Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Hamlet” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Read Book* *Different edition

Hamlet

by William Shakespeare, Richard Andrews (Editor), Rex Gibson (Editor)

really liked it 4.0 · Rating Details · 551,871 Ratings · 8,429 Reviews

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 ...more

Paperback, 289 pages

Published August 1st 2005 by Cambridge University Press (first published 1600)

More Details... edit details

Get a copy:

Or buy for

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Hamlet, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Books That Everyone Should Read At Least Once

17,036 books — 81,294 voters

100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Readers' Picks

6,257 books — 8,278 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

May 18, 2008 Madeline rated it it was amazing

Shelves: shakespeare, assigned-reading

Hamlet, abridged:

GHOST/DAD: Hamlet, your uncle killed me and married your mom. I want vengeance, so best get to murdering, plzthnx.

HAMLET: EEK!

OPHELIA: Hamlet, are you okay?

HAMLET: Get away from me, skankwhore!

OPHELIA: WTF? *goes from zero to crazy like that*

GERTRUDE: Kid, you need therapy.

HAMLET: And you need to be less of AN ADULTEROUS WHORE!

POLONIUS: OMG so rude!

HAMLET: Eavesdropping? I KEEL YOU!

*play goes on hold while Hamlet talks to skeletons*

LAERTES: You killed my dad and drove my sis ...more

flag 886 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2007 Bill Kerwin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: weird-fiction, 16th-17th-c-brit, tudor-drama

I don't have any original insights to share from this most recent of god-knows-how-many readings, but this time through I was really struck by:

1) what a damn fine piece of stagecraft this is, from the suspenseful, moody opening on the castle battlements to the solemn dead march carrying the prince offstage, and

2) how Shakespeare seems to want Hamlet's personality--particularly the wellspring of his actions (and lack of action)--to remain an enigma, and that he achieves this by infusing the cha ...more

flag 218 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2007 Paul Bryant rated it it was amazing

Shelves: popular-and-unpopular-music, poetry, assorted-rants-about-stuff

The Skinhead Hamlet - Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. By Richard Curtis. Yes, that Richard Curtis!

Note : those offended by the F word - LOOK AWAY NOW! And Georgia, if you've stumbled on this review by your funny old dad - this is ANOTHER Paul Bryant. Not me!

*********

ACT I
SCENE I
The Battlements of Elsinore Castle.

[Enter HAMLET, followed by GHOST:]

GHOST: Oi! Mush!

HAMLET: Yer?

GHOST: I was fucked!

[Exit GHOST:]

HAMLET: O Fuck.

[Exit HAMLET:]

SCENE II
The Throneroom.

[Enter KING ...more

flag 143 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Jason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thrill-me-chill-me-fulfill-me, for-kindle, 2012, reviewed

“Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go.”

I don’t know what to say about Hamlet. I could go on about how it is a story of madness and revenge. I could talk about the bonds of family loyalty, the sacrifices of love, the breaches of trust and their deleterious effects on the psyche. But this is old news—Hamlet has been around for over four hundred years. What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said?

When my wife saw I was reading Shakespeare, her snippy comment went something like, “ “Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go.”

I don’t know what to say about Hamlet. I could go on about how it is a story of madness and revenge. I could talk about the bonds of family loyalty, the sacrifices of love, the breaches of trust and their deleterious effects on the psyche. But this is old news—Hamlet has been around for over four hundred years. What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said?

When my wife saw I was reading Shakespeare, her snippy comment went something like, “What are you reading that for? Don’t you you have enough drama in your life?” Which, thanks Cristina, and yes I suppose I do, but what of it? Drama can be so much freaking fun. There is a reason it sells, a reason there are countless dramatic television shows on the air, countless box office films released each year rehashing the same old dramatic plotlines (some to great effect; others, not so much). And there is a reason people are still reading Shakespeare centuries upon centuries after his death: they are fun, they are witty, they are ever so dramatic.

Hamlet is no exception. With plot elements involving fratricide, lethal potions, mistaken identity, forgery of correspondence, espionage and treachery, along with a solid dose of hanging out with the ghosts of dead relatives, one could imagine I’m reviewing an episode of General Hospital. But what is Hamlet if not a soap opera for the Elizabethans? It is an epically tragic train wreck crammed into five tiny acts.

What makes this piece of drama so timeless, though, is that its action is served in such perfect complement by its depiction of character. We all know what Prince Hamlet is going to do before he does it. Hamlet himself, even while doubting his abilities and struggling with his resolve, knows how it’s going to all play out. Why else would he be so cruel to Ophelia? And yet it is this internal turmoil that fuels our interest in the action. It might seem like an ordinary train wreck at its surface, but upon deeper inspection it is a train wreck in whose conductors and engineers we have a vested interest.

