The tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark

by William Shakespeare

Overview

The protagonist of Hamlet is Prince Hamlet of Denmark, son of the recently deceased King Hamlet, and nephew of King Claudius, his father's brother and successor. Claudius hastily married King Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. Denmark has a long-standing feud with neighbouring Norway, and an invasion led by the Norwegian prince, Fortinbras, is expected. The play opens on a cold winter midnight on "a platform before the castle" of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle. The sentries Bernardo and Marcellus and Hamlet's friend Horatio encounter a ghost that looks like the late King Hamlet. When it declines to talk to them they attack it with daggers, but it escapes. Marcellus admits: "We do it wrong... to offer it the show of violence / For it is... invulnerable." They vow to tell Prince Hamlet that his father's ghost has been seen. The scene shifts to a "room of state in the castle." Various royal figures come in. Claudius and Gertrude talk with Laertes about his upcoming journey to France. Laertes's father Polonius admits that he has agreed to his son's trip. The King and Queen then turn to Hamlet. Perturbed by Hamlet's continuing deep mourning for his father and his increasingly erratic behaviour, Claudius and Gertrude try to persuade him to be more cheerful. Claudius tells him that it is normal for fathers to die, but the prince is not comforted by this. When they leave, Hamlet complains in his first soliloquy ("O that this too too solid flesh would melt") that his mother has jumped into "incestuous sheets" with her brother-in-law too quickly after the death of Hamlet's father. Horatio and the sentries come in and Hamlet warmly greets his friend, who has recently returned to court from the university at Wittenberg. The three tell Hamlet about the ghost they have seen at the castle and the prince resolves to see the apparition himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781511900904
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	04/25/2015
Series:	Narrativa74 , #5
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Widely esteemed as the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an actor and theatrical producer in addition to writing plays and sonnets. Dubbed "The Bard of Avon," Shakespeare oversaw the building of the Globe Theatre in London, where a number of his plays were staged, the best-known of which include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. The First Folio, a printed book of 36 of his comedies, tragedies, and history plays, was published in 1623.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Editorial Reviews

It is a tragedy that all actors seem to crave to perform, and the Renaissance Theatre Company clearly relishes the chance to present Hamlet for the ear. It is a contemporary cast from which one has come to expect superior Shakespearean acting on stage and screen: Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet; Sir John Gielgud as the Ghost; Derek Jacobi as Claudius; and Emma Thompson as the Player Queen. Unlike the Recorded Books version (Audio Reviews, LJ 8/90), this BBC edition may be a little hard to follow by those unfamiliar with the play's text, particularly since stage directions are not provided and speakers are not clearly identified. But the program does give the complete version, a rare treat, and the accompanying booklet offers insights into both the acting and the production. Highly recommended.-- Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.

Library Journal

Lest there be misunderstanding, the title's "New" refers to the freshness of 1877, though the Dover variations are collated from some 30 editions together with the notes and numerous comments of the editors of those editions. The second volume contains commentaries from the French, German, and English, with preference given to verbal over aesthetic criticism. On the topic of whether the Dane was insane, for example, Boswell (1821) writes that Hamlet's utterances "evince not only a sound, but an acute and vigourous understanding...and though his mind is enfeebled, it is by no means deranged." This is an important reprint for those hungry to re-parse the words and (in)action of perhaps the most famous of fatherless children. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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