The first performance I felt was bland and fell short of what I would imagine was a moment of pure desperation for lady Macbeth. To begin the actress Jane Lapotaire did a poor job at convincing that she was even sleep walking. Her emphasis on "out damned spot" was not at all how I imagined a woman such as lady Macbeth to express herself. Her movements were more representative of a desperate morning search for a Starbucks than a person punished by their conscience.

The sorrowful expression on the face of Judi Dench captured the meaning of that speech perfectly. The tears showed her remorseful condition. Her screech was enough to force the video forward 15 seconds in time in hopes of hearing it no more only to find her still wailing away, which I guess means she did her job.

Shirley Verrett's rendition was enjoyable as far as the music is concerned. It seems that if it wasn't for me knowing what the scene was about I could very well believe her to have been searching for her missing cat. As far as her physical gestures go you can't blame her much, she is singing her heart out which is hard enough.

For me the better of the versions would be the second one by Judi Dench. It was the only performance which I felt expressed human desperation the best. It seemed as if she was the only actress that understood that Lady Macbeth played a part in murder. The sense of paranoia she summoned, the way she paused before saying blood, all these things tied her performance together quite well.

The character of the ideal man has been a point of contention since the dawn of man's on sense of self. In my own humble opinion a man should foremost, possess the quality of wisdom, meaning a collection of knowledge and information on humankind's triumphs and feats. A man should also possess bravery to face societies ills, with a pen or a sword. A man should be compassionate, all of his actions should be guided by feelings of love. He should be healthy, hardworking, and a master of his trade(s), whatever it (they) may be. A man should achieve dominion over his appetites, a clear understanding of his goals. Last but not least, he should love himself.

While some of these qualities are not applicable to the context of the play, several of them can be explored through the characters of the play. Mainly Macbeth, and through his relationship with Lady Macbeth.

Being King is arguably the utmost position of manliness. Supposedly, it takes a real man to hold such power, and responsibility, as a king would. Yet, manliness is a trait that Macbeth comes into let in the play. It could be postulated that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth possess a certain degree of manliness between them, and that at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth has it all.

While Macbeth does have a repertoire in the department of humankind’s triumphs and defeats, he is not wise. Wisdom also pertains to the insight one obtains from such knowledge, yet Lady Macbeth determines how to make his fortune come true. She also formulates the plan to ensure Macbeth’s fate, which shows initiative. Even though Macbeth is destined to become king, Lady Macbeth knows what she wants, and goes after it. This is very a goal-oriented, male-like trait. Macbeth does not inherit this ability until after he kills Duncan. In fact, Macbeth’s first show of manliness is the moment when he kills Duncan. Before that, Lady Macbeth orchestrates everything, while Macbeth exhibits uncertainty and lack of initiative. By killing Duncan, Macbeth becomes brave, by being able to carry out an action, which terrifies him. After that Macbeth takes charge immediately. His second show of manliness is his lack of hesitation in killing the guards. Lady Macbeth shows that she has given up the trait to her husband, by being doubtful, and expressing remorse over hers and her husband’s actions. Even though she did not kill Duncan herself, she cannot seem to wash the metaphorical blood from her hands. Her perception of blood is a manifestation of her guilt. While she takes the backseat to manliness, her husband assumes full control of everything, in a whirlwind of ill-evaluated, spontaneous decisions.

Hamlets fate in the play I would say is the result of his dogmatic thirst for vengeance. His inability to enact his revenge quietly as to not gain any notoriety, gave his intentions away too clearly to King Claudius. Hamlets bits of insanity, which may also be his way of expressing his true feelings wihtout being held accountable, made him a target of many's distrust. During his self absorbed crusade he manages to unwittingly create an army of enemies which throughout the course of the play would plot against him. The killing of Polonius was a rash decision which pretty much set his fate in stone, as it set the wheels of Laertes's murderous rage.

As far as life being the ends of a divine plan, I don't agree with the view that our fates are written in the stars. But I do not rule out the mystical completely. I have seen how life has a peculiar way of leveling out the fprtunes that may cross our path if we so choose to pick of the fruits.

Hamlets character is a testament to the destructive power of a grudge held for too long. In the what eases his mind the most is the idea that he is ascting out the will of a higher power. Hamlet lets the cards fall where they may and then begins to act purely on impulse. This is evident in his callous treatment of those around him, from the his mother to his so called friends. To Hamlet his goal of revenge is his ultimate task, he is a defender of what he percieves as justice, and like most defenders of "truth", he cares not what other people may think or feel rather is concerned with turning the world into his own liking.

The Fantastic Hamlet

The killing of Polonius at the hands of hamlet seems to be a killing which is based on Hamlets suspicion of conspiracy against the throne of Denmark. Hamlet has already become distrustful of most everyone around him, even his closest friends have become the targets of his growing suspicion when he asks Guildenstern "do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?". Even the one person he holds with such esteem as to spare her life (his mother) Hamlet feels he cannot trust. With that in mind Hamlet believed that it was Polonius's meddlesome personality that put him at the end of his sword, even thouhg he wasn't searching for him, the fates seem to have guided his hand in the killing of a rat. And any man hiding behind a curtain listening in on your coversation of your fathers murder deserves a thorough interrogation. I believe it is safe to say that hamlet does see himself as an agent of justice. Now we can compare our not so friendly neighborhood sword slinger to our darker counterpart, Othello. When Othello kills Desdemona he believes that he is purging the world of desdemonas toxic nature. Hamlets killing of Polonius was simillar in that they both felt death was a fitting punishment. The main dfference was that Desdemona was actually in Othello's sights and he had long before that night of her death delivered her death sentence, whereas Hamlet simply accidentally killed a man which he felt was not fit for life anyways "I took thee for thy better, take thy fortune" 3.4.

1.The first performance the actor conveys a tone of self pity in which he professes " how unprofitable all the uses of this world", he says this this softness in his voice yet with a strong sense of despair. And little by little his performance begins to escalate into a childish little tirade when his soliloquy turns from self pity to jealousy over his mother.

2.The second performance by Kevin Kline has a more psychotic air to it. The showy tears coupled with his standing absolutely still while staring into yonder give hints of a man you should stay away from. The actor in this scene seems to be playing the role of a deeply disturbed rich mommas boy entranced by his own sense of vengeance.

3.Here hamlet is portrayed as more calculating and irritated in the beginning, due to the lack of any outrageous shows of emotion. Then slowly transforms him into a more pathetic looking man as he begins to soften the expression on his face to a more tender vulnerable look . This hamlet may have embedded his thumb deep into his balding head if this act had gone on any longer.

4.This looks like the after school special Hamlet, the idiot locked away in the attic for embarrassing mommy and daddy at too many dinner parties. Gotta love his yearn full gaze out of that old country window. To tie it all together, his strong, direct closing statement add the final touch of hopelessness to this peeping little Hamlet.

5.Overkill! this is a one man hell in a cell. This hamlet was obviously the one which appeared most visibly disturbed by mommy and uncle in the cage next door. The acting was a bit much for my taste but did leave me with expectations of oedipal eye gouging, hmm that would be fun to watch, which I guess means that the actor did his job.

The award would have to go to Fujiwara Tatsuya. I chose Fujiwara due to the dualistic nature of hamlet, one second he's bouncing off fences, next thing he's rejoicing with old friends. The other hamlets seemed too proper to be potential mother killers. The only other Hamlet I saw with the potential to let the blood flow was Mel Gibson, and I don't think anyone could stomach Passion of the Hamlet