So, witty discourse meets fast-paced drama meets penetrating character introspection? It almost makes me wonder what would have become of Luke and Laura had William Shakespeare been in charge of the script. ...more

flag 94 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2015 Dolors rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: The sound and the crazy

Shelves: read-in-2015, getting-to-know-shakespeare

“All that is amiable and excellent in nature is combined in Hamlet, with the exception of one quality. He is a man living in meditation, called upon to act by every motive human and divine, but the great object of his life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.”
Lecture XII, STC.

As much as I admire Coleridge and with the boldness of having read Hamlet only once and therefore being aware I haven’t even managed to scratch the surface of the Paragon of Tragedies “All that is amiable and excellent in nature is combined in Hamlet, with the exception of one quality. He is a man living in meditation, called upon to act by every motive human and divine, but the great object of his life is defeated by continually resolving to do, yet doing nothing but resolve.”
Lecture XII, STC.

As much as I admire Coleridge and with the boldness of having read Hamlet only once and therefore being aware I haven’t even managed to scratch the surface of the Paragon of Tragedies, I dare to antagonize the poet and proclaim that I resist the idea of linking Hamlet’s moral idealism to reprehensible inaction.
The Prince of Denmark’s obsession is to think, not to act, and in spite of having been dethroned by his duplicitous uncle, he seems to count with the favor of the common people. But Hamlet can’t help being haunted by the sickness of life and he retreats into the abyss of his inwardness. He is plagued by endless questions that paralyze him in meditation: “What a piece of work is a man!... And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?”.
In the opening scene of Act I, a melancholic dejection has already taken hold of The Prince and, whether in self-preservation or in fear of foul reality, he engages in deluded gibberish easily attributable to a man whose reason has abandoned him.
And yet his inquisitive soliloquies are infused with the elucidating sharpness of a genius, someone with great intellectual capacity who taunts with puns and riddles that contain receding depths and layers and layers of meaning in them.

“The widow being oppressed, the orphan wronged,
The taste of hunger, or a tyrant’s reign,
And thousand more calamities besides,
To grunt and sweat under this weary life,
When that he may his full quietus make,
With a bare bodkin, who would this endure,
But for a hope of something after death?”

Spontaneous philosopher or irredeemably insane?
The world of Hamlet is phantasmagorical, in constant disruption with the burdens of the past, the betrayals of the present and the falsehood of the future. Everybody around him seems to have hidden agendas. He observes, he ponders, he pretends not to see the King’s debasing lust and murderous greed, Polonius’ machiavellian maneuvers, the Queen’s disgusting shallowness, Ophelia’s gullible innocence. Yet his keen eyes discern it all…but at what cost?

“Great wit to madness nearly is allied"

The afflictions of life require greatness of spirit and Hamlet meets his fate fully aware that logic, reason and justice are not enough to disentangle the quandaries of existence. In the course of the action though, a transformation has taken place in him, the doubtful Prince has grown in wisdom and is ready to submit to providence without repudiating the world. The welfare of the Kingdom, the sense of honor, the corroding lust or ambition, all dissolve in the spectacle of beholding the spirit of man blossoming and most triumphant… in defeat.
...more

flag 80 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2016 Jibran rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: urdu, librarian-entries, plays

It is only when I read and compare across languages that I realise what a hard and thankless job translation is, especially the older texts and more so when there's a significant cultural distance between the languages. Shakespeare's diction is so profoundly poetic and idiomatic that it might be thought untranslatable, even when it is rendered into modern English idiom, it loses its antique beauty when tampered with, like those monuments reconstructed from history that look like originals but ac ...more

flag 80 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2007 J.G. Keely rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, reviewed, uk-and-ireland, read-more-than-once

Shakespeare is an adept poet and master of the language. He layers on jokes, puns, and references everywhere. He has a massive output of work, and a number of different plots. When we compare him to other authors, it is difficult to find anyone who stacks up--but then, we're often comparing him to the wrong people.

Shakespeare didn't write books or pamphlets or epics, he wrote plays: short pieces of drama that were meant to be fast-paced and exciting. That they are mainly experienced today as bou ...more

flag 80 likes · Like · see review

View all 24 comments

J.G. Keely Faysal said: "i never imagined Shakespeare to be like the South Park writers or The Simpsons Writers"

Yeah, it can be hard for a modern reader to under ...more
Dec 29, 2015 09:24PM

Jim We can "get" multiple meanings, and the sounds uncannily affirm, even take a bit away but add a synthesis in tone.
We actors then get together and re-c ...more
Jan 03, 2016 03:09AM

Feb 22, 2016 Nayra.Hassan rated it really liked it

متردد في قراءة هاملت..ستندم اذن!!ا
كلنا نكره الاختيارات. .و نجاهد احيانا لنلقي بها على غيرنا ..
نختار هذا اللون ..ام ذاك...ننام ام نعمل
ننتقم ام نسامح ؟
و الاهم نسلك هذا الطريق المضيء ..ام الطريق المعتم؟
نكون او لا نكون؟

