Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

The original text of one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. The play is presented here in it's original form, with all its original spelling intact.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AUK Classics
• Release date: Jun 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781665992

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

Book preview

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Actus Primus. Scoena Prima.

Enter Barnardo and Francisco two Centinels.

  Barnardo. Who's there?

  Fran. Nay answer me: Stand & vnfold

your selfe

Bar. Long liue the King

   Fran. Barnardo?

  Bar. He

Fran. You come most carefully vpon your houre

Bar. 'Tis now strook twelue, get thee to bed Francisco

   Fran. For this releefe much thankes: 'Tis bitter cold,

And I am sicke at heart

   Barn. Haue you had quiet Guard?

  Fran. Not a Mouse stirring

   Barn. Well, goodnight. If you do meet Horatio and

Marcellus, the Riuals of my Watch, bid them make hast.

Enter Horatio and Marcellus.

  Fran. I thinke I heare them. Stand: who's there?

  Hor. Friends to this ground

Mar. And Leige-men to the Dane

Fran. Giue you good night

   Mar. O farwel honest Soldier, who hath relieu'd you?

  Fra. Barnardo ha's my place: giue you goodnight.

Exit Fran.

Mar. Holla Barnardo

   Bar. Say, what is Horatio there?

  Hor. A peece of him

Bar. Welcome Horatio, welcome good Marcellus

Mar. What, ha's this thing appear'd againe to night

Bar. I haue seene nothing

   Mar. Horatio saies, 'tis but our Fantasie,

And will not let beleefe take hold of him

Touching this dreaded sight, twice seene of vs,

Therefore I haue intreated him along

With vs, to watch the minutes of this Night,

That if againe this Apparition come,

He may approue our eyes, and speake to it

Hor. Tush, tush, 'twill not appeare

   Bar. Sit downe a-while,

And let vs once againe assaile your eares,

That are so fortified against our Story,

What we two Nights haue seene

   Hor. Well, sit we downe,

And let vs heare Barnardo speake of this

   Barn. Last night of all,

When yond same Starre that's Westward from the Pole

Had made his course t' illume that part of Heauen

Where now it burnes, Marcellus and my selfe,

The Bell then beating one

   Mar. Peace, breake thee of:

Enter the Ghost.

Looke where it comes againe

Barn. In the same figure, like the King that's dead

Mar. Thou art a Scholler; speake to it Horatio

Barn. Lookes it not like the King? Marke it Horatio

   Hora. Most like: It harrowes me with fear & wonder

  Barn. It would be spoke too

Mar. Question it Horatio

   Hor. What art thou that vsurp'st this time of night,

Together with that Faire and Warlike forme

In which the Maiesty of buried Denmarke

Did sometimes march: By Heauen I charge thee speake

Mar. It is offended

Barn. See, it stalkes away

Hor. Stay: speake; speake: I Charge thee, speake.

Exit the Ghost.

Mar. 'Tis gone, and will not answer

   Barn. How now Horatio? You tremble & look pale:

Is not this something more then Fantasie?

What thinke you on't?

  Hor. Before my God, I might not this beleeue

Without the sensible and true auouch

Of mine owne eyes

   Mar. Is it not like the King?

  Hor. As thou art to thy selfe,

Such was the very Armour he had on,

When th' Ambitious Norwey combatted:

So frown'd he once, when in an angry parle

He smot the sledded Pollax on the Ice.

'Tis strange

   Mar. Thus twice before, and iust at this dead houre,

With Martiall stalke, hath he gone by our Watch

   Hor. In what particular thought to work, I know not:

But in the grosse and scope of my Opinion,

This boades some strange erruption to our State

   Mar. Good now sit downe, & tell me he that knowes

Why this same strict and most obseruant Watch,

So nightly toyles the subiect of the Land,

And why such dayly Cast of Brazon Cannon

And Forraigne Mart for Implements of warre:

Why such impresse of Ship-wrights, whose sore Taske

Do's not diuide the Sunday from the weeke,

What might be toward, that this sweaty hast

Doth make the Night ioynt-Labourer with the day:

Who is't that can informe me?

