Hamlet

Written by William Shakespeare

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

‘This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.’

The searing tragedy of young student Hamlet, tormented by his father’s death and confronting each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world.

The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the King, Queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed.

All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.

Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production.

The full cast includes: Patrick Wymark; Anthony White; Miles Malleson; Ian Lang; Peter Orr; David Rowe-Beddoe; Philip Strick; John Tracy-Phillips; Giles Slaughter; George Rylands; Trevor Nunn; Michael Burrell; Julian Curry; David Coombes; Tom Bussman; Hugh Walters; Gary Watson; Ronald Allen; Roger Hammond; Margaretta Scot; Jeannette Sterke; William Devlin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Nov 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008442897

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. He produced an astonishing amount of work; 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems. He died on 23rd April 1616, aged 52, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.

Reviews for Hamlet

[jennaelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The more I learn about the English language and literature in general, the richer Shakespeare's works become. Hamlet is no exception.

When considered as a boundary/change marker in the landscape of literature, it makes an interesting mile-marker between earlier eras of the oral heroic, the epic and the blossoming of humanism. (Forgive me if I'm using any of these terminologies incorrectly; I will elaborate what I mean.) Which is to say, the oral heroic focused (in general terms) on family units, clans, tribes, etc. and the conflicts between them. These narratives usually dealt with inscribing some sort of expected behavior(s) that sorted out the violent chaos that accompanied the birthings of civilizations. As an example of a major trope in this early literature that's relevant to Hamlet: blood-feud violence.

The Odyssey comes from the beginning of this and in its ending tries to address the ending of such tit-for-tat retribution.

In this way, Hamlet might be considered (and I'm happy to do so) the ending of this particular literary tradition as a major trope. Instead of focusing on the blood feud (the plot going on with Fortinbras & Norway), it turns a bit more inward. Instead of Hamlet marching off to claim what is his by rights from Norway, there's a more humanistic struggle at play.

I feel that most Shakespeare could benefit from a little extra knowledge and context than most of us get upon our first exposure. Hamlet's definitely gotten 'better' for me over time.

[misslizzy_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this play once during my senior year of high school, and have yet to read it since, but something about it makes me like it. Scandal amongst royal families will ALWAYS be interesting, I suppose.

[alcracka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorites. Best film adaptation: surprisingly, Mel Gibson's. Branagh's was way too long (yeah, I know, but still) and had Robin Williams in it; we won't talk about Ethan Hawke's.

[birdie.newborn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a mature play of Shakespeare's, blending all the elements of drama, psychology, gutter humor, passion, ambition, doubt. The Playbook version is unique, but valuable. I haven't seen anything approaching it.

[lhlogan1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good solid Shakespeare read. A bit too much of a "he did, she did" plot at times.

[loufreshwater · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What didn't I learn from this book? ;-)

[cebellol · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Possibly one of the only tragedies Shakespeare wrote that I can really, truly say I enjoyed. I really can't say much about it without ruining it though, so I'll just say READ IT (avoid the movie until you've done so though. I really like Kenneth Branagh, but it's just a little overkill.)

[sdtaylor555 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a big Shakespeare fan, so I won't rate any of his works very high

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hey its Hamlet. What else can I say. You either love it or hate it.

[26kathryn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was the first time that I've read Hamlet, I've heard it quoted so many times and I thought it was about time I read it.Hamlet's mother is married to her dead husband's brother. And after seeing his father's ghost Hamlet decides to take revenge on his uncle/step-dad who apparently murdered his father. It's a kind of crazy story with lots of death, and there were some places where I didn't really understand what was going on, but I still got the overall jist of the story.I enjoyed reading this but when reading a play as a book I find it a bit hard to keep track of the characters and the settings, I think I would like to see it performed so that I can really get a feel for the story.

[allisonmarie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who am I to review Shakespeare?!

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I refuse to offer up a literary review on Shakespeare. I wouldn't presume. However, I will say that I enjoyed this dark story. Watching a man descend into madness, yet still retain enough sanity to accomplish his purpose is drama at its best. Half the fun for me is finding out where all the quotes one hears all the time come from.

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More of the action seemed to happen off-stage than on! Excellent notes, and again many familiar lines I have seen referenced another literature and in everyday speech. Most of the cast dead by the end...

