HUMA 2005 Shakespeare and Film

HUMA 2005 Shakespeare and Film
mid-term take-home test
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This test is due by midnight on 27 March and is worth 30% of your mark for HUMA 405. Please submit your test through Blackboard.
Tests handed in late will lose 2 percentage points a day, for a total of 10% (5 days). Late tests will not be accepted after five days.
You will choose one of these three topics to write about:
a. The witches in Macbeth.
b. Ophelia’s mad scene in Hamlet.
c. Feste’s song “O Mistress Mine” in Twelfth Night.
I have posted some film clips from different versions of Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Macbeth* on Blackboard,
where you will also find the relevant passages from Shakespeare. Once you’ve decided which play you’d like to
write about, read the passages and watch the appropriate clips carefully. You’ll probably want to read/watch
them several times. Make sure that you watch all of the clips of the scene you’ve chosen.
1. Write an essay in which you compare two or more of the versions of the scene you’ve chosen to write about.
You should discuss how the films interpret the original text, and what techniques the filmmakers have used to
convey those interpretations. You may write about any aspect(s) of the productions that particularly interest
you, including:
camera work
music
composition of specific frames
visual metaphor
re-arrangement and/or omission of original text
lighting
insertion of non-verbal material
costume
blocking
acting style
anything else that you find particularly noteworthy
Please don’t attempt to discuss all of these – choose aspects of the films that will allow you to produce an
intelligent and interesting discussion.
There is no assigned length for this essay, but a good piece of work will probably be at least 500 words. Content
matters more than length.
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*Macbeth, 1998. dir. Michael Bogdanov. (2 clips)
Macbeth, 1971. dir. Roman Polanski. (2 clips)
Throne of Blood, 1957. dir. Akira Kurosawa. (1 clip)
Hamlet, 1996. dir. Kenneth Branagh. (2 clips)
Hamlet, 2009. dir. Gregory Doran. (2 clips)
Hamlet, 1990. dir. Franco Zeffirelli. (3 clips)
Hamlet, 2000. dir, Michael Almereyda. (1 clip)
Twelfth Night, 2003. dir. Tim Supple. (1 clip)
Twelfth Night, 1996. dir. Trevor Nunn. (1 clip)
Twelfth Night, 1988. dir. Kenneth Branagh. (1 clip)
“O Mistress Mine,” 1997. composer, John Harle. Sung by Elvis Costello. (This is a sound file only. I’ve included it as an alternate example of a
setting of the song for students who wish to focus mainly on music.)

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