  Hor. That can I,

At least the whisper goes so: Our last King,

Whose Image euen but now appear'd to vs,

Was (as you know) by Fortinbras of Norway,

(Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate Pride)

Dar'd to the Combate. In which, our Valiant Hamlet,

(For so this side of our knowne world esteem'd him)

Did slay this Fortinbras: who by a Seal'd Compact,

Well ratified by Law, and Heraldrie,

Did forfeite (with his life) all those his Lands

Which he stood seiz'd on, to the Conqueror:

Against the which, a Moity competent

Was gaged by our King: which had return'd

To the Inheritance of Fortinbras,

Had he bin Vanquisher, as by the same Cou'nant

And carriage of the Article designe,

His fell to Hamlet. Now sir, young Fortinbras,

Of vnimproued Mettle, hot and full,

Hath in the skirts of Norway, heere and there,

Shark'd vp a List of Landlesse Resolutes,

For Foode and Diet, to some Enterprize

That hath a stomacke in't: which is no other

(And it doth well appeare vnto our State)

But to recouer of vs by strong hand

And termes Compulsatiue, those foresaid Lands

So by his Father lost: and this (I take it)

Is the maine Motiue of our Preparations,

The Sourse of this our Watch, and the cheefe head

Of this post-hast, and Romage in the Land.

Enter Ghost againe.

But soft, behold: Loe, where it comes againe:

Ile crosse it, though it blast me. Stay Illusion:

If thou hast any sound, or vse of Voyce,

Speake to me. If there be any good thing to be done,

That may to thee do ease, and grace to me; speak to me.

If thou art priuy to thy Countries Fate

(Which happily foreknowing may auoyd) Oh speake.

Or, if thou hast vp-hoorded in thy life

Extorted Treasure in the wombe of Earth,

(For which, they say, you Spirits oft walke in death)

Speake of it. Stay, and speake. Stop it Marcellus

   Mar. Shall I strike at it with my Partizan?

  Hor. Do, if it will not stand

Barn. 'Tis heere

Hor. 'Tis heere

Mar. 'Tis gone.

Exit Ghost.

We do it wrong, being so Maiesticall

To offer it the shew of Violence,

For it is as the Ayre, invulnerable,

And our vaine blowes, malicious Mockery

Barn. It was about to speake, when the Cocke crew

   Hor. And then it started, like a guilty thing

Vpon a fearfull Summons. I haue heard,

The Cocke that is the Trumpet to the day,

Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding Throate

Awake the God of Day: and at his warning,

Whether in Sea, or Fire, in Earth, or Ayre,

Th' extrauagant, and erring Spirit, hyes

To his Confine. And of the truth heerein,

This present Obiect made probation

   Mar. It faded on the crowing of the Cocke.

Some sayes, that euer 'gainst that Season comes

Wherein our Sauiours Birch is celebrated,

The Bird of Dawning singeth all night long:

And then (they say) no Spirit can walke abroad,

The nights are wholsome, then no Planets strike,

No Faiery talkes, nor Witch hath power to Charme:

So hallow'd, and so gracious is the time

   Hor. So haue I heard, and do in part beleeue it.

But looke, the Morne in Russet mantle clad,

Walkes o're the dew of yon high Easterne Hill,

Breake we our Watch vp, and by my aduice

Let vs impart what we haue seene to night

Vnto yong Hamlet. For vpon my life,

This Spirit dumbe to vs, will speake to him:

Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it,

As needfull in our Loues, fitting our Duty?

  Mar. Let do't I pray, and I this morning know

Where we shall finde him most conueniently.

Exeunt.

Scena Secunda.

Enter Claudius King of Denmarke, Gertrude the Queene, Hamlet,

Polonius,

Laertes, and his Sister Ophelia, Lords Attendant.

