Hamlet - 9781722503697

Hamlet is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world literature. One of the greatest plays of all time, this quintessential Shakespearian tragedy is set in Denmark where the play revolves around Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet’s father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet’s mother. 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.

This series of highly charged confrontations that have held audiences spellbound for nearly four centuries and the anguished soliloquies that precede and follow them, probe the depths of human feeling that is rarely found in any art form making Hamlet a unique pleasure to read. It was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most performed. Hamlet has provided generations of leading actors their greatest challenge. Yet all the roles in this towering drama are superbly delineated, and each of the key scenes offers actors a rare opportunity to create theatrical magic.

The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, his friend Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater. The title role of Hamlet, is perhaps the most demanding in all of Western drama.