comic#1 comic#2 comic#3 comic#4
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*Comic's Title: Something's Rotten in the State of Denmark
*first blog entry for the 'My Hamlet Project' is titled "Hamlet Proposals"
*7 entries in all [including this one]
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Basis and Process for Comic #4
Act 3, Scene 4, Line 25
Polonius:
O, I am slain.
Polonius . . . announcing his death.
Lines 159-166
Hamlet:
Once more, good night,
And when you are desirous to be blest,
I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,
I do repent. But heaven hath pleased it so,
To punish me with this, and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister.
I will bestow, and will answer well
The death I gave him.
Hamlet says that his murder of Polonius was an act of faith (Protestant belief) meant to do two things: to punish Hamlet with another murder to repent for, and to punish Polonious
-----------------------
Three jokes exist within the fourth strip of the web comic:
1. Hamlet's lack of remorse, as he proclaims the murder to be an act of faith (as well as the ones he commits in the final act); I have God arrive in the scene to counter-act the 'slander' against him.
2. The general violent nature of the play (suicides, murders, ect.), which I show through an exaggerated amount of blood on Hamlet's clothing and on the tapestry (juxtaposed against a heavanly figure -- judge).
3. Polonius' announcement of his own death; I try to make it more ridiculous by having him say the line well after he is presumed dead by the other characters in the strip.
=============================
Process
It took 69 layers to complete the final web comic for the 'My Hamlet Project'. Although I feel it looks the best out of the four, I must admit that the rhythm is choppier than the others. With little time left to complete a fourth comic (I though three was too few) I could not spend as much time with the continuity of this strip as I did with the previous ones. Overall, I am satisfied with the way my project turned out -- if it were to become an actual web comic, the content would need to expand beyond death related scenes in the play.
Some choices I made:
- a portrait of Claudius was placed above Gertrude's head to allude to the conversation that had taken place
- the bedroom was drawn how I imagined it to look like
- tapestry where Polonius was stabbed is included on the right side of the background (ripped from Hamlet's sword)
- Gertrude was modeled after the Gertrude in Mel Gibson's Hamlet
- "heaven" replaced with "God" to make the joke more clear
Polonius:
O, I am slain.
Polonius . . . announcing his death.
Lines 159-166
Hamlet:
Once more, good night,
And when you are desirous to be blest,
I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,
I do repent. But heaven hath pleased it so,
To punish me with this, and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister.
I will bestow, and will answer well
The death I gave him.
Hamlet says that his murder of Polonius was an act of faith (Protestant belief) meant to do two things: to punish Hamlet with another murder to repent for, and to punish Polonious
-----------------------
Three jokes exist within the fourth strip of the web comic:
1. Hamlet's lack of remorse, as he proclaims the murder to be an act of faith (as well as the ones he commits in the final act); I have God arrive in the scene to counter-act the 'slander' against him.
2. The general violent nature of the play (suicides, murders, ect.), which I show through an exaggerated amount of blood on Hamlet's clothing and on the tapestry (juxtaposed against a heavanly figure -- judge).
3. Polonius' announcement of his own death; I try to make it more ridiculous by having him say the line well after he is presumed dead by the other characters in the strip.
=============================
Process
It took 69 layers to complete the final web comic for the 'My Hamlet Project'. Although I feel it looks the best out of the four, I must admit that the rhythm is choppier than the others. With little time left to complete a fourth comic (I though three was too few) I could not spend as much time with the continuity of this strip as I did with the previous ones. Overall, I am satisfied with the way my project turned out -- if it were to become an actual web comic, the content would need to expand beyond death related scenes in the play.
Some choices I made:
- a portrait of Claudius was placed above Gertrude's head to allude to the conversation that had taken place
- the bedroom was drawn how I imagined it to look like
- tapestry where Polonius was stabbed is included on the right side of the background (ripped from Hamlet's sword)
- Gertrude was modeled after the Gertrude in Mel Gibson's Hamlet
- "heaven" replaced with "God" to make the joke more clear
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Basis and Process for Comic #3
Act 1, Scene 5, line 9 - 25
Ghost:
I am thy father's spirit,
Doomed for a certain term to walk the night
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combinèd locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fearful porpentine.
