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96th out of 100 books
—
21 voters
Hamlet
A young prince meets with his father's ghost, who alleges that his own brother, now married to his widow, murdered him. The prince devises a scheme to test the truth of the ghost's accusation, feigning wild madness while plotting a brutal revenge. But his apparent insanity soon begins to wreak havoc on innocent and guilty alike. Hamlet's combination of violence and introsp...more
Hardcover, 209 pages
Published
March 1st 2011
by Collector's Library
(first published 1602)
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Mar 22, 2010
Madeline
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
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
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
Nov 28, 2012
Steve aka Sckenda
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lovers of Language; Searchers for Themselves
Recommended to Steve aka Sckenda by:
Ms. McFarland
Shelves:
16th-century,
drama,
individualism,
revenge,
fathers-and-sons,
great-books,
favorites,
freedom
“When such a spacious mirror’s set before him, He needs must see himself.” Shakespeare
This play is a mirror. I met Hamlet in 12th grade English, and I was told that he was a man who could not make up his mind and failed to fulfill his promise to timely avenge his father's death. I was also told that Freud said that Hamlet was really Oedipus, in love with his mother and at war with the father figure. No thanks.
Here is the only plot detail necessary for you to understand my limited review. In Act...more
This play is a mirror. I met Hamlet in 12th grade English, and I was told that he was a man who could not make up his mind and failed to fulfill his promise to timely avenge his father's death. I was also told that Freud said that Hamlet was really Oedipus, in love with his mother and at war with the father figure. No thanks.
Here is the only plot detail necessary for you to understand my limited review. In Act...more
63 likes
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“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, “...more
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, “...more
59 likes
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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
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
31 likes
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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
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
71 likes
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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...more
20 likes
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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
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
29 likes
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THIS BOOK IS ABOUT GO FUCK YOURSELF.
21 likes
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
23 likes
·
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· see review
CELEBRITY DEATH MATCH REVIEW
HAMLET V JANE EYRE
From today's Telegraph:
A diary has been found by an eminent archaeologist working at the site of Thornfield Hall. This crumbling tome is purportedly written by a certain Mrs Rochester formerly known as Ophelia, and within those pages there is enough circumstance to shame most of today's adventure writers who can rarely be relied upon to conjure up such an exciting plot-line.
Fact is surely stranger than fiction.
Police in Denmark were notified and upo...more
HAMLET V JANE EYRE
From today's Telegraph:
A diary has been found by an eminent archaeologist working at the site of Thornfield Hall. This crumbling tome is purportedly written by a certain Mrs Rochester formerly known as Ophelia, and within those pages there is enough circumstance to shame most of today's adventure writers who can rarely be relied upon to conjure up such an exciting plot-line.
Fact is surely stranger than fiction.
Police in Denmark were notified and upo...more
10 likes
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Feb 27, 2012
Chiara Pagliochini
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classici-inglesi,
teatro
Signore e signori, essendo oggi una domenica particolarmente stanca, ho deciso di fare una cosa un po’ diversa dal mio solito e di coinvolgervi in un piccolo esperimento sociale. L’esperimento è volto a dimostrare che ognuno di noi ha almeno una conoscenza empirica di base del signor Billy Shakespeare e delle sue opere. Come possiamo citare a memoria frasi della Bibbia senza averla mai letta per intero, come citiamo la Divina Commedia o le poesie che abbiamo imparato alle elementari, così siamo...more
11 likes
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Hamlet a kindly man, and longtime student(over ten years), at the University of Wittenberg,Germany. But his carefree life is destroyed, when his father dies suddenly.Having the misfortune to be a Prince of Denmark.Duty demands, going back to the royal palace. At Elsinore, overlooking the Baltic Sea,which controls its entrance.The new King his uncle, has married Hamlet's mother ,the Queen! And thus gaining the throne, just a month after the King's funeral.The ruler was an elective office then.Mor...more
9 likes
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
12 likes
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عندما تقلب فى اوراق هاملت شكسبير تطوف حولك عشرات الاشباح الى جانب شبح والد هاملت بزيه الحربى مشيرا الى ابنه ان يتبعه
ترى شبح يوسف شاهين راميا كرسى على الجمهور هاتفا "الانتقاااام" يليه صرخته الشهيره قفشتهااا
