"Like sweet tinkling bells, timeless and hard" Hamlet's trust is betrayed by the people he cares about most (III.i .87). The theme of betrayal takes root before the beginning of Shakespeare's tragedy, when Hamlet's uncle murders his father and marries his mother. These enormous betrayals, along with other pointed deceptions, justify many of Hamlet's words and actions. A striking example of the deception Hamlet endures can be seen in act three, the first scene of Hamlet: the convent scene. When Hamlet walks through the doorway, he enters a web of secrets, deception, and dishonesty. Determined to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness, the king and Polonius have summoned Hamlet to a place where they know he will "meet" Ophelia under their observation; the scene is a staging. Hamlet is spied on by his father-in-law and his love lies to him in this moment of cruel deception. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn Olivier's 1948 film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the convent scene allows Hamlet to express his frustration without face his enemies. Hamlet enters the stage fully aware of his artificiality, like an actor taking his place on stage. The performance that ensues is that of a narcissistic child who wins just for hearing the sound of his own voice; Olivier's Hamlet has no real interaction with any of the other characters in the scene. Olivier's choice to focus on Hamlet and his feelings, rather than the action happening around him, is highlighted in the convent scene and evident throughout the play. Branagh, on the other hand, sees Hamlet as an exciting story of courtly intrigue and deception. Branagh's Hamlet is really affected by the action that takes place. The open, abstract scene of Olivier's convent looks more like a stage than a room in a castle. This choice of setting suggests to the reader that Hamlet's words are purely expressive ramblings (like the words of an actor) rather than pointed dialogue (like the words of a betrayed man). The simplicity of the room provides no corners to hide secrets or any shadows to conceal deception. This setting reminds the reader that nothing in the scene is hidden from Hamlet. The effect of this ensemble is to shift the focus from the action of the stage to Hamlet's intact performance. In stark contrast, the large black and white checkered floor of the convent scene in Branagh's Hamlet is the giant chessboard (C5) on which an intricate and complex game is played. Dozens of hidden doors, one-way mirrors and secret rooms create a scene where the truth is elusive and twisted. The Branagh convent scene is a maze of lies through which Hamlet must struggle to find the truth. The court setting could not be more appropriate to Branagh's idea that this scene is a game of strategies in a particular court. One step from the set, Olivier's Ophélie is a person with pale skin, a white dress, blond hair and a soft voice. -dimensional blank figure. All of Ophelia's feelings and intentions are manifested in her actions; her lies are obvious, her motivations are clear, and she seems extremely unintelligent, as she does not understand Hamlet's goal. Since Hamlet already knows that Ophelia plans to deceive him, she has no information to convey to Hamlet during the scene. Most of what Hamlet says seems beyond his comprehension, even when Hamlet shouts and points to the place where Polonius and the king are hiding, Ophelia does not realize that he is aware of it.Since Ophelia never recognizes the deeper meaning of Hamlet's words, it seems that he is speaking for himself and his hidden audience rather than for Ophelia. In fact, the uninteresting character of Ophelia, in Olivier's interpretation, makes much of Hamlet's dialogue resemble a monologue. In this way, Olivier uses his concept of Ophelia to distract from the scene of the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Once again, Olivier draws attention to Hamlet's jokes as an unaffected performance. With red lips and rosy cheeks, Branagh's Ophelia is, however, a dubious and interesting character. At the beginning of the film, Branagh uses flashbacks to show the audience that Hamlet and Ophelia are in love. Ophelia gave herself to Hamlet, but later she behaves like an obedient daughter following her father's wishes. Ophelia seems to mislead Hamlet and his father in this interpretation; the incongruity of her character makes Ophelia's interaction with Hamlet in the convent scene doubtful. When Hamlet enters the courtyard, Ophelia waits behind the stairs, probably because she knows that there, her father and the king will not see them. The dialogue between Hamlet and Ophelia reads like the beginning of a fight scene, but Branagh has them confront each other as they kiss passionately. When Hamlet hears movement in the courtyard and asks Ophelia where her father is, he is horrified by her disingenuous response. Ophelia's rapid shift from great affection to occasional lies clearly affects Hamlet; their interaction brings the theme of betrayal into the spotlight. Branagh clearly highlights the moment when Hamlet goes from trusting Ophelia to feeling that she has betrayed him. The interaction between Hamlet and Ophelia is vital to the scene and to the entire play. Branagh uses this relationship to draw attention from Hamlet's internal struggles to the larger themes of the scene's relational exchanges. They are hidden from Hamlet's view, but Polonius and the king are relevant to Olivier's interpretation of the convent scene. I thought they didn't interact with Hamlet at all during the scene, but their presence is the motivation for most of Hamlet's dialogue in this scene. Hamlet's anger toward Polonius and the king drives him to speak, but his fear of repercussions keeps him in shape to deal with them. For example, Hamlet threatens the king's life: "...all but one shall live." (III.i.144), verbally, but he does not draw the curtain (very accessible) and does not follow through on his threat. Instead, Hamlet acts like an elementary school bully who, frustrated with his teachers, picks on students who are smaller than him. Hamlet yells at Ophelia because he is frustrated by her anger at Polonius and the king. Olivier uses this idea to explain Hamlet's self-centered performance in the convent scene. Polonius and the king are much more active participants in the Branagh convent scene. When the camera moves behind the one-way glass, the audience can see Polonius and the king reacting to the scene between Hamlet and Ophelia. But Claudius and Polonius are much more than passive observers of what is happening before them. A noise behind the one-way window reveals the location of the spies. This moment changes the momentum of the scene and the entire play. Once Hamlet realizes that his father and Polonius are watching him, he knows he has been betrayed. In addition to bringing out the theme of betrayal, Polonius and the king provide the motif for Hamlet's harsh dialogue in the second half of the convent scene. Hamlet harshly chastises Ophelia as he searches for the men he knows are watching him, clearly illustrating that Hamlet's anger toward Ophelia stems from his participation in the staging of this scene., 1992.