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Hamlet is often seen as one of the most well known examples of an Oedipus Complex presented in literature. The reasons for this is probably because of the plot that resolves around the revenge that Hamlet has against his step-father Claudius and because of the relationship that Hamlet has with his mother that is loaded with sexual energy. Hamlets love for his mother is especially exemplified by the Mel Gibsons interpretation of the infamous closet scene. Traditionally a Queens closet was not worth emphasizing a bedroom, but it is likely that most of the readers would presume that the closet scene takes place in Gertrude's bedroom because of the obsession that Hamlet has about Gertrude's bed. When Hamlet responds to his mothers summons and comes to her closet, he invades a very private place where customarily a woman would only entertain her husband or a lover. For an adult son to do this, intimations of erotic possibilities are almost inevitable because the son crosses the line into the enclosure of his mothers privacy to encounter her as a serialized subject.
The room that Olivier created for Gertrude contained a lot of scenery to convey a subliminal message. The tall doors look phallic-shaped and the bed is the center of attention most of the time. The bed is also much more lit than the rest of the room that emphasizes the importance of it. The way Gertrude kisses Hamlet in the Olivier, can be signifier's of the sexuality that is going in between her and Hamlet. The kisses are not what the everyday person interprets as platonic and it is almost as if Hamlet and Gertrude are drawn closer and closer because of the passion between them, in order that their faces are only inches apart. The last kiss between Gertrude and Hamlet is a great example of how Olivier intended the bed and the sexual connotation that goes with that to be the center of attention.
When the last kiss is given, the camera angle turns to have the bed as well as the two figures kissing in the picture. Gertrude by the bed is the last focus of the camera you see when the scene ends. Richardson's Hamlet is not as much preoccupied with sexuality than Olivier's- or the Zeffirelli's Hamlet. The relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet in this film seems more impersonal than the others. The viewer experience much more hate from Hamlet towards Gertrude in this film that explains why Richardson left out a lot of the dialogue at the end of the scene, because he wanted the focus to be more on the beginning of the scene where Hamlets words are much harsher towards Gertrude, than at the end of it. At the end of the scene Hamlet accentuates the words: I must be cruel to be kind that demonstrate the point.
The bed is not very prominent in Richardson's version of Hamlet that indicates that he did not want the viewer to focus on the on the sexual connotation that goes with the bed. It is true on the other hand that Gertrude and Hamlet lied on the bed at the end of the scene, but the viewer gets the feeling that it was more an indicator of the intimacy that goes with a normal mother- and son relationship than an Oedipus Complex- case. Hamlet cried like a little boy that lost his father and not like a lover that lost his mistress. When you compare the lighting of the closet scene from the Richardson version with the Zeffirelli, it is easily observable that the colors here are much more sharper and not so romantic as the Zeffirelli. Mel Gibson was seen as a major sex symbol in the eighties that immediately suggests the sexual connotation of Hamlet. The bed is also almost immediately prominent in this version.
The lighting gives an atmosphere of romance because of the warm almost candle-like colors it gives. Gertrude in the Zeffirelli are much more overtly sexual in the other movies. She takes every opportunity to kiss Hamlet fully on the mouth, sometimes even lingering on the lips. It is almost as if Hamlets Oedipal cravings is a given in this movie. At one time Hamlet is even thrusting his lions against Gertrude that suggest a signifier of sexual intercourse. When the ghost appears it is as if it is just in time to stop Hamlet and Gertrude from having full-fledged intercourse.
Gertrude does not seem to mind this at all in the way she caresses Hamlet unquestionably more representative of the display of affection one associates with a lover than a mother. The conclusion is that the Oedipus Complex definitely plays an integral role in the most of the movies made about Hamlet. Two of the three films I discussed are clearly paradigmatic, as each has in some way further contributed to the idea of Hamlets aberrant sexual feelings.
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Research essay sample on Analysis Of The Closet Scene In Hamlet Movie
