Hamlet Suspects Ophelia (almost) Immediately
We originally shot this sequence for a project titled UNPACKING SHAKESPEARE. While that series is still in development, we felt this particular clip stood on its own well enough to share.
It’s a special one for us, not only because of the interpretation but because this actually marks the first time both of these actors have performed for the camera. Villeins Jackson Davis and Franny Rabasa portray Hamlet and Ophelia, respectively.
Check out the video below, and read on for a look at the “structural subtext” we were playing with.
Moving Past the “Madness”
In many productions, Hamlet’s “antic disposition” is played up right from the start of this scene. Often, this is used to bypass the need for a clear motivation behind his opening lines—even the repetitive “well, well, well” is usually played as a symptom of a fractured mind.
In the standard staging, it isn’t until a noise is heard behind a curtain that Hamlet realizes he’s being watched.
To that, we say: Nay.
The “Thee” and “You” of it All
Our take hinges on the text itself. Remember: Ophelia knows she is bait. She is being observed by her father and the King, and that pressure has her in her head.
- The Opening: Hamlet begins flirtatiously. He mentions his sins and uses the informal “thy.” Our view is that these two have shared a sin or two in the past (and Ophelia’s songs to the King and Queen after her father’s death seem to all but verify this, upon inspection)
- The Shift: Ophelia gives Hamlet an incredibly formal style of reply. She has to pretend their just acquaintances and this tips him off immediately.
- The Realization: Hamlet is many things, but he is rarely slow. He has only just finished sniffing out his old school friends as spies, so he immediately catches Ophelia behaving out of character, given their relationship.
Hamlet picks up on her formality and switches to a formal address in his immediate response. He often does this to mock people, but here, it’s different. He realizes right away that she’s being watched. He doesn’t need to hear a chair scrape or a curtain rustle; it’s obvious to him.
The Test
When Hamlet finally asks her outright, “Where is your father?”, it means something far more interesting than a reaction to a surprise noise could ever inspire. He isn’t reacting to a clumsy spy; he is conducting a test. He’s giving her one final chance to be honest with him in a room full of lies.
When she fails that test, he erupts.
It is a brutal, pivotal moment, but in true Shakespearean fashion, it isn’t the end of their story. They actually manage to make up during the “play within the play”—a brief moment of connection on the emotional rollercoaster before the tragedy of the final acts takes over.
If you’d like to hear more from our year-and-a-half of studying Hamlet, let us know!
