Body paragraph- first draft

Kenneth Branugh displays a very elaborate and royal interpretation of Act I, scene II, and affectively sets the mood of the scene through the interactions between his characters. With everyone wearing red, white, or black, and Gertrude dressed in white wedding attire, the family stands before a huge crowd in a very bright setting as if the king were getting ready to deliver an important speech. Branugh employs a technique in which he uses both private and public conversation to illustrate the attitudes of Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius; initially, audience viewers see the three family members having a close conversation between eachother dealing with Hamlet's mourning and his possible leave for college, but then all of a sudden the camera fades out to a huge crowd observing in the stands, and Claudius address the crowd, showing his power as king. Branugh captures two different sides of Claudius in this scene. As Claudius addresses his wife and son standing at the same level as them, Branugh degrades Claudius' power and does not display him as a higher figure above all. When Claudius stands to address the entire crowd after Hamlet agrees to stay, viewers see the powerful side of Claudius that is usually more clear; Claudius stands before e crowd like a king stands before his citizens, exercising all the power over everybody with a loud, and powerful tone of voice. After Claudius speaks to the entire crowd, Branugh exaggerates the celebration and after everyone leaves the room, Hamlet stands alone. Branugh's use of an exaggerated celebration helps underline Claudius' power over the room, proving this with an e,a irate reaction to his words.