ا"غاية ما دافعت به عن اب و ملك عزيز نكب أشد النكبات..هو ان اهذي هذيان الحالم..مع ان شاغل الانتقام ملأ نفسي
..جبان انا "؟؟
حسنا و من منا لم تطن في أذنه هذه الكلمات ..لمرات و مرات و نحن نلوم أنفسنا على تخاذلنا..
عن أخذ حقوقنا. .او حقوق من نحب
للاسف سيظل هاملت هو انا و انت و كل من يمتلك بذرة ...more

flag 78 likes · Like · see review

View all 25 comments

Nayra.Hassan Reham wrote: "الله و كفى ❤❤ التردد و عدم

تصدقي لاشيء يدوم فعلا باحترم شجاعتك و تشاؤمك :) و لاحتى حب الام و ده هيصدمك....و هي دى مشكلة المسرحية دي مع ا ...more
Feb 02, 2017 07:50PM

Reham Nayra.Hassan wrote: "Reham wrote: "الله و كفى ❤❤ التردد و عدم

تصدقي لاشيء يدوم فعلا باحترم شجاعتك و تشاؤمك :) و لاحتى حب الام و ده هيصدمك....و هي دى م ...more
Feb 02, 2017 08:13PM

Jul 19, 2015 Councillor rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, scandinavia, classics, rated-5-stars, ebook, 1600-1699, read-2016, shakespeare, plays, free-on-gutenberg, onleihe, personal-must-read-list

Isn't it always a delight to delve into one of Shakespeare's world-famous plays?

Like many others, I had been forced to read Shakespeare in school (Romeo & Juliet, as in my case), and unfamiliar with all the important literary classics as I was back then, I had a lot of troubles with the rather outmoded language. After finally finishing that play, not only was I relieved to have conquered it successfully, no, it had also raised my interest for other Shakespearian plays. Macbeth, Julius Caesar Isn't it always a delight to delve into one of Shakespeare's world-famous plays?

Like many others, I had been forced to read Shakespeare in school (Romeo & Juliet, as in my case), and unfamiliar with all the important literary classics as I was back then, I had a lot of troubles with the rather outmoded language. After finally finishing that play, not only was I relieved to have conquered it successfully, no, it had also raised my interest for other Shakespearian plays. Macbeth, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream - all of them are fantastic plays and an intriguing choice to spend some hours with. But none of them left me as enthralled, shocked and intrigued as Hamlet did.

Everyone is probably familiar with the basic storyline of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and his story of revenge. You may call into question Hamlet's intelligence in the performance of his revenge, but this does not erase the way Shakespeare has so beautifully written one of his most well-known plays to engage readers of the original text as well as viewers of the stage performances alike. The play has been discussed and analyzed so many times already that it probably does not need yet another review, especially since I don't consider myself to be in the position to elaborately judge or even criticize the sophisticated language or the engaging storyline.

I'd recommend this tale to everyone, even (or especially) if you don't know Shakespeare yet or don't want to read anything else by him due to negative experiences with his other plays. Hamlet may be called a classic thriller in its essence, but it is also an exploration on themes like humanity or the worth of whether revenge as a reaction to certain deeds is truly appropriate. Read and judge it for yourself, but read it. Until now, I have been reading Shakespeare's plays mostly because I thought everyone has to at some point, but Hamlet turned out to be a compelling reading journey, even if you are already familiar with the basic concept of the story. ...more

flag 75 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2008 Manny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, why-not-call-it-poetry, life-is-shakespeare

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jesus Christ what a year no way could this get worse now they're hacking away at each other with their swords and I'm supposed to look interested oh well done Hamlet despite everything he's still my son that was a lovely feint pretty worried about Laertes though he looks so crazy first his dad and then his sister wish I could do something to help oh come on who am I kidding it's Hamlet I'm worried about of course God what am I going to do that poor kid is totally fucked and he thinks it's all my ...more

flag 70 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fiction

"To be or not to be...," that is not my favorite line. My favorite is: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times."

It's that recollection of innocent days that gets me every time, because you know Hamlet is being swept up in a vortex of innocence lost.

STUPID ADULTS! They screw up everything!