حتى شبح شخصية سميحة ايوب فى "سكة السلامة" شارحا كيف ان رواية هاملت روايه تربويه من الطراز الاول لان والدته قد "هاملت" فى تربيه ابنها فجن
شبح ذلك القارئ الصغير او حديث العهد بالقراءة يقرأ و يحملق فى جمل هاملت ليصل الى السطر الذى يشدو فيه "اكون او لا اكون..تلك هى المعضلة" فتنفرج اساريره محدثا ذاته...more
ترى شبح يوسف شاهين راميا كرسى على الجمهور هاتفا "الانتقاااام" يليه صرخته الشهيره قفشتهااا
حتى شبح شخصية سميحة ايوب فى "سكة السلامة" شارحا كيف ان رواية هاملت روايه تربويه من الطراز الاول لان والدته قد "هاملت" فى تربيه ابنها فجن
شبح ذلك القارئ الصغير او حديث العهد بالقراءة يقرأ و يحملق فى جمل هاملت ليصل الى السطر الذى يشدو فيه "اكون او لا اكون..تلك هى المعضلة" فتنفرج اساريره محدثا ذاته...more
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I read most of this on a plane last night. There is something quietly magical about closing your ears to outside distractions and reading under a small light while people all around you sleep or stare at computer screens or otherwise pretend that they are also alone in this small, tight space. We ignore each other as much as possible as a courtesy. It isn't a time to share a story with the stranger next to you; it isn't polite to get loudly drunk. It's quiet, no cell phones (yet), and dark, and...more
58 likes
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For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, Hamlet vs Winnie-the-Pooh
…
Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh likes a game of some sort
when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes to sit
quietly in front of the fire and listen to a story. This eve-
ning—
"What about a story?" said Christopher Robin.
"What about a story?" I said.
"Could you very sweetly tell Winnie-the-Pooh one?"
"I suppose I could," I said. "What sort of stories does
he like?"
"About himself. Because he's that sort of Bear."
"...more
…
Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh likes a game of some sort
when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes to sit
quietly in front of the fire and listen to a story. This eve-
ning—
"What about a story?" said Christopher Robin.
"What about a story?" I said.
"Could you very sweetly tell Winnie-the-Pooh one?"
"I suppose I could," I said. "What sort of stories does
he like?"
"About himself. Because he's that sort of Bear."
"...more
15 likes
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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.
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.
15 likes
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Oct 07, 2011
Mariel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone is already born knowing it
Recommended to Mariel by:
probably before I was even born
Celebrity Death Match tournament review versus The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. (Once I thought I was out...) Edit- Whoops accidental alternative pairing! It was supposed to be MACBETH versus Sherlock. Oh well, those wins are givens anyway.
"To do anything, is there even a point? To die, to eat and sleep, is that all there is? Fuck. No, to sleep, to dream, to fuck, there it all goes down the fucking toilet. Bitches, liars and whores. Assholes, fucktards and sons of bitches. I'm sick of it all...more
"To do anything, is there even a point? To die, to eat and sleep, is that all there is? Fuck. No, to sleep, to dream, to fuck, there it all goes down the fucking toilet. Bitches, liars and whores. Assholes, fucktards and sons of bitches. I'm sick of it all...more
Ma che cos'ho che non va.
Ma porca miseria, se continua così comincerò a credere alla possibilità che il mio DNA sia stato alterato, per cui non sono come il resto dei lettori. Non so, magari ho un cromosoma che mi sballa tutto e non mi permette di impazzire per Shakespeare come fa il resto del mondo. Se è veramente così, dovrò dimenticare l'educazione e dirne tante a mamma e papà.
Non è che l'Amleto non mi sia piaciuto, è che, appunto, non sono riuscita ad innamorarmene, come vedo che accade a p...more
Ma porca miseria, se continua così comincerò a credere alla possibilità che il mio DNA sia stato alterato, per cui non sono come il resto dei lettori. Non so, magari ho un cromosoma che mi sballa tutto e non mi permette di impazzire per Shakespeare come fa il resto del mondo. Se è veramente così, dovrò dimenticare l'educazione e dirne tante a mamma e papà.
Non è che l'Amleto non mi sia piaciuto, è che, appunto, non sono riuscita ad innamorarmene, come vedo che accade a p...more
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Feb 09, 2008
Trevor
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
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
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
27 likes
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Written for the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament
Bout: Hamlet vs. To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch waited quietly in front of the sheriff's office. The word as out that a vigilante mob would attempt to take his client out of the jail and lynch him. Atticus was sipping his lemonade when he heard a rustle in the bushes.
"Who is that." He shouted.
"It's just me." replied Scout.
"Why Scout. What are you doing here. You should be in bed. This is no place for you."
"I was worried. Why do you have...more
Bout: Hamlet vs. To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch waited quietly in front of the sheriff's office. The word as out that a vigilante mob would attempt to take his client out of the jail and lynch him. Atticus was sipping his lemonade when he heard a rustle in the bushes.