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great classic

[wellreadcatlady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It amazes me how many people like Hamlet, no exception here, when it's really hard to relate to, but yet it's just one of those plays once you get into it, you come to love it. I read it for the first time in 12th grade and everyone would talk about it even when they didn't have to. The characters in Hamlet are amazingly complex and it doesn't just state how they are, you learn it through their actions and what they say. It's just so unique, I know everytime I read it I get a different opinion of the characters and the overall play.

[tpoi_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth are my favorite Shakespeare plays. I remember being bored to tears reading it in school and then being overwhelmed by the power of Hamlet seeing it performed shortly thereafter. How can you have kids read a play (alone and not aloud)?

[nikkles_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have loved this play since I first read it in high school. I find it both very tragic (but in a heroic kind of way) and very funny. I remember laughing at the fishwife dialogue in the library and my class mate thinking I was terribly odd. It doesn't matter, I still think this book is beautiful to read and very funny.

[stormydawnc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favorite of Shakespeare's plays(that I've read). Is there a more interesting character than Hamlet? The amazing this about this play is that I know the end from the very beginning, but I'm always compelled to read on.

[bookwoman247 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is probably the most famous play in the world. It is so well-known that I don't think I need to outline the plot.I can see why this play, and Shakespeare, have wowed audiences and readers through the ages.I find my reactions to the bard's work quite interesting. I don't know if I've gained in literary maturity, or if his writing is so uneven. In either case, while I've certainly enjoyed his works in the past, it isn't until I read Richard III recently that I understood why Shakespeare has been considered so great, so far above any other playwright since his time. I've certianly enjoyed his work, previously, but I had thought him slightly over-rated. Now I know that I was so wrong!In any case, I'm now a confirmed fan of The Bard, and look forward to reading more of his work!

[chrisblocker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’ve seen quite a few Shakespeare productions and have read several other works. Surprisingly, in all my years, Hamlet has escaped me. Don’t ask me how—despite never missing a day of high school, and attaining a degree in English and a Master’s in writing, and being alive—I have never read or seen a production of Hamlet. I decided to remedy that.No surprises here. It’s typical Shakespeare. Betrayal, mistaken identities, honor, incest, duels, poison, death, death, and death. The story itself didn’t make much of an impact on me, but what did was the language. Of all of Shakespeare I am familiar with, this one stood out as having the most memorable lines. Sure, I knew the whole “To be or not to be” monologue was present, but there are so many others that were not only familiar, but memorable with reason. An obvious classic despite being very run-of-the-mill in terms of Shakespeare’s work.

[kellyholmes-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite Shakespeare works.

[faith_murri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The only Shakespeare plays I had read before this were Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, Macbeth being my favorite. Having now read Hamlet, I can honestly say that Macbeth is still my favorite.

Let's discuss.

So, Hamlet himself is an emo icon, and also a misogynist, who basically goes crazy, murders someone, and essentially ruins everything.

The ending came a little too quickly for me, tbh. There wasn't enough time to really develop any other characters. It was pretty quotable, though. Really, it gave me more Romeo and Juliet feels than Macbeth feels.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ghosts, murder, madness, revenge, suicide, incest, spiced with a little bit of black humor – Hamlet has it all. Once again I was struck by the number of “cliches” that originated with Hamlet: “too solid flesh”, “reserve thy judgment”, “the apparel oft proclaims the man”, “to thine own self be true”, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, “the time is out of joint”, and “not a mouse was stirring” (which, sad to say, does not apply to my house since I've been trying unsuccessfully to catch one for the last week). I'm in that generation that can't hear Polonius's monologue without thinking of the song from the Gilligan's Island episode where the castaways staged a musical version of Hamlet. (Sorry if I've given anyone an earworm by mentioning it!)I was a little disappointed with the LA. Theatre Works audio version. Most of the performers were OK, but the audio effects were a bit odd and seemed too modern to suit the setting. I had trouble buying Stephen Collins as Claudius after his decade spent playing a minister on Seventh Heaven. Josh Stamberg played Hamlet, and his voice quality is similar enough to Stephen Collins that I sometimes had trouble telling which one of them was speaking. On the other hand, I thought Alan Mandell's Polonius was outstanding.This is one of Shakespeare's works that should be on everyone's reading list. Listening to an audio version can enhance modern readers' understanding of archaic language without interrupting the narrative flow like an annotated reading copy would do. There are probably better audio versions than this one to be found, though.