I grew up in a truly idyllic setting. As childhoods go, mine was a joy. But then you grow up and you wake up t ...more

flag 65 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2015 Bookworm Sean rated it did not like it

Shelves: classics, plays, shakespeare, 1-star-reads

Well, I’m an English literature student and I absolutely love Shakespeare’s plays. This is nothing unusual or exciting. Most English student’s live for Shakespeare. So far I’ve enjoyed reading, and studying, everything of his that’s popped up on the reading list until this came along. My reaction surprised me most of all, I never expected to find something of Shakespeare’s that I not only dislike, but also detest. This is also one of his most revered plays, and it’s also considered one of his gr ...more

flag 54 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2014 Foad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: فیلمش-رو-دیدم, نمایشنامه-فیلمنامه

یه اعتراف می خوام بکنم:
من قبلاً از بین کارهای شکسپیر، هملت رو اصلاً دوست نداشتم. عاشق اتللو و مکبث بودم، ولی از هملت خوشم نمی اومد اصلاً و نمی دونستم چرا معروف ترین اثر شکسپیره.

همه ى اين ها، تا وقتى شنيدم "بنديكت كمبربچ" نقش هملت رو بازى كرده. قبلاً اجراى سينمايى "مل گيبسون" رو ديده بودم، و راستش چندان كمكى نكرد كه هملت رو بيشتر دوست داشته باشم. اما بنديكت كمبربچ ماجراى ديگه ايه. با سختى اين اجرا رو پيدا كردم، و: موسيقى بى نظير، طراحى لباس بى نظير، طراحى صحنه ى بى نظير، نور پردازى بى نظير... اما یه اعتراف می خوام بکنم:
من قبلاً از بین کارهای شکسپیر، هملت رو اصلاً دوست نداشتم. عاشق اتللو و مکبث بودم، ولی از هملت خوشم نمی اومد اصلاً و نمی دونستم چرا معروف ترین اثر شکسپیره.

همه ى اين ها، تا وقتى شنيدم "بنديكت كمبربچ" نقش هملت رو بازى كرده. قبلاً اجراى سينمايى "مل گيبسون" رو ديده بودم، و راستش چندان كمكى نكرد كه هملت رو بيشتر دوست داشته باشم. اما بنديكت كمبربچ ماجراى ديگه ايه. با سختى اين اجرا رو پيدا كردم، و: موسيقى بى نظير، طراحى لباس بى نظير، طراحى صحنه ى بى نظير، نور پردازى بى نظير... اما همه ى اين ها فقط زيورهايى عارضى بودن گرد جوهر اصلى: بازى بى نظير.

عادت شكسپير اينه كه تقريباً هيچ كدوم از حالات شخصيت ها و لحن ديالوگ ها رو نمى نويسه و همه رو واگذار كرده به كارگردان و بازيگر. كلماتش همه خشك و بى جان هستن، و يك كارگردان و بازيگر خوب نيازه تا روح درستى به اين كلمات بدمه. يكى مثل بنديكت كمبربچ كه با دم مسيحايى ش به تك تك كلمات، شخصيت متمايزى بده، روح مستقلى بده، و حالات چهره اى به نمايشنامه اضافه كنه كه مثل شارح يك كتاب قديمى، جمله به جمله شرح بده كه چطور بايد هر جمله رو فهميد.

اوايل فيلم خیلی از دیالوگ ها رو متوجه نمی شدم به خاطر نثر قديمى شكسپير، و زيرنويس هم موجود نبود. به خاطر همین رفتم ترجمه ی "م.ا به آذين" (كه اتفاقاً از مترجم هاييه كه دوست دارم نثرشون رو) از نمایشنامه رو دانلود کردم. نمايشنامه رو باز گذاشتم کنار فیلم و همزمان فیلم رو می ديدم و ترجمه رو می خوندم، و به اين ترتيب بنديكت كمبربچ دست به دست م.ا به آذين، باعث شدن هملت با دوازده پله از قعر جدولِ نمايشنامه هاى محبوب من، به جايگاه صدرنشينى صعود كنه.

آنك من: شيفته و دوستدار هملت!

لینک فایل تورنت فیلم ...more

flag 54 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2008 Trevor rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: humans

Shelves: literature

I’ve always meant to talk to my mate George about Hamlet and I guess this is as good an opportunity to do so as any.

There are different things I would say to different people about Hamlet – and as this is the near perfect play I guess there ought to be many and various things one could say about it.

The oddest thing about Hamlet is that people always tend to say the same thing – they always say, “Oh yes, Hamlet, the man who hesitates”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t believe i ...more

flag 54 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2015 Moraes the Bookworm rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, plays, classics

I'd been meaning to read Shakespeare's books since I began studying the English language. Unfortunately, I had to wait some years to start, because Shakespeare is not the easiest of authors to read. Well... better late than never - and there is actually no late when it comes to reading books. This is the second book I read by William Shakespeare and I am happy I finally did. I have no patience for modern versions, so I threw myself directly onto the originals. Fortunately, I hadn't any idea of w ...more

flag 53 likes · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2010 Aubrey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star, reviewed, 1-read-on-hand, r-2013, r-goodreads, school, r-2016, r-2009

The singular and peculiar life is bound
With all the strength and armour of the mind
To keep itself from noyance; but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests
The lives of many. The cease of majesty
Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw
What's near it with it. It is a massy wheel
Fixed on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
Are mortised and adjoined, which when it falls
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boist'rous ruin.