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Hamlet:
O God!
Ghost:
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
--------------------
In these lines the ghost introduces itself to Hamlet as the spirit of his father (shocks Hamlet) and then asks for his son's commitment to revenge his murder. Once Hamlet accepts the call (text not given above), the ghost remarks:
Duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this.
Essentially saying something is would be wrong with Hamlet if he didn't get riled up about the situation, and the presence of his father's apparition.
-------------------------
The fact that the ghost is seen by the guards, and then Horatio -- who is said to be scholarly -- is enough to convince Hamlet of the apparition's existence. When the ghost is directly introduced to the reader as it speaks to Hamlet (we hear it with him), the existence of apparitions are validated within the world of the play, and possibly implied by Shakespeare in his own world. However, in modern times many are skeptic of whether ghosts exist ( I don't believe in them) . . . so what would happen if the most characteristic figure of the play (in the sense that Hamlet is one of the most notorious ghost stories) -- the one who sets the 'call', and starts the action -- doesn't actually exists? To answer that question, there would be no play -- and to a degree, there lies the joke of the third strip, where I have Horatio dress up as King Hamlet's Ghost as a joke (invalidating the existence of ghosts). The fact that it is a prank between best friends, over the serious conflict of the actual play (murdered father), heightens the punchline.
=============================
Process
The line work for this comic only took 64 layers to complete -- a significantly less amount than the other two, since my familiarity with the program increases with each comic I make. At this point, the style seems to have [fully] developed (you can see that the first comic looks a little different than the others).
Some choices I made:
- Elsinore Castle was modeled after the ghost scene in Mel Gibson's Hamlet
- some lines from the ghost's dialogue had to be cut, in order to neatly fit in the frame
- first comic where I added new text (necessary for the punchline)
- Horatio is the one under the white sheet, as the joke contradicts his "scholarly" nature
- The ghost is originally cut off after he says "If thou didst ever thy dear father love—" by Hamlet saying "O God." I keep the same break, but replace it with Hamlet asking the ghost if it is Horatio dressed up.
Ghost:
I am thy father's spirit,
Doomed for a certain term to walk the night
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combinèd locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fearful porpentine.
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Hamlet:
O God!
Ghost:
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
--------------------
In these lines the ghost introduces itself to Hamlet as the spirit of his father (shocks Hamlet) and then asks for his son's commitment to revenge his murder. Once Hamlet accepts the call (text not given above), the ghost remarks:
Duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this.
Essentially saying something is would be wrong with Hamlet if he didn't get riled up about the situation, and the presence of his father's apparition.
-------------------------
The fact that the ghost is seen by the guards, and then Horatio -- who is said to be scholarly -- is enough to convince Hamlet of the apparition's existence. When the ghost is directly introduced to the reader as it speaks to Hamlet (we hear it with him), the existence of apparitions are validated within the world of the play, and possibly implied by Shakespeare in his own world. However, in modern times many are skeptic of whether ghosts exist ( I don't believe in them) . . . so what would happen if the most characteristic figure of the play (in the sense that Hamlet is one of the most notorious ghost stories) -- the one who sets the 'call', and starts the action -- doesn't actually exists? To answer that question, there would be no play -- and to a degree, there lies the joke of the third strip, where I have Horatio dress up as King Hamlet's Ghost as a joke (invalidating the existence of ghosts). The fact that it is a prank between best friends, over the serious conflict of the actual play (murdered father), heightens the punchline.
=============================
Process
The line work for this comic only took 64 layers to complete -- a significantly less amount than the other two, since my familiarity with the program increases with each comic I make. At this point, the style seems to have [fully] developed (you can see that the first comic looks a little different than the others).