  King. Though yet of Hamlet our deere Brothers death

The memory be greene: and that it vs befitted

To beare our hearts in greefe, and our whole Kingdome

To be contracted in one brow of woe:

Yet so farre hath Discretion fought with Nature,

That we with wisest sorrow thinke on him,

Together with remembrance of our selues.

Therefore our sometimes Sister, now our Queene,

Th' imperiall Ioyntresse of this warlike State,

Haue we, as 'twere, with a defeated ioy,

With one Auspicious, and one Dropping eye,

With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage,

In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole

Taken to Wife; nor haue we heerein barr'd

Your better Wisedomes, which haue freely gone

With this affaire along, for all our Thankes.

Now followes, that you know young Fortinbras,

Holding a weake supposall of our worth;

Or thinking by our late deere Brothers death,

Our State to be disioynt, and out of Frame,

Colleagued with the dreame of his Aduantage;

He hath not fayl'd to pester vs with Message,

Importing the surrender of those Lands

Lost by his Father: with all Bonds of Law

To our most valiant Brother. So much for him.

Reviews for Hamlet

[jfoster_sf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic Shakespeare tragedy.

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

Who am I to review Shakespeare?!

[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.

[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.

[391_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hamlet is a phenomenal play. Just spectacular.

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great classic

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

My favorite of Shakespeare's plays. It just gets better with every reading, and this time I started with Marjorie Garber's excellent chapter on the play (in her Shakespeare After All), which helped me appreciate the themes of “playing” – of dramas within dramas, “staged” events, audiences being observed, etc. – and of borders...”In suggesting that these three worlds – the world of Hamlet's mind and the imagination; the physical, political, and “historical” world of Denmark; and the world of dramatic fiction and play – are parallel to and superimposed upon one another, I am suggesting, also, that the play is about the whole question of boundaries, thresholds, and liminality or border crossing; boundary disputes between Norway and Denmark, boundaries between youth and age, boundaries between reality and imagination, between audience and actor. And these boundaries seem to be constantly shifting.”Also, of course, fathers and sons, words and meanings, just so much in this one, which, I suppose, is why I enjoy new things about it each time I read it. And I do love Hamlet. He treats Ophelia terribly, and Laertes at her grave, but his indecision, his anxiety, his sincerity, his hopefulness are all so... relatable! Really, I love it all. The relationships, the humor, the wordplay, the poetry. Happy sigh.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

BBC Audiobook performed by Michael Sheen (Hamlet), Kenneth Cranham (Claudius), Juliet Stevenson (Gertrude) and Ellie Beaven (Ophelia), and a full castI’ll dispense with the summary for this classic tragedy by William Shakespeare, but as I’ve said before, I really dislike reading plays. I much prefer to see them performed live by talented actors, the medium for which they are written. The next best thing to a live performance, however, must be an audio such as this one, with talented actors taking on the roles and really bringing the play to life for the listener. There are hundreds of editions of this work, and I recommend that readers get one that is annotated. The text copy I had as an accompaniment to the audio was published by the Oxford University Press, and included several scholarly articles, appendices and footnotes to help the modern-day reader understand Shakespeare’s Elizabethan terms and use of language, as well as historical references. One appendix even includes the music to accompany the songs!

[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.

[devil_llama · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the bard's all time classics, so frequently performed that it occasionally needs to be re-read to experience it the way he wrote it, without all the directorial impulses to pretty it up or modernize it. It had been a long time since my last read, and I was somewhat surprised to realize that this play comes with very few stage directions outside of entrances and exits; there are so many things that directors do exactly the same, you forget they weren't mentioned in the stage directions, and have simply become habit. Anyway, this play, about ambition and revenge, still holds up well through the centuries, though many of the actions seem outdated to us now. The poetry of the language and the rich texturing of the characters, even the most minor of characters, creates a complex story that successfully holds many balls in the air at once. Shakespeare's frequent use of ghosts is noteworthy, since that is something that modern day playwrights are told to be very careful about, and avoid if at all possible. A satisfying story, and a satisfying re-read.

[bryndahlquis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While it can be quite long and tedious in parts, it's still Hamlet.I mean, it's hard to beat Hamlet.