The

The singular and peculiar life is bound
With all the strength and armour of the mind
To keep itself from noyance; but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depends and rests
The lives of many. The cease of majesty
Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw
What's near it with it. It is a massy wheel
Fixed on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things
Are mortised and adjoined, which when it falls
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boist'rous ruin.

There is a mounting vileness once the Queen is dead. The Basilikon Doron is released, the son whose mother's head was cut off to ensure the peace of the realm is on the throne, and what has been gained through inveterate evil of colonialism has kept on gaining, but instead of that much pronounced Elizabethan, we have Jacobean. Instead of the gold of novelty, surprise after surprise of peace through scything after scything of populace, we may have the scythe, but not the wielder. Hated, unnatural, the bane of existence to many a man and a biting prick in the spine to the entire gender, but there was no betrayal that cut off the head too soon, no insipid frivolity that forced the island to swallow its own tail, no language of the conqueror to wriggle out from beneath and painfully make its way to light. There was just Elizabeth. And now she's dead.

With the need of a royal divorce came the gateway to a new, minimized, individualized religion. Poetry is the mediation a human requires to reconcile life and death, and over time the rhythms and rhymes have coalesced into many a ritual of speaking, singing, screaming, the random chance of natural selection resulting in such an example as the words spoken during the course of a Catholic laying to rest. What happens, then, in a particular corner of the world where Purgatory is no longer an incentive and prayers no longer a necessity and your beloved long departed may or may not be suffering ten-thousand years longer, an oversight in a change of scheme that names their transmutation nonsense. All of us are doomed to die, a universality garnering interest with a vengeance beyond twenty-five when the cell decay begins to outpace the cell renewal, but truth has nothing to do with individual experience. All you love are doomed to die, but each and every may only die once.

What of Hamlet I know now will make the return to King Lear all the more dire, for freedom's a baleful deity only because responsibility is so much worse. Your wars are won, your peace is gripped, and all there is left to do is provoke the self into an action guided by loss, propelled by rage, confined by that mewling and puking concept that is honor, that will bring the whole host of dependent selves down. A head of state's a nasty piece of work when fratricide is on the résumé, but put on the stage tens of thousands of revenge plots and you'll never accurately frame through scene and line of dialogue that creature that is civil war. Lear comes close, which is why, hard as it is for me to believe, I may come out of this class with a rearranged hierarchy when it comes to Shakespeare. But perhaps not. Unlike Hamlet, I have not yet seen the storm in the flesh, and the divide between words on a page and souls on a stage when contemplation's broken free off the footnotes must be given pause. I'm a reader through and through, but if all the world's a stage, the bodies fell first.

If thou didst ever hold me in they heart,
Absent thee from felicity a while,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain
To tell my story.

Hamlet, Hamlet. I will never muse enough.

Good my lord, will you see the players well bestowed? Do ye hear?–let them be well used, for they are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time. After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live.

---

1/2/2013

I first encountered Hamlet in comic book form, alongside many other Shakespeare plays portrayed with fantastical characters in all shades, poses, and degrees of perverseness. The strongest memory from that time consists of the titular character, blonde head posing with an innocent expression between a hawk and a handsaw. Some time later I was intrigued to learn that Shakespeare himself had performed in productions as the infamous ghost. Nothing else of his acting career stayed in my brain, which may have been a foretelling of the special place this play would come to hold in my heart.

The years rolled on, and with them came my favorite teacher of all time. Thanks to her, Hamlet, and a ten page essay discussing the symbolism of death, I began to see what all the fuss with Shakespeare was about. As that year ended, so did my last English class, and it would be a long while until I rediscovered Hamlet, at my first live performance put on by the actors of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Now, it's true that I had loved the play in high school, but that had been through reading it at an extremely slow pace, constantly ferrying back and forth between text and explanation. Flash forward four years to the performance, years filled with equations, calculations, and engineering garble, leading up to a much quicker rendition of the work I had understood only through slow perusal and much hand-holding. What good would watching it do, if the scenes flew past my uncomprehending brain?

But I did know what was going on. I could follow every amusing quip and every stunning soliloquy. More importantly, I loved it as much as I had all those years ago, my first journey through lines of archaic prose to the shining and glorious wit that had composed it. And a week later the title Infinite Jest caught my eye, and the rest is history.

