Hamlet
Books | Drama / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
3.8
(3.6K)
William Shakespeare
One of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater.Each Edition Includes:• Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography
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Author
William Shakespeare
Pages
384
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2013-06-12
ISBN
9780307807540 0307807541
Community ReviewsSee all
"Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play so far. I just think the drama is unmatched and I found myself getting sucked into every insidious detail that was revealed. At first, I was questioning whether the ghost was really King Hamlet, or if it was a malicious spirit that wanted to ruin Hamlet's life. Then, there was the shocking reveal that the Queen had only been widowed for two months before she married her brother-in-law. Talk about a scandal! Through all this turmoil everyone keeps asking Hamlet why he is so depressed and tries to convince him he just needs to get over his father's death. WTF?! It was so out of pocket and I understand why Hamlet hated them all. Fast forward a bit and Hamlet has killed Ophelia's dad, Ophelia goes mad and drowns. Eventually, Laertes wants revenge on Hamlet for killing his father and challenges him to a fencing match. Except, Laertes and the King are working together to try and take Hamlet down. There is a plot to switch out Laertes' fencing sword with a real one, to have it dipped in poison, and the King plans to poison a cup of wine and convince Hamlet to drink it. At the fencing match, Laertes cuts Hamlet with the poisoned sword, Hamlet gets the sword and cuts Laertes, the Queen drinks the poisoned wine, Hamlet forces the rest of the wine down the King's throat, and everyone ends up dead. Like, the sheer DRAMA in this play was astonishing and I was here for it. I have no clue how Shakespeare concocted these little plots, but he seems like the type to suffer from insomnia and these are hallucinations he has. <br/><br/>Also, Ophelia was just so interesting, I think she would be so fun to research and learn more about. If you looked into the patriarchy at the time, how she would never be free, the meaning drowning could have for a woman."
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Alyssa Czernek
"My husband and I have a perennial bet whenever we read a Bloom Shakespeare critique: how long before he shoehorns in a totally irrelevant or ludicrous comment about Falstaff? This time it was at page 6: Falstaff's command of prose is "greater than that of any other" Shakespearean character...except _possibly_ Hamlet. Okayyyyy...<br/><br/>Falstaffian hyperbole aside, this is actually a pretty good book, once Bloom gets all his harrumphing about "irresponsible" Hamlet productions out of his system. Bloom wrote this as a follow-up to his wonderful _Shakespeare, the Invention of the Human_, fearing he had failed to express all his ideas about Hamlet in one short chapter, (and who could?) Here he has the leisure to explore each character, demonstrating the warmth and affection for these old friends that bespeaks years of reading and writing about a beloved yet perplexing play. I was particularly struck by his evaluations of Ophelia and Gertrude: as an apologist for the "dead white male" canon, Bloom is often accused of patriarchy and downright misogyny, but he demonstrates true empathy and understanding of these two much abused female characters.<br/><br/>Bloom is probably not much fun as a theatre companion, (he admits to having enjoyed only 2 or 3 of the many Hamlets he has seen) but as a guide to the complexities and richness of the text he is unparalleled....except _possibly_ for Marjorie Garber."
"My favorite Shakespeare by far, but also the one that I had to read the most for school. I wrote a paper on Hamlet's depression or "melancholia" as it was called then"
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Rebekah Travis
"También en: <a href="http://el-extrano-gato-del-cuento.blogspot.com/2014/10/resenas-dnf-dos-libros-de-charlie.html">El Extraño Gato del Cuento</a><br/><br/>Shakespeare y yo siempre hemos tenido una relación conflictiva, no me gusta nada su obra más conocida, mientras que el Sueño de una Noche de Verano, podría decirse es mi obra de teatro favoritas, me gustan las hadas.<br/><br/>Pensé que Hamlet se me haría fácil de leer, tengo cierta experiencia leyendo obras de teatro, además de un placer al representarlo sola al leerlo. Hamlet es una idea que sea llevado al cine y la televisión muchas más veces de las que puedas creer ¿viste el Rey León? Bueno, está basado en Hamlet.<br/><br/>Lo que me hace preguntarme ¿por qué no pude terminarlo? Me aburrí horrores en las primera páginas, tenía la completa seguridad que lo leería rápido, pero lamentablemente no fue así.<br/><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/EllieIntheHat">Twitter</a> || <a href="http://el-extrano-gato-del-cuento.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> || <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/EllaZegarra/">Pinterest</a> || <a href="http://ellie-in-the-hat.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> || <a href="http://instagram.com/ellieinthehat">Instagram</a>"
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