[jfoster_sf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic Shakespeare tragedy.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perfection. Not one false word. Not one false moment. A play in which every part makes the whole stronger. A more perfect play I've never read. Genius.

[lit_chick_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark!” (1.4) Indeed!I thoroughly enjoyed a recent reread of Hamlet, and was much impressed with its layers of illusion, ambiguity, and deception – absolutely brilliant! And I had forgotten how many great lines, still used today with regularity, had their origin in Hamlet; “To be or not to be …” is the most obvious and unforgettable, of course, but there are many more! How about “This above all: to thine own self be true” (1.3), or “What a piece of work is man!” (2.2). And, in some modern English equivalent, who has not said, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in ‘t” (2.2). The wise old adage about the danger of doing business with friends is from Hamlet, too: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,/For loan oft loses both itself and friend” (1.3). But alas, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (3.2). Finally, I couldn’t but marvel at Shakespeare’s continued influence some four hundred years after his time; and this lead me to wonder who, if any, among our contemporary writers, will we (well, not you and I, but others) be quoting four centuries hence?

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Vertaling van Komrij. Uiteraard een tijdloos stuk met een ongelofelijke diepgang, maar geen gemakkelijke lectuur. Ligt me minder dan de iets eenduidiger stukken King Lear of Macbeth.

[eclt83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best things I've ever read. Hamlet's got it all. Shakespeare at his best, filling so few pages with so much story.

[ncgraham_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is it. The big kahuna. The Shakespeare play to end all Shakespeare plays. And I confess, I have fallen in love with it completely.When I was a child reading about Shakespeare plays in my Tales from Shakespeare (and seeing occasional live performances of the comedies), and later when I was a teenager watching them on videotape, I couldn’t quite see what the big deal was with Hamlet. It sounded to me like it lacked the romance of Romeo and Juliet, the fun of the comedies, the magic of the romances, and the bloodiness of some of the other tragedies like Macbeth.How wrong I was.While I wouldn’t necessarily advocate using a complete performance text—that would make for a long evening—and there are actually a large number of contradictions in the play as it has come down to us, what a joy it is to read all of Shakespeare’s words! Hamlet is a long play, but in general it flows beautifully, with long, elaborate scenes that fold into each other. I haven’t made a count, but I’d wager that in addition to being Shakespeare’s lengthiest play, Hamlet has, on average, the longest scenes. To me, this makes it read easier, but I might be in the minority in that respect.Hamlet as a character is a vehicle for some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful poetry and most searching philosophy. The play has gained its worldwide renown almost solely because of his soliloquies, which are many and lengthy. With all due respect to the famous “To be or not to be,” my favorite of the lot is “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” I’m not an actor by profession, and haven’t been on the stage since junior high, but this speech stirred the actor in me. It’s a virtuosic piece, which opens with Hamlet’s typical melancholy and self-deprecation and ends with a moment of true resolve and excitement. Of course, the next time we see him, he’s depressed again and contemplating suicide.Going in, of course, I already knew about the wonderful poetry and philosophy in Hamlet. What I didn’t expect was how powerfully I would relate to the main character. Perhaps this is because I was approaching the play for the first time with the understanding that Hamlet is a very young man. He has traditionally been thought to be about 30 due to a remark of the gravedigger’s, but all other internal evidence points to him being in his late teens or so, and it’s very much possible that the gravedigger’s remark was a later addition to accommodate an older actor. When I instead read him as a teenager or young adult, all the pieces came together and the play made sense to me for the first time.Not that one has to be young in order to relate to Hamlet—he is a universal character, and it’s really remarkable how many different ways he can be interpreted. A friend and I were discussing how we might each play the role were we ever given the chance: he would probably emphasize his intellectualism, his shrewdness, his struggle with madness, and his quest for revenge, whereas I would stress his youth, depression, and emotional variance.There’s so much in this play that it is utterly impossible to touch on everything in a single review, so I suppose I’ll stop while I’m ahead. I’m sure that when I reread, I will notice new things that I never saw before. And I do plan on rereading Hamlet. Like all truly great works of literature, it’s an inexhaustible gold mine, a fountain of insight one can’t help returning to.

[trilliams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh, Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet. Get thee to a nunnery.