In short, Hamlet is special to me, for its beautiful prose and deceptively human themes as well as its constant presence throughout the years. It is a play whose value to me only increases as my life continues, with every new encounter inspiring increased understanding and appreciation of its existence. I could go on about the complexities seething in the mind of each and every character, the wickedly quick humor and scathing wordplay, the immense presence of death working its way throughout every aspect of Hamlet's world, the battle between ancient cultures raging through lines of debate. To be, or not to be. With so many beliefs, who can avoid the question? I could even drag out my aforementioned essay for public perusal. But I won't. A heartfelt recommendation, for now, is enough. The rest is for the future. ...more

flag 44 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2008 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, drama, script, 17th-century, 16th-century

The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, [1963], William Shakespeare
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: مسعود فرزاد؛ تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر کتاب، 1337، در 290 ص؛ چاپ دوم 1346؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: داریوش شاهین؛ تهران، جاویدان، 1344، در 278 ص، مصور؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: محمود اعتمادزاده (م.ا. به آذین)؛ تهران، اندیشه، 1344، در 288 ص؛ چاپ دوم فروردین 1351؛
عنوان: سوگنمایش هملت شاهپور دانمارک؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ ویراستار: هارولد جنکینز؛ مترجم: میرش The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, [1963], William Shakespeare
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: مسعود فرزاد؛ تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر کتاب، 1337، در 290 ص؛ چاپ دوم 1346؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: داریوش شاهین؛ تهران، جاویدان، 1344، در 278 ص، مصور؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: محمود اعتمادزاده (م.ا. به آذین)؛ تهران، اندیشه، 1344، در 288 ص؛ چاپ دوم فروردین 1351؛
عنوان: سوگنمایش هملت شاهپور دانمارک؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ ویراستار: هارولد جنکینز؛ مترجم: میرشمس الدین ادیب سلطانی؛ تهران، نگاه، 1385، در 395 ص، فارسی انگلیسی، شابک: 9643513297؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: آرش خیرآبادی؛ مشهد، پاژ، 1387، در 232 ص؛ شابک: 9789648904536؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ برگردان: رضا دادویی؛ تهران، آدورا، 1391، در 275 ص، شابک: 9786009307135؛
عنوان: تراژدی هملت : پرنس دانمارک؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: بهزاد جزایری؛ تهران، انتشارات پلک، 1393، در 412 ص، شابک: 9789642353187؛
عنوان: هملت شاهزاده ی دانمارک؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: شیدا فروغی؛ قزوین، سایه گستر، 1393، در 48 ص، شابک: 9786003740082؛
عنوان: هملت؛ سروده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: مهرداد پورعلم؛ تهران، انتشارات ایران، 1394، در 191 ص؛ شابک: 9786005347593؛
نمایش‌نامه‌ ای تراژیک اثر ویلیام شکسپیر است که در سال 1602 نوشته شده و یکی از مشهورترین نمایش‌نامه‌ های تاریخ ادبیات جهان به شمار است. نمایش نامه از آنجا آغاز می‌شود که هملت شاهزاده دانمارک از سفر آلمان به قصر خود در هلسینبورگ دانمارک بازمی‌گردد، تا در مراسم خاکسپاری پدرش شرکت جوید. پدرش به گونه مرموز به قتل رسیده‌، کس از چندوچون قتل شاه آگاه نیست. هملت درمی‌یابد که مادر و عمویش باهم پیمان زناشویی بسته و هم بستر شده‌ اند. وسوسه‌ ها و تردیدهای هملت هنگامی آغاز می‌شود، که روح شاه مقتول بر او نمایان می‌شود. روح به هملت گوید که چگونه به دست برادر خویش به قتل رسیده‌ است، و از هملت می‌خواهد انتقام بازستاند. هملت در گیرودار اشتباهاً پدر معشوقه‌ اش اوفلیا را به قتل می‌رساند، پدر اوفلیا در پشت پرده مشغول جاسوسی بوده، و هملت اشتباهاً او را کلادیوس پنداشته بود. اوفلیا از مرگ پدر آشفته می‌شود و خود را در رودخانه‌ ای غرق می‌کند. سرانجام پس از درگیری با لایریتس، برادر اوفلیا که به خونخواهی خواهر و پدر برخاسته بود، هملت انتقام پدر را از عمو خویش می‌گیرد و در پایان نمایش هر دوی آنها، به همراه گرترود و برادر اوفلیا کشته می‌شوند
شخصیتهای نمایش عبارتند از: کلادیوس: پادشاه دانمارک و عموی هملت؛ هملت: پسر شاه سابق، و برادرزادهٔ پادشاه کنونی؛ گرترود: ملکه دانمارک، و مادر هملت؛ پولونیوس: لرد چمبرلین؛ اوفلیا: دختر پولونیوس و معشوقهٔ هملت؛ هوراشیو: دوست هملت؛ لایریتس: پسر پولونیوس؛ کورنلیوس، روزنکرانس، گیلدسترن: دوستان هملت؛ مارسلوس: افسر؛ برناردو: افسر؛ فرانسیسکو: سرباز؛ رینالدو: خادم پولونیوس؛ شبح: پدر هملت؛ فورتینبراس: شاهزاده نرو؛
...more

flag 42 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Ian "Marvin" Graye rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviews, read-2011, reviews-5-stars