Some choices I made:
- Elsinore Castle was modeled after the ghost scene in Mel Gibson's Hamlet
- some lines from the ghost's dialogue had to be cut, in order to neatly fit in the frame
- first comic where I added new text (necessary for the punchline)
- Horatio is the one under the white sheet, as the joke contradicts his "scholarly" nature
- The ghost is originally cut off after he says "If thou didst ever thy dear father love—" by Hamlet saying "O God." I keep the same break, but replace it with Hamlet asking the ghost if it is Horatio dressed up.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Basis and Process for Comic #2
Act 5, Scene 1, Lines 74-78
Hamlet:
That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the
knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain's jawbone,
that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician,
which this ass now o'er-offices, one that would circumvent
God, might it not?
Hamlet is irritated by the graveyard for mishandling a skull that could belong to an important figure.
-------------
Lines 176-187
Hamlet:
Let me see. (He takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him,
Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.
He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now,
how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.
Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.
Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs?
Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on
a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite
chapfallen? Now get you to my lady's chamber and tell her,
let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come.
Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one
thing.
Hamlet speaks directly to Yoric's skull, and is conflicted at how someone once full of life is now decayed, and static -- he undergoes a revelation.
------------------------------------
Lines 197-206
Hamlet:
No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty
enough, and likelihood to lead it. As thus: Alexander died
Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust. The
dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam,
whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t'expel the winter's flaw!
Hamlet marvels at the fact that all people -- even great conquerors -- turn to dust in the end. At the beginning of the scene Hamlet was irritated by the gravedigger's mishandling of a skull, but now asks 'why can't/what's to stop Ceasar's dust from being used to fill a whole?'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Facing eye to eye with the skull of an old friend clearly jolts Hamlet's philosophy and further feeds his preoccupation with death. Hamlet begins the scene uneasy about the gravedigger's handling of the skulls, as well as his cheerful disposition in the graveyard. When he at last recognizes the skull in the gravediggers hands as belonging to Yoric, Hamlet voluntarily pics it up, gazes into its eyes, and begins to speak directly to it.
I browsed youtube for act 5 scene 1, and in every movie it just has Horatio and the gravedigger idly standing while Hamlet speaks to a skull . . . therefor one of the jokes in this comic is the awkwardness of having to stand next to Hamlet during his grim revelation: everyone turns to dust in the end . With that said, the second joke in the comic is an exaggeration of what Hamlet saw/thought at the time -- a mix between memories of Yoric, and the physical characteristics of death in his hands. The skull is a photograph rather than a cartoon to emphasize the physicality of death hamlet is exposed to; the jester hat only appears through his eyes as a result of his memories (also makes him seem crazy).
=============================
Process
Below is an image of the line work for this cartoon, which took 83 layers to complete. This picture is not of the final #2 -- I re-arranged the order horizontally (as well as for the first comic), because I felt it carried better.
Some choices I made:
- Hamlet appears the same, and for the same reasons as strip 1
- I photoshoped an image of a skull, and a jester hat to combine what hamlet saw/thought: memories of Yoric mixed with the physicality of death siting in his palm
- only Hamlet sees the jester's hat
- the graveyard is based off of the one in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (film)
- Horatio and the gravedigger are drawn how I imagined them while reading
Hamlet:
That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the
knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain's jawbone,
that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician,
which this ass now o'er-offices, one that would circumvent
God, might it not?
Hamlet is irritated by the graveyard for mishandling a skull that could belong to an important figure.
-------------
Lines 176-187
Hamlet:
Let me see. (He takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him,
Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.
He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now,
how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.
Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.
Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs?
Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on
a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite
chapfallen? Now get you to my lady's chamber and tell her,
let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come.
Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one
thing.
Hamlet speaks directly to Yoric's skull, and is conflicted at how someone once full of life is now decayed, and static -- he undergoes a revelation.
------------------------------------
Lines 197-206
Hamlet:
No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty
enough, and likelihood to lead it. As thus: Alexander died
Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust. The
dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam,
whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t'expel the winter's flaw!
