Reread the “To be or not to be” soliloquy. Consider it in context, referring to the footnotes and cited passages in the introduction and alternative texts within the Arden 3 edition.
Then, using the four video clips here, watch how each of the four films uses this material. How does it accord with what you have learned by closely analyzing the text? What alterations and additions have the directors and actors made, with what effects?
Consider whether this passage can serve as a crux in Hamlet’s story, and if so, how. What elements of his characterization or of the film’s emphasis come to the fore by watching these selections?
Choose the two films about which you have the most to say, and make some notes to help you begin to answer these questions.