The 30-Minute Shakespeare Anthology. William Shakespeare

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      Ophelia describes Hamlet’s “madness” and a few scenes later she goes mad herself. This might be an opportunity for you as an actor to show flashes of Ophelia’s impending insanity. Hamlet’s abuse of her in this scene is the first real trigger of her decline. When describing Hamlet’s madness, traces of mental instability might show in Ophelia’s face.

      How does one portray someone heading toward madness? Let’s start with the imagery of the bells. When Ophelia says “Like sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh” she could lift her hands up to her ears as if hearing something loud. On the words “blasted with ecstasy,” Ophelia might widen her eyes, perhaps breaking into a grimace or grin. It might help to look in a mirror or videotape yourself when trying these physical gestures and facial expressions. Over-exaggerate the gestures and expressions to a grotesque level, then bring them back down. Find a level of “expressed madness” that fits the words and the scene.

      The final sentence begins with the syllable “O” repeated twice, which can provide a nice symmetry to the monologue. Is it the same “O” that we started the speech with or is it completely different? After the first “O,” Ophelia laments Hamlet’s condition. By the final “O,” she is bemoaning her own condition: “O, woe is me.” Although this is not a particularly long monologue, the phrases are rich in poetic imagery and emotion, and it can be a vehicle for you to further the story of one of Shakespeare’s great tragic heroines.

      SUGGESTED VIEWING

       HAMLET, 1948

       Director: Laurence Olivier

       Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

       HAMLET, 1976

       Director: Celestino Coronado

       Starring: David Meyer, Hellen Mirren

       HENRY IV, PART 1

       CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY

       The following is a list of characters that appear in this scene of Henry IV, Part 1.

       KING HENRY IV: Father to Prince Henry; formerly Henry of Bollingbroke

       PRINCE HENRY: Also called Harry or Hal; oldest son to King Henry IV

       NARRATOR

       SET AND PROP LIST

       SET PIECES:

       Throne

       HENRY IV, PART 1: ACT III, SCENE II

      London. The palace.

      Enter NARRATOR from stage right, coming downstage center.

       NARRATOR

       Prince Hal reconciles with his father, King Henry IV, by swearing to fight the rebels and to defeat Hotspur.

      Exit NARRATOR stage right.

      Enter KING HENRY IV and PRINCE HENRY from stage left. KING HENRY IV sits on the throne.

       KING HENRY IV

       I know not whether God will have it so,

       For some displeasing service I have done,

       But thou dost in thy passages of life

       Make me believe that thou art only mark’d

       For the hot vengeance and the rod of heaven

       To punish my mistreadings. Tell me else,

       Could such inordinate and low desires,

       Such barren pleasures, rude society,

       As thou art match’d withal and grafted to,

       Accompany the greatness of thy blood

       And hold their level with thy princely heart?

       PRINCE HENRY

       So please your majesty

       Find pardon on my true submission. (kneels)

       KING HENRY IV

       God pardon thee! Yet let me wonder, Harry,

       At thy affections, which do hold a wing

       Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors.

       The hope and expectation of thy time

       Is ruin’d. Harry, thou has lost thy princely privilege

       With vile participation: Not an eye

       But is a-weary of thy common sight,

       Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more.

      PRINCE HENRY (touched and surprised)

       I shall hereafter be more myself.

       KING HENRY IV

       For all the world

       Percy now leads ancient lords and reverend bishops on

       To bloody battles and to bruising arms.

       Thrice hath this Hotspur, Mars in swathling clothes,

       Discomfited great Douglas, ta’en him once,

       And what say you to this? Percy, Northumberland,

       The Archbishop’s grace of York, Douglas, Mortimer,

       Capitulate against us and are up.

       PRINCE HENRY

       I will redeem all this on Percy’s head,

       And, in the closing of some glorious day,

       Be bold to tell you that I am your son,

       When I will wear a garment all of blood

       And stain my favors in a bloody mask,

       Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it.

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