A Young Lawyer’s Guide to "Hamlet":

Head Note

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – Young Hamlet still mourns his father’s death – doesn’t like King Claudius marrying his mother, Queen Gertrude, so soon

Ophelia's brother, Laertes, warns her not to fall in love with Young Hamlet - her father Polonius fears she will be hurt

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern investigate Young Hamlet’s strange behavior – Polonius believes he loves Ophelia

Ghost of Hamlet tells Young Hamlet he was poisoned by King Cla ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2014 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ (of badger and SNAKE) rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, reread

Quick reread before The Steep and Thorny Way (retelling WOOT!)

Question : Is it really as crazy I remember or am I delusional?

Answer : Oh okay. Never mind.

Ps. The 4th picture makes me laugh way too much for my own good. Oops.

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2014 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-authors-q-t, classics, ghost-horror-supernatural, poetry-and-plays

"To be or not to be that is the question:"

Is this the most famous line in Shakespeare? It is certainly a contender. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is Shakespeare's longest and most ambitious play, taking over four hours to perform in its entirety. Written at some point between 1599 and 1602, it has such an extensive vocabulary and expressive range, that Shakespeare was emotionally drained afterwards, and was incapable of writing anything for two years. It was not only one of Shakespear ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2014 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-class

I loooooved the plot of this book. Hamlet was amazing and sassy and I loved reading about him. It was just very hard to read because, obviously, it's shakespeare. Had I read this book without spark notes and my teacher, I would NOT have understood it.

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2009 Jeanette "Astute Crabbist" rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, plays, five-star-fiction, all-fiction

Final body count = 8

Got the hots for your sister-in-law? Wanna be king? Just bump off your brother and marry his wife! Then your nephew will be your stepson, but you will call him "cousin." Very soon, you and everyone around you will be dead, and some Norwegian dude will plop his dimply butt in your throne.

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2017 Reham rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

وداعا يا هاملت !

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2016 Shahad jeza rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: مكتبتي-الورقية

الحب ،، الجنون ،، الانتقام ،، الدناءة ،، الغدر ،، الموت ،، الغضب ... كلها جمعت في مسرحية :)

مسرحية هاملت ذكرتني كثيرا بأسلوب دوستوفيسكي في دراسة مشاعر الإنسان ،، فهنا ستجد
الإنسان محبا وغاضبا ، مجنونا ومكلفا بالانتقام ، ذو نفسه دنيئة يشعر قليلا بالندم فيقدم صلواته وهو يعلم في قرارة نفسه أنه كاذب منافق .. ستجد شكسبير يبدع في الوصف ويرثي حال الإنسان عند موته ... ببساطة ستستمتع جدا :)

الغدر بأبيه ورغبته بالانتقام من هذا الذي قتل والده وسلب حكمه وسرق قلب أمه ،، هاملت حكيم ، حكيم جدا كل جملة له أراها ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2016 Shine Sebastian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ultimate-favourites, books-i-own, wisdom, 2016, classics

"To be , or not to be - that is the question. "

This is one of those books which makes you feel so small and insignificant whenever you are near it. An epic tale on the struggles and vast complexity of human mind, throwing light into the deep currents of instability, darkness and unclearness that flow underneath ones mind with amazing subtlety and mystique.

'Hamlet' is so much more than just a revenge - tragedy drama. It is LIFE .

This is definitely a book you should atleat read once in your ...more

flag 33 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2015 Norah Una Sumner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: school, all-time-favs, crime, philosophy, great-male-characters, history, classics, loss, family-theme, adult, humor, from-library, 5-star-read, read-in-serbian

How can you not love this sarcastic idiot?

Should you oppose the evil forces of the world and stop them or is it easier to let yourself get lost in dreams and death? Is it possible that by fighting against evil, we often become evil ourselves? Does a man running away from bad things just turn to other,equally bad things, without being aware of it? Do we become cowards by letting the world slowly abuse us or are we just accepting the inevitable? These are some of the questions that are included in ...more

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2015 João Fernandes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare, drama, favorites

(Kronborg Castle)

“To be, or not to be; that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep—
No more, and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream.”

