"On a dark winter night, a ghost walks the ramparts of Ellsinore Castle in Denmark. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio, the ghost resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has inherited the throne and married the king's widow, Queen Gertrude- (Hamlet, 2004). Everyone is familiar with the renowned story of Hamlet, a creation of William Shakespeare in the 1600s. Hamlet was one of Shakespeare's longest plays and was considered cursed since its essence was simply revenge and death. These days such meaty topics are quite popular and wanted by the public. Many Hollywood directors have tried to recreate the magic of the original play and have tried to capture the essence of the play in their versions. A version that is able to deliver Hamlet's play affectively is the one of Franco Zeffirelli. Kenneth Branagh also directed a version, casting himself, but was not as successful as Zeffirelli in restoring this magic and bringing life to the character Hamlet. Zeffirelli was able to do justice to Shakespeare's play using several media elements like set and lighting design, costumes, direction, choice of actors and their acting in firstly the nunnery scene, then in the chamber scene and lastly in the final scene. .
"To be, or not to be, that is the question,"" (3.1.56). This quote is part of the famous soliloquy given by Hamlet in the nunnery scene when he questions the meaning of his existence and thinks about suicide. Shakespeare used soliloquies impressively in order to communicate aloud to audiences some of the emotions, thoughts and inner turmoil of characters. This speech is considered the most important part of the play since it focuses on the main theme of the play, which is the fight between a person and their conscience. Such an important speech is well known for becoming an obstacle for many modern actors and is considered a crucial test for mature ones.
