamlet's mind.

The third version that was watched was the version done by Mel Gibson. Like the Branagh version, there is no non diegetic voice over. Compared to the first two versions that were watched, Mel Gibson talked in a louder voice, showing more confidence in what he was saying. This scene takes place in a dark dungeon, the darkest setting out of any of the four versions. With Hamlet wearing his black robes and in the dark dungeon, a sense of hopelessness is portrayed to the viewer. Unlike the first two versions, no dagger or weapon or threat of death was shown in this scene. The most important part of this Mel Gibson scene was most definitely the camera angles. Similar to Branagh version, this scene utilized a close up on the main character's face to enhance the pathos of the speech. Gibson is pictured pacing back and forth as the camera follows him around the dungeon, bringing more chaos to the scene in general. The angle shifts around the dark cavern, often highlighting the dark, blank walls, bringing a depressed tone to the scene. Lastly, like in the Olivier version, steps are utilized. These steps lead down into the darkness and at the end of the scene, Hamlet is pictured walking back up them towards the light. This may allude to the fact that Hamlet has come up with a personal resolution.

The last version that was watched was the Ethan Hawke version. The scene incorporates partial non diegetic voiceover done through the first portion of Hamlet's speech. The rest is spoken visibly by the main character. There is no background music of any kind, in order for the viewer's full attention to be on Hamlet. In stark contrast to the other versions, Hawke is portrayed as walking through the aisles of a Blockbuster store. This modern approach is used to appeal to a more contemporary audience. Being in a much more modern time period, Hamlet is not carrying a knife, seeing as that would get him successfully kicked out of Blockbuster. He is specifically walking through the action aisle of Blockbuster, in order to portray to the viewer that the character is in a time period of great chaos. To further bring about the modernistic approach, Hamlet is dressed in jeans, a t shirt, and a beanie, which is in stark contrast to the other versions. The colors of his clothing are all very bleak, suggesting the character's depression. The camera, for the most part, is zoomed in very closely on Hawke to capture his emotion as the solilquy is delivered. The pacing, like in the Gibson version, is followed by the camera, further portraying Hamlet's feelings of insecurity and anxiety. The anxiety is also shown as this version showed Hamlet finishing his speech in a much quicker fashion than the other three versions.

After watching these four versions of the soliloquy, I believe the version done by Branagh is by far the most effective. The garb of my Lord Hamlet goes a long way to portray just how decrepit his state is right now. The inclusion of Hamlet looking into the mirror shows the idea of self reflection which we all strive for. My Lord is going through an internal struggle at the moment, and I feel like by looking into the mirror, he is attempting to examine his soul to find a resolution. I remember the room being quiet as I took in his speech, allowing me to focus all of my attention on what it was he was saying. I was however fearful that my liege was seriously considering ending his own life with the dagger he was holding in his hand. While I was taking this in in secrecy, I would have sprung out at the hint of Hamlet taking his own glorious life. Lastly, the zoom in on Lord Hamlet's face captured the angst and depression which is currently going through my master's head. Gosh, how I do hope he has found his peace of mind. Ms.Ophelia came in directly after his speech, seemingly bringing my Lord back down to Earth.
Horatio

Unlike the Hawke version, I would not have set the Hamlet speech in modern times. I prefer the traditional black robes portrayed in the other versions to show Hamlet's depression and confusion. In the Gibson and Olivier versions, I did not like the inclusion of non diegetic sound in the form of voiceovers. I felt like it was much more personal when Hamlet did all of the talking directly on screen. I would have made sure that the camera was zoomed in even closer on the main character's face in order to fully portray his wide range of emotions while giving his speech. I would have included a prop exhibiting a threat of death, to show just how real the idea of death is for Hamlet. I did like the frantic camera angles at the beginning of some of the scenes to show the viewer the anxiety of Hamlet. The Branagh version would be my quintessential scene of this soliloquy and it definitely stood out in my mind.











Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Blog Assignment 3

My good readers, it is time for me to more creatively express myself when it comes to this blog. Therefore, I have decided to completely switch up the layout of my entire page. Hopefully I don't lose too many of my subscribers from the castle. Bear with me as these changes are being made for the benefit of the readers. To begin with, I have changed my font type to a Corsiva font. This is a font that exhibits warmth, which is something I attempt to portray to those who come to me seeking my advice, such as my Lord Hamlet. It was I who Hamlet entrusted to watch Claudius' expression as he watched The Mousetrap performed last evening. I was given eplicit directions by Hamlet to "observe mine uncle," (3.2.73). Who else would he have entrusted with this all important task? I am a very logical fellow and one who is calm and warm of heart, reflected in my Corsiva font.When he asked if I thought his Uncle had a look of guilt upon his face, I answered, "Very well, my lord," (3.2.270). I pride myself on being a warm hearted man that can be trusted with my lord's internal struggle.

Furthermore, I have also adjusted my color scheme on my page. I have decided to go with a light blue type on a dark, blackish background. The gloomy background represents the decrepit state of our great nation at this moment. "And prologue to the omen coming on, have heaven and earth together demonstrated unto our climatures and countrymen," (1.1.122-124). The light blue type represents the calming effect on people. As I said before, and by no means am I attempting to brag, my Lord Hamlet entrusts me with simply everything. I have a very relaxed tone to my persona, and am a man full of logic that I believe my colleagues, friends, and Lord have all taken note of. My last structural enhancement on my blog page was to adjust the general layout of the text. I chose to go with a very structered column like approach. This captures my ability to organize my thoughts before coming to the best possible solution. While this blog is an attempt to capture my true inner soul, these changes were a must in order to capture the essence of who I am.

Horatio "Logic Man"