Hamlet marvels at the fact that all people -- even great conquerors -- turn to dust in the end. At the beginning of the scene Hamlet was irritated by the gravedigger's mishandling of a skull, but now asks 'why can't/what's to stop Ceasar's dust from being used to fill a whole?'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Facing eye to eye with the skull of an old friend clearly jolts Hamlet's philosophy and further feeds his preoccupation with death. Hamlet begins the scene uneasy about the gravedigger's handling of the skulls, as well as his cheerful disposition in the graveyard. When he at last recognizes the skull in the gravediggers hands as belonging to Yoric, Hamlet voluntarily pics it up, gazes into its eyes, and begins to speak directly to it.
I browsed youtube for act 5 scene 1, and in every movie it just has Horatio and the gravedigger idly standing while Hamlet speaks to a skull . . . therefor one of the jokes in this comic is the awkwardness of having to stand next to Hamlet during his grim revelation: everyone turns to dust in the end . With that said, the second joke in the comic is an exaggeration of what Hamlet saw/thought at the time -- a mix between memories of Yoric, and the physical characteristics of death in his hands. The skull is a photograph rather than a cartoon to emphasize the physicality of death hamlet is exposed to; the jester hat only appears through his eyes as a result of his memories (also makes him seem crazy).
=============================
Process
Below is an image of the line work for this cartoon, which took 83 layers to complete. This picture is not of the final #2 -- I re-arranged the order horizontally (as well as for the first comic), because I felt it carried better.
Some choices I made:
- Hamlet appears the same, and for the same reasons as strip 1
- I photoshoped an image of a skull, and a jester hat to combine what hamlet saw/thought: memories of Yoric mixed with the physicality of death siting in his palm
- only Hamlet sees the jester's hat
- the graveyard is based off of the one in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (film)
- Horatio and the gravedigger are drawn how I imagined them while reading
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Basis and Process for Comic #1
Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 280-285
LAERTES
He is justly served;
It is a poison tempered by himself.
Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.
Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me. (He dies)
HAMLET
Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee.
--------------------------------------
"Redemption is a religious concept referring to forgiveness or absolution for past sins and protection from eternal damnation"
- wikipedia.com
--------------------------------------
In these lines Laertes forgives Hamlet for killing him and his father, essentially offering to Hamlet, the Christian [and Islamic] principle of redemption. Likewise, Hamlet forgives Laertes for poisoning him. As Laertes dies, Hamlet pronounces that he will follow him in to heaven.
--------------------------------------
After Hamlet's long anticipated act of revenge -- where he not only kills Claudius, but also Laertes (lets not forget Poloneous earlier on) -- Shakespeare wipes the slate clean in just five lines. . . so I ask the question: what if they still went to hell?
=============================
Process
*overall I underestimated the time it would take make to create a web comic (its been a looong time since I last used Flash MX). Below is an image of the line work for the first cartoon, which took me 99 layers to complete -- though I could have sacrificed the aesthetic quality to create more comics, part of my goal in making a web comic was to connect Hamlet to a modern audience, and appearence is of importance to colorfully catch a reader's attention. Though stick figure hamlet (http://stickfigurehamlet.com/act4/scene4/page01.html) is ammusing, its simplicity can not carry readers the entire 80 strips (though it would be difficult to make that many had he done it more detailed).
Some choices I made:
-Hamlet's hair is disheveled, has a 5 0'clock shadow, and he wears all black to accentuate his melancholy persona.
-Laertes was given a mustache after the Laertes in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (film)
-that is Claudius in the last frame (thought it makes it funnier to have him pop up and say hello); he too is modeled similarly after the Claudius in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.
-the palace is based on how I pictured it when reading the play (very brown and red)
-Laertes has been hit three times, and Hamlet once -- just like in the play
LAERTES
He is justly served;
It is a poison tempered by himself.
Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet.
Mine and my father's death come not upon thee,
Nor thine on me. (He dies)
HAMLET
Heaven make thee free of it! I follow thee.
--------------------------------------
"Redemption is a religious concept referring to forgiveness or absolution for past sins and protection from eternal damnation"
- wikipedia.com
--------------------------------------
In these lines Laertes forgives Hamlet for killing him and his father, essentially offering to Hamlet, the Christian [and Islamic] principle of redemption. Likewise, Hamlet forgives Laertes for poisoning him. As Laertes dies, Hamlet pronounces that he will follow him in to heaven.