[Third read, first time in English]

I had forgotten how much I lov ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2014 Luís C. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, favourites, on-my-own, 1001-done, g-plays, brit-scots-irish

Oh, how much ink has been spilled this beautiful work of Shakespeare and how many tears were shed for it, I dare not imagine.
Also, I do not pretend to write a review you do not already would probably read dozens of times or even contribute new elements that you would know already but just know that this piece, I had already read when j 'was in college (so there ten years ago), I reread and reread again probably with much pleasure. Admittedly, this is a tragedy (thus, as it name suggests, nothing Oh, how much ink has been spilled this beautiful work of Shakespeare and how many tears were shed for it, I dare not imagine.
Also, I do not pretend to write a review you do not already would probably read dozens of times or even contribute new elements that you would know already but just know that this piece, I had already read when j 'was in college (so there ten years ago), I reread and reread again probably with much pleasure. Admittedly, this is a tragedy (thus, as it name suggests, nothing very pleasing) but what poetry in these verses, what beauty in this bitter sweet madness which thinks reached the prince of Denmark, young Hamlet.
Is he crazy? I do not think so ... he saw a ghost, that of his father murdered by his uncle but never not felt the presence at his side of a loved one recently died, and more importantly, in most dubious circumstances. I can not say they have never experienced that feeling, or at least have wanted to believe. So the spectrum reveals to his son how his own brother (now the new King of Denmark as it also took place in the layers of the Queen Gertrude, barely two months after it was beer) went about it for the murder and demanded revenge!
The Hamlet's mind is tortured, it is true, but who would not after such a revelation? What does he have to do ? Take the sword and do it again shed blood? meanwhile, the King Claudius, sensing the danger did everything to keep the Kingdom of Denmark Hamlet to preserve his place on the throne.
Hamlet is therefore found alone with his fate because, although the presence of this spectrum at the castle it was revealed by three guards and his friend Horatio, on who else can it really count? Who will believe? We take it for insane (and himself will have fun playing this madness) and this well lay them his uncle or other business that would be just as hungry for power that he and who have devoted their cause and Claudius, because, as everyone knows, the Prime Minister (or to quote him) must be faithful to that it serves and devote his utmost devotion.
I will not say more regarding the plot because I think again that I will not be repeating what has already been said many times but I stress the point that this book, although ' it this is a drama in which a lot of blood will flow, is beautiful. Read and reread without fail!

Luís Cruz - 19.07.2016 - 5 STARS ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Lyn rated it really liked it

What’s the question?

“To be, or not to be: that is the question”

Shakespeare’s most famous play? Maybe. And that quote may be his most recognizable, certainly one of the most memorable. The tragedy of the Danish prince, his revenge, the introspection and self doubt that shaped his actions, and the tragic events described in some of Shakespeare’s most provocative language is mesmerizing.

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be fals ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2016 peiman-mir5 rezakhani rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: نمایشنامه

دوستانِ گرانقدر، بدونِ تردید بسیاری از شما با این اثرِ مشهور آشنایی دارید و یا آن را خوانده اید
در زیر چکیده ای بسیار مختصر از این نمایشنامه را برایتان مینویسم
*************************
عزیزانم، <هملت> پسرِ پادشاه دانمارک است... پادشاه به دستِ برادرش (عمویِ هملت) به قتل میرسد و این برادرِ قاتل، تاج و تخت پادشاه را تصرف کرده و حتی با زنِ پادشاه، یعنی زن برادرش نیز ازدواج میکند
از همین روی <هملت> پس از دودلی و تردیدِ بسیار برای انتقام و خونخواهیِ پدر، برمیخیزد
میتوان اینگونه تفسیر کرد که: & ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Life is but a dream?	1	5	Feb 17, 2017 02:27AM
Old Books, New Re...: 2014 March Book - Hamlet	29	133	Feb 12, 2017 09:56PM
The best film version	103	872	Jan 28, 2017 04:49PM
Determinism or free will?	17	263	Jan 27, 2017 02:53AM
Is it true that Bacon is the real Shakespeare?	52	285	Jan 23, 2017 02:08AM
50 books to read ...: Hamlet	50	68	Dec 06, 2016 10:54PM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Videos About This Book

Add a comment

Genres

Classics

13,127 users

Plays

6,636 users

Fiction

2,990 users

Drama

2,397 users

Academic > School

1,564 users

Literature

1,059 users

Plays > Theatre

752 users

Academic > Read For School

698 users

Poetry

582 users

Young Adult > High School

579 users

See top shelves…

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been tr William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day.

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

According to historians, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets throughout the span of his life. Shakespeare's writing average was 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. There have been plays and sonnets attributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
...more

More about William Shakespeare...

Books by William Shakespeare

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Hamlet

252 trivia questions
10 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Hamlet

“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.” — 7881 likes

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.” — 6724 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: Hamlet
avg rating	preview: Hamlet Goodreads rating: 4.00 (551871 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1420.Hamlet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1351051208l/1420.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1420.Hamlet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hamlet by William Shakespeare[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Hamlet

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Popular Answered Questions

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Videos About This Book

Genres

About William Shakespeare

Books by William Shakespeare

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Hamlet

Quotes from Hamlet