[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.

[feelinglistless · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Imagine my surprise when browsing through Kernaghan Books in the Wayfarers Shopping Arcade in Southport for these editions when I stumbled across Hamlet somewhat working against the purpose of me utilising these Oxfords to discover literature. Edition editor G.R. Hibbard chooses the First Folio as the basis for his text on the assumption that it was produced from a clean, revised manuscript of the play by Shakespeare himself, a final revision of the material that increases the pace but also clarifies the story in other places. His argument is sound, but I do much prefer the much later Arden 3’s approach of suggesting that all the close textual analysis in the world won’t definitively confirm which of the versions is definitive, so it’s best just to present all three (unless like the RSC edition, the mission is to reproduce an edition of the folio in particular). More inevitably posted here.

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I've ever enjoyed a Shakespearean work more than this play. Its riddled with ghost, revenge, crazy people, deaths, politics and psychological drama. Reading it along with the BBC's 2009's Hamlet does help in understanding the text, but its quite obvious how Hamlet's popularity survived half a millenia.

Full review to come.

[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.

[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.

[lhlogan1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[tadad_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This continues to remain my second-least-favorite of the seven Tragedies I've read so far. This preference isn't based upon the quality of the play qua play; it boils down to the fact that I simply don't enjoy Mr. Prince Hamlet, Jr. Despite some arguments to the contrary, he still comes across to me as a bipolar obsessive with impulse control problems, a distinct lack of responsibility, a poor attitude toward girlfriends and who, if we read only what is written, appears to make monumental judgments about his mother on little or no evidence. In other words, I don't like him. Of course, I don't particularly like fellows such as Mr. Macbeth either, but it's a different lack of esteem: a dislike for the bad guy (which is a sneaking regard) rather than a disdain for the self-absorbed.I find the characters of Polonius, Ophelia and Gertrude much more intriguing in this play and I do enjoy it for them. So, while I love the language of this play, and the supporting cast, and acknowledge the structure and plot, I still don't enjoy it as much as a romp through Birnham Wood or, better yet, Lear's Britain.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Last time I read Hamlet, I was in school and I remember having some difficulty with the language... This time I found the language easier (although still hard to follow in places -- "The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft before their buttons be disclos'd,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent." Laertes to Ophelia; I have read this over & over and still don't understand it).

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There: you can all stop nagging me, I've finally read it. The plot was mostly as expected, though I think whatever version I read as a child was less kind to Ophelia, as I had a rather different image of her in mind. I had a whole book of Shakespeare retellings, now I think about it: I can't really remember many of them, but I suppose they haunt me a little in my vague ideas of what the plays are like before I read them...

Anyway, Hamlet: justly famous, and full of phrases and quotations that even people who've never read a Shakespeare play can quote. It's always interesting coming to those in situ at last.

Still terribly glad I don't have to study Shakespeare now. If I end up somehow forced to read Shakespeare in my MA, I may scream. Much happier to come to his plays now, in my own good time.

[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.

[loufreshwater · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story:
Everyone knows Hamlet. Okay, maybe not everyone, but most people do. Now, if you were to ask me if I liked Hamlet, my short answer would probably be 'no.' Really, though, it's not fair for me to encapsulate my feelings on Hamlet into such a simple answer. If Hamlet and I were in a relationship on facebook (assuming he it could ever decide whether to be in one...punned!), it would most definitely be complicated.

Here's the thing: Hamlet is a great play. There's no denying it. When I think about the play objectively, there's a lot of amazing stuff in there. Shakespeare's wit is fantastic; gotta love all of those dirty jokes he makes in here. And, of course, the language is completely gorgeous.