--------------------------------------
After Hamlet's long anticipated act of revenge -- where he not only kills Claudius, but also Laertes (lets not forget Poloneous earlier on) -- Shakespeare wipes the slate clean in just five lines. . . so I ask the question: what if they still went to hell?
=============================
Process
*overall I underestimated the time it would take make to create a web comic (its been a looong time since I last used Flash MX). Below is an image of the line work for the first cartoon, which took me 99 layers to complete -- though I could have sacrificed the aesthetic quality to create more comics, part of my goal in making a web comic was to connect Hamlet to a modern audience, and appearence is of importance to colorfully catch a reader's attention. Though stick figure hamlet (http://stickfigurehamlet.com/act4/scene4/page01.html) is ammusing, its simplicity can not carry readers the entire 80 strips (though it would be difficult to make that many had he done it more detailed).
Some choices I made:
-Hamlet's hair is disheveled, has a 5 0'clock shadow, and he wears all black to accentuate his melancholy persona.
-Laertes was given a mustache after the Laertes in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (film)
-that is Claudius in the last frame (thought it makes it funnier to have him pop up and say hello); he too is modeled similarly after the Claudius in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.
-the palace is based on how I pictured it when reading the play (very brown and red)
-Laertes has been hit three times, and Hamlet once -- just like in the play
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
List of Death/Afterlife/Character belief related content
- laertes and hamlet forgive each other at the end (retribution)
- hamlet with yoric's skull ('everyone turns to dust in the end')
- Gravedigger's reluctance to dig ophelia's grave due to suicide (christian burial) -- water analogy
-priest's conversation with Laertes about burial rituals; says if it weren't for the king, she'd be burried outside the church graveyard. Laertes claims his sister was pure.
- ghost; acknowledged by the living, therefor apparitions are validated within the play; talks of purgatory
-Horatio warning hamlet not to fight laertes; hamlet asserts that faith guides him (protestant principle)
-Hamlet's indecision about suicide; to be or not to be soliloquy
-Ophelia escapes through death
-Claudius praying -- chooses his current riches/power over going to heaven; never asks for forgiveness.
-hamlet as a martyr figure/christ figure; "The final words of Jesus ("It is finished") and Hamlet ("The rest is silence") are similar, and Horatio beckons the angels to carry Hamlet."
-Gertrude unable to see the ghost
- Hamlet justifying the murder of polonius as an act of god (further indicating his belief in fate/destiny -- a protestant principle)
- general belief of the characters that murder is the ultimate form of revenge
- announcement of one's own death in the play, "oh I am slain" -- polonius
- lack of remorse for committing murder
- hamlet with yoric's skull ('everyone turns to dust in the end')
- Gravedigger's reluctance to dig ophelia's grave due to suicide (christian burial) -- water analogy
-priest's conversation with Laertes about burial rituals; says if it weren't for the king, she'd be burried outside the church graveyard. Laertes claims his sister was pure.
- ghost; acknowledged by the living, therefor apparitions are validated within the play; talks of purgatory
-Horatio warning hamlet not to fight laertes; hamlet asserts that faith guides him (protestant principle)
-Hamlet's indecision about suicide; to be or not to be soliloquy
-Ophelia escapes through death
-Claudius praying -- chooses his current riches/power over going to heaven; never asks for forgiveness.
-hamlet as a martyr figure/christ figure; "The final words of Jesus ("It is finished") and Hamlet ("The rest is silence") are similar, and Horatio beckons the angels to carry Hamlet."
