HamletOne 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 |
From inside the book
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Page xii
... play and turn him into an intellectual , so making revenge into a moral dilemma as opposed to a practical task to be carried out through effective plotting . Hamlet's problem is that his intelligence makes him see both sides of every ...
... play and turn him into an intellectual , so making revenge into a moral dilemma as opposed to a practical task to be carried out through effective plotting . Hamlet's problem is that his intelligence makes him see both sides of every ...
Page xiii
... play is that the Ghost of Old Hamlet comes from Purgatory , where he is confined in fire " Till the foul crimes done in [ his ] days of nature / Are burnt and purged away . " while Hamlet's speech giving his reasons for not plunging his ...
... play is that the Ghost of Old Hamlet comes from Purgatory , where he is confined in fire " Till the foul crimes done in [ his ] days of nature / Are burnt and purged away . " while Hamlet's speech giving his reasons for not plunging his ...
Page xvi
... play , he instantly responds with the maneuver that makes the switch . Now he is in deadly earnest himself . Deeds take over from words , revenge is performed without further compunctious visitings of nature , and " the rest is silence ...
... play , he instantly responds with the maneuver that makes the switch . Now he is in deadly earnest himself . Deeds take over from words , revenge is performed without further compunctious visitings of nature , and " the rest is silence ...
Page xvii
... play ( shows began at 2 p.m. , there was always a closing comedy and dance routine known as a jig , and then the theater had to be cleared by 5 p.m. ) . The full flow of Shakespeare's tragic vein must be reined in and cut for ...
... play ( shows began at 2 p.m. , there was always a closing comedy and dance routine known as a jig , and then the theater had to be cleared by 5 p.m. ) . The full flow of Shakespeare's tragic vein must be reined in and cut for ...
Page xviii
... play that provokes so many opinions , animates so many energetic voices , that the best way to conclude an introduction to it is simply to bring together some of the play's most impassioned readers in an " imagi- nary conversation ...
... play that provokes so many opinions , animates so many energetic voices , that the best way to conclude an introduction to it is simply to bring together some of the play's most impassioned readers in an " imagi- nary conversation ...
Contents
Textual Notes | 137 |
ScenebyScene Analysis | 149 |
The RSC and Beyond | 166 |
Shakespeares Career in the Theater | 217 |
A Chronology | 231 |
Acknowledgments and Picture Credits | 237 |
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Common terms and phrases
ACT 4 SCENE action actor audience BARNARDO blood Boyd Caird character David Warner dead dear death Denmark doth Elsinore Exit eyes father fear Folio Following Fortinbras friends GERTRUDE HAMLET Ghost give grave grief HAMLET Ay HAMLET OPHELIA Hamlet play hast hath hear heart heaven HORATIO HAMLET HORATIO is't Jonathan Bate kill KING HAMLET LAERTES HAMLET LAERTES KING leave Lines look Lord Hamlet madness MARCELLUS Mark Rylance Matthew Warchus Michael Boyd mother murder nature night Norway nunnery Ophelia OPHELIA HAMLET OSRIC passion performance play players Polonius POLONIUS HAMLET pray prince production queen question rapiers revenge REYNALDO role Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Royal Shakespeare Royal Shakespeare Company SECOND CLOWN sense sexual Sings soliloquy soul speak speech stage sword tell theater theatrical thee There's thing thou thought Toby Stephens Tragedy watch Wittenberg words young