The characters I have never been particularly tied to, which is one reason Hamlet does not rank among my favorite plays; the tragedies often lack the sassy heroines you can find in the comedies. Hamlet's indecisiveness frustrates me endlessly. Whine, whine, whine, think about doing something, wimp out, wine more. Cry moar, anon. Yoda judges you. Hamlet's uncle father and his aunt mother are not especially likable, even if you don't think they're guilty of what Hamlet's ghosty father accused them of (namely, turning him into a ghost). Ophelia isn't the brightest; plus, her end does not for admiration make. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are probably my favorites, and that's only because of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

Truly though, the reason that I don't really like Hamlet is how prevalent it is. I just get so tired of always hearing this same play over and over. I mean, who didn't have to read this in high school, and again in college?

Performance:
This audiobook is the recording of a stage version of the play, performed by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival cast. They do a good job, and I imagine it was quite a fun performance that they did. It sounds like they did some interesting things with the characters, such as changing gender in some cases and some modernizing (thus the leather jacket Hamlet's wearing).

Unfortunately, listening to a play and watching it just aren't the same. Had I not already been very familiar with Hamlet, I have little doubt that I would at time have been confused by some of the quick scene changes or by which voice belonged to which character. Some of the actors did have rather similar sounding voices.

Between scenes, there is creepy dramatic music, which definitely set a mood, but I don't think I liked. Nor did I care for the fact that the players rapped everything. That was kind of weird. At least Ophelia didn't rap her crazyface songs. Speaking of Ophelia, she was my favorite part of the performance. Her voice and manner definitely reminded me of River Tam (Summer Glau's character in Firefly, who has a couple of screws loose). What an awesome way to portray Ophelia. Now I kind of want to try to write some fan fiction with the characters from Firefly performing Hamlet. Maybe not.

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

Critics have varied in their enthusiasm for this play over the centuries. In many ways Hamlet is a typical "modern" - a relativist, caught in perpetual indecision, uncertain of his place in the world, frozen by his anxieties. It also contains some of the best-known lines and soliloquies in all of Shakespeare. It can be, and has been, read and performed from a religious perspective, an existential perspective, a Freudian perspective, or a feminist perspective.

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is truly an amazing work, and is a very well-known story. Even if you haven't read the play, or seen any of the film versions, you probably have heard enough to know much of what happens, and are likely familiar with several very famous lines. This was my first time reading the play, and I truly loved it, because it does go far beyond just the famous lines and core story. There is true depth here, with layers of meaning that really strike at the soul of the audience. As to the edition itself, I found it to be greatly helpful in understanding the action in the play. It has a layout which places each page of the play opposite a page of notes, definitions, explanations, and other things needed to understand that page more thoroughly. While I didn't always need it, I was certainly glad to have it whenever I ran into a turn of language that was unfamiliar, and I definitely appreciated the scene-by-scene summaries. Really, if you want to or need to read Shakespeare, an edition such as this is really the way to go, especially until you get more accustomed to it.

[jessicadelellis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a very interesting story. It wasn't boring as I thought it would be.

[boltgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hamlet is the most annoying lead in Shakespeare. And the play is the most apt metaphor for the last couple of months of my high school career. Anenergy, baby! It took me forEVER to finish the term paper on the play; Brother Phil graciously gave me a C+ despite me turning it in, oh, probably a month past the due date. And that dinged my GPA just enough for someone else to win the Senior English prize. Ah well. At least it was one of my friends.

[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.

[librarylou · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the best Shakespeare plays. The soliloquies of Hamlet give us a real insight into his mind as he tortures himself with the way he is treating Ophelia, yet slowly descends himself into the madness he has forced upon her. I always say that Shakespeare cannot be understood by simply reading the text, you have to see it performed the way it was intended to be enjoyed, and Samuel West's portrayal of Hamlet at the theatre was superb.

[msnikki · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read it in Sixth Form and it spoiled me for Julius Ceaser.It is a wonderful complex read. And trying to discover all the layers is part of the fun.At its base, Hamlet is a prince called to avenge his late father the murdered King of Denmark. Yet it's not as simple as that. Hamlet's birthright has him in turmoil with himself, and then there is the issue of his mother and her new husband, the King's brother.A modern version would be tacky and full of soap opera bachannal...but Shakesphere's play is a serious psychological study of a young man who should be King.