-Gertrude unable to see the ghost
- Hamlet justifying the murder of polonius as an act of god (further indicating his belief in fate/destiny -- a protestant principle)
- general belief of the characters that murder is the ultimate form of revenge
- announcement of one's own death in the play, "oh I am slain" -- polonius
- lack of remorse for committing murder
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Hamlet Proposals
Actual project is the web comic medium of #2 with an intent/message similar to proposal #1: to provide satire or commentary on embedded philosophies about death and the afterlife, in the play -- as well as on individual characters' own revelations and views pertaining to the same. The web comic medium is intended to connect Hamlet with a modern audience across the heavily trafficked world wide web. With the use of the original text (fair amount), this project orients itself more toward the group [that was mentioned in my Hamlet on the Web essay,] more fluent in Elizabethan English.
----------------------------------
Proposal #1: a critical essay which focuses on Hamlet’s contribution to philosophical/religious discussion, in Shakespeare’s, and our own time. Specifically, I will be looking at how the audience’s interest in Hamlet’s addressing of the afterlife, has shifted from a religious standpoint to philosophical one. Shakespeare builds the plot on/has the character’s abide by both Catholic and Protestant beliefs (ghost talks of purgatory, while Hamlet states God controls everything before his duel with Laertes); the play was written not too long after the English Reformation, where the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, partially influenced by the Protestant Reformation. Today’s audiences – long after the Christian Reformations, and with a growing number of atheists, and agnostics – look to the play for answers/stimulus to their own questions about the afterlife. The diversity that Shakespeare instilled into his characters is what makes the play so appealing to them: Ophelia sees the afterlife as an escape from her misery, Claudius decides his present state of “inherited” power is of greater importance than his well being in the afterlife (therefor does not ask for forgiveness), and Hamlet is balanced in between – uncertain of whether to commit suicide, or to continue to avenge his father’s death, risking his own damnation (kills Polonius and Laertes, and has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed).
Proposal #2 (Similar subject matter as the above: religion/afterlife): a web comic which depicts alternative versions of a scene, structured around the beliefs of other philosophies/religions (not Catholic or Protestant). Which scene and what religions has yet to be determined, although the scene would have to deal with the afterlife (encounter with the ghost, Yorick’s grave, the ending, etc. – one of those). There would be a total of 7 strips – one for every day of the week. I was browsing for “Hamlet comic strip” to see if it had been done before, and came across Stick Figure Hamlet (http://stickfigurehamlet.com/act1/scene2/page01.html). It covers the entire play in 80 pages (that’s a lot), so I wanted to do something different/more focused.
----------------------------------
Proposal #1: a critical essay which focuses on Hamlet’s contribution to philosophical/religious discussion, in Shakespeare’s, and our own time. Specifically, I will be looking at how the audience’s interest in Hamlet’s addressing of the afterlife, has shifted from a religious standpoint to philosophical one. Shakespeare builds the plot on/has the character’s abide by both Catholic and Protestant beliefs (ghost talks of purgatory, while Hamlet states God controls everything before his duel with Laertes); the play was written not too long after the English Reformation, where the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, partially influenced by the Protestant Reformation. Today’s audiences – long after the Christian Reformations, and with a growing number of atheists, and agnostics – look to the play for answers/stimulus to their own questions about the afterlife. The diversity that Shakespeare instilled into his characters is what makes the play so appealing to them: Ophelia sees the afterlife as an escape from her misery, Claudius decides his present state of “inherited” power is of greater importance than his well being in the afterlife (therefor does not ask for forgiveness), and Hamlet is balanced in between – uncertain of whether to commit suicide, or to continue to avenge his father’s death, risking his own damnation (kills Polonius and Laertes, and has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed).
Proposal #2 (Similar subject matter as the above: religion/afterlife): a web comic which depicts alternative versions of a scene, structured around the beliefs of other philosophies/religions (not Catholic or Protestant). Which scene and what religions has yet to be determined, although the scene would have to deal with the afterlife (encounter with the ghost, Yorick’s grave, the ending, etc. – one of those). There would be a total of 7 strips – one for every day of the week. I was browsing for “Hamlet comic strip” to see if it had been done before, and came across Stick Figure Hamlet (http://stickfigurehamlet.com/act1/scene2/page01.html). It covers the entire play in 80 pages (that’s a lot), so I wanted to do something different/more focused.
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