Get Ready to Nerd Out....

When it comes to the fantasy genre, what distinguishes the truly great works from the mediocre is attention to detail and the authenticity of the world that is created. This may include the creation of a new species or culture or a modification of one that already exists. Some authors will even develop a mythology that is unique to their universe. In very rare cases, a writer will actually develop an entire language for their novel.

One of the greatest examples of this is J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In addition to being a writer, Tolkien was a philologist, who loved studying languages. He drew on elements of different languages to develop his own. But he soon found something was missing – a culture behind the language. This was the principle factor that led him to develop Middle Earth, the setting of all of his most famous works. Though he created several languages for his stories, it is Elvish that stands out in most fantasy enthusiasts’ minds because it is the most structured. Some hardcore fans have actually attempted to learn Elvish and several actors in the Lord of the Rings movies were required to learn it. Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn, in particular, fell in love with the language and actually asked for more of his lines to be written in Elvish. Though it is extremely well-developed for a constructed language, Elvish is not a fully functional language and lacks certain aspects of grammar and syntax and does not have a fully developed vocabulary. Nevertheless, it is still more fully realized than most “languages” that appear in the fantasy genre and Tolkien remains as one of the few authors to ever construct a language so comprehensively.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s attention to detail and rich development of language is the reason why his works are so enduring. Few fantasy writers have put that much effort into the creation of their worlds. Besides sketching out an entire language, Tolkien also put a lot of thought into the races of people that feature in his novels (hobbits, elves, dwarves, orcs, Ents etc.) as well as the setting, geography, and landscape of Middle Earth. Each race lives in a distinct landscape, which is reflected in their culture; for instance, hobbits live simple, comfortable lives in the Shire, a peaceful, idyllic countryside, while dwarves prefer caves and mountains because they provide them with the resources of their main occupation and love – mining for jewels and precious metals. All of these elements add a layer of realism to Tolkien’s fantasy world, but it is still the language that sets him head and shoulders above the rest of most fantasy authors. For this reason, Tolkien has influenced many modern fantasy writers as well as game designers and movie producers. Appropriately enough, Tolkien even has a word in the dictionary named after him – tolkienesque and his imaginary creation of the hobbit, also appears as an entry.

We now live in a world where hobbits, Klingons, and Muggles* are familiar household names. This is because their creators have made them utterly unforgettable, by either ascribing to them a language or a richly layered culture and background. While Tolkien was not the first to do this, he was one of the best who did and has greatly influenced an entire generation of fantasy movies, games, and of course, novels.

*Muggles, of course, refer to non-magical people in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe. While the people the word describes aren't particularly special and aren't ascribed any of things I mentioned, the word itself and the people who use it are unforgettable and that is what I was going for. I apologize for any confusion.

"To Be Or Not To Be..." Three Ways

In Franco Zeffirelli’s version of Hamlet, Mel Gibson portrays the eponymous character and delivers the “to be or not to be” soliloquy deep within a catacomb. The setting of the speech is quite dark and melancholy. It is the tomb of the previous kings and noblemen of Elsinore, including Hamlet’s father. Hamlet has no visible props on his person; he simply wanders around the graves while contemplating his choice. Unlike the other two versions of the play, Hamlet does not have a dagger or any visible means of killing himself. This gives the soliloquy a more contemplative quality and implies that Hamlet is not seriously considering suicide; he is merely toying with the idea. This version is more relatable for the audience than the other two versions because Hamlet appears calm and rational while he thinks about the nature of suicide. Many people have contemplated suicide, but the number of people who have actually attempted it is far fewer. All of these aspects make the scene appear more melancholy and thoughtful than exciting; the audience never believes for a moment that he will actually kill himself.

At the other end of the spectrum is Lawrence Olivier’s version of the play, where Hamlet is not only holding a dagger, but is also standing on the edge of the castle, ready to jump into the roiling seawater below. Hamlet’s soliloquy is much darker in this version and it appears that he seriously considering suicide. Though the audience can surmise that Hamlet will be in the rest of the play, it seems much more likely that he will take his own life than it does in either of the other two versions. The dark stormy sky, the dagger, and the ocean swirling beneath him all convey a sense of urgency and death that the other versions lack.

Kenneth Branaugh’s version of the play is the most unusual. The tone is rather unclear. Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet is standing in what appears to be a very large room in a mansion in front of a large mirror. The walls are a blinding white trimmed with gold, giving the room a rather gaudy, superficial appearance. The floor is tiled in black and white and the only prop that Hamlet possesses is a dagger that he draws towards the end of his speech. The setting does not possess the creepiness of the tomb or the urgency of the parapet, but has an eerie quality that the other two lack. The greatest difference between this and the other two film versions lies in the use of the mirror. The mirror provides an interesting concept of duality – the Hamlet who desires death and the Hamlet who fears death, which gives the scene added dimension.

In all three of these versions, the directors, though they may have different takes as to how to portray Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts, all capture Hamlet’s contemplation of the nature of suicide. Zeffirelli gives the scene a touch of sadness by setting it in the tomb of Hamlet’s father; Olivier paints the scene with serious urgency by giving Hamlet immediate access to the instruments of his death, and Branaugh brings a strange, hypnotic quality to the soliloquy with the use of the mirror to show the duality of Hamlet’s choice. All are unique interpretations of Shakespeare’s work and highlight the different aspects of Hamlet’s nature and character.