THE HANDSTAND

OCTOBER 2003

 It has long been debated whether it is possible to successfully adapt Shakespeare’s plays to the screen. Some have argued that the plays are so inherently designed for the stage i.e. are so ‘theatrical’ in form and structure that they inevitably lose something when transferred to film or television.  There is undoubtedly an element of truth in this view.  Some British television productions in past years have tended to be rather stilted and studio bound and have been marred by an old fashioned theatrical style of acting more suited to the theatre.  However when originality and imagination are employed the particular strengths of film of film and television can actually enhance certain aspects of the plays.

One particular way that this can be done is through the use of the close-up, a device which is not possible in the theatre.The close-up enables us to see a character actually thinking. On the stage this can only be done through the speaking of the text and the use of ‘theatrical’ gestures but on film it is possible to see the thought processes at work. One very effective example of this can be seen in Laurence Olivier’s self directed portrayal of Hamlet in 1948.  In the soliloquy scenes, instead of Hamlet speaking out loud, we hear him thinking and see the emotions on his face in close-up.

Another very obvious advantage lies in the way that battle scenes can be shown in a more realistic way.  Indeed Shakespeare himself was all too aware of the limitations of the stage in this respect when he has the Chorus say in Henry V“.…But pardon gentles all,/The flat unraised spirits that hath dared/On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth/So great an object. Can this cock-pit hold/The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram/Within the wooden O the very casques/That did afright the air at Agincourt?” Both Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh in their respective film versions of the play achieved battle scenes that were both spectacular and realistic.

Yet another advantage exists in the way that time can be shown passing through the use of editing and cutting techniques.  This was shown to great effect in a B.B.C. production of Richard III  during the 1970s starring Derek Jacobi.  In Richard’s final soliloquy in his prison cell before his death the effect of time passing is shown by having several short scenes dissolve into each other. Thus we see Richard at different stages of his agony and despair and our sense of his impending fate is heightened.

These are just a few brief examples of what can be done on film with Shakespeare’s plays. I shall consider other aspects of this in future articles.

Patrick O’Donnell©September 2003

The Battle of Agincourt

If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

-- Wm. Shakespeare, King Henry V

"Although professional theater was a fairly new phenomenon when Shakespeare began writing his plays, England had a centuries-old tradition of high-quality amateur theater. Cycles of mystery plays, which were based on stories from the Bible, were staged regularly in many English towns, and drama designed to teach moral lessons, including morality plays and interludes, later became popular. In addition, of course, educated Elizabethans were familiar with such Roman dramatists as Seneca and Plautus. All of these earlier dramatic forms played their parts not only in influencing professional dramatists, but also in developinging audiences for the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries."( Linda Anderson)

William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, was born in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 on St. George's day (23rd April) and died on the same day in 1616. Or at least, so it is alleged. No records of births and deaths were made in those days. We do, however have records of his baptism on (April 26th 1564: Gulielimus, filius Johannes Shakspeare) and of his burial on (25th April 1616: Will Shakspeare, Gent). Both these events took place in Holy Trinity Church. It can be fairly safely assumed that he worshipped here as a boy and young man, and again after he retired to his home town.