"Who is that." He shouted.
"It's just me." replied Scout.
"Why Scout. What are you doing here. You should be in bed. This is no place for you."
"I was worried. Why do you have...more
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May 25, 2007
Kelly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone. Even if you don't like Shakespeare. It's necessary.
I do not know how I would get by in my other literary experiences without knowing this play at at least the moderate level that I do. There are countless other books (Ulysses being the first that comes to mind) that reference it or use it as a major theme, and I think I would have missed out on a lot if I didn't have this in my arsenal.
I love the "piece of work is man" speech so much. And "rogue and peasant slave".
I am obviously not qualified to really review Hamlet. And besides, it's Hamlet, wh...more
I love the "piece of work is man" speech so much. And "rogue and peasant slave".
I am obviously not qualified to really review Hamlet. And besides, it's Hamlet, wh...more
6 likes
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**Spoilers**(but really, come on...)
Although written prior (and this being a rather simplistic idea) I can't help but think of 'Hamlet' as providing a sequel to' King Lear'; the final lines of the later all but presaging the thematic thrust of the earlier play (if you'll permit me a 'back to the future' moment):
The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
If in 'King Le...more
"O Amleto, mi hai spaccato il cuore."
O sono io che in questo periodo sto sviluppando un folle amore per il teatro, o è che questo Amleto mi ha davvero toccato l'anima.
Da amare per la profonda disperazione che emerge dai suoi versi, una disperazione cieca, nera come l'oblio, ma pur sempre velata d'ironia; per l'intensità dei sentimenti dei personaggi, per la loro forza e la loro deboleazza, e per la loro storia, storia di intrighi, peccati, vendette: ed infine per la loro stessa umanità, per la l...more
Is there a better artistic expression of death's myriad manifestations than Shakespeare's Hamlet? I say no. In my counter-factual universe I see William Shakespeare as a Lieutenant at the First Somme. Imagine the war poetry that Shakespeare could have written. Perhaps one such war sonnet would have gone something like this:
My subaltern’s eyes will ne’er again see the sun,
Exposed hearts are more red than whores lips are red;
If we go o’er the top we are sure to face the gun;
And those caught on...more
My subaltern’s eyes will ne’er again see the sun,
Exposed hearts are more red than whores lips are red;
If we go o’er the top we are sure to face the gun;
And those caught on...more
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Just taking a stab here. Feel free to comment or dismiss.
I'd like to suggest that "Hamlet" was the first work of "high" or "serious" literature, by which I mean the first publically disseminated text written in a common language that was difficult for its contemporary audience (as opposed to, for example, texts like DaVinci's notebooks, written in code, Thomas Acquinas's "Summa Theologica," written in Church Latin, and texts like "The Bible," or "The Iliad" that became difficult over time.)
I thi...more
I'd like to suggest that "Hamlet" was the first work of "high" or "serious" literature, by which I mean the first publically disseminated text written in a common language that was difficult for its contemporary audience (as opposed to, for example, texts like DaVinci's notebooks, written in code, Thomas Acquinas's "Summa Theologica," written in Church Latin, and texts like "The Bible," or "The Iliad" that became difficult over time.)
I thi...more
4 likes
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I don't really have any important insights to share from this last 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 wellsprings of his actions (and lack of action)--to remain an enigma, and that he achieves this by infusing the c...more
9 likes
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Exposes the ultimate conclusion of female passivity as death. However, I'm suspicious of Ophelia's fate. How did Gertrude know she was singing? That bitch must have been witness. At least. ;)
*engages angry mob for justice*
'Angry Mob for Justice' is gonna be the name of my organisation.
*nods*
*engages angry mob for justice*
'Angry Mob for Justice' is gonna be the name of my organisation.
*nods*
This book was definitely a violent book. It starts off with the night guards seeing what appears to be a ghost. Hamlet comes and talks to the ghost. It tells him to get revenge and kill his uncle. The ghost says that Hamlet's uncle killed his father. Then Hamlet's mother and uncle had an affair and then got married. This causes Hamlet to start acting crazy. Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, who has a father named Polonius and a brother named Laertes. Hamlet goes to talk to his mother about her beh...more
I knew the famous quote "To be or not to be" before I even read Hamlet. That's how famous it is; but when I actually read it, I realized why it had such a reputation. To think that Shakespeare had ideas that included Marxism and the Oedipus complex, which are so ahead of his time, is shocking!
The character who really drew my attention was Ophelia. I am a person who loves romantic stories, but this play is a tragedy and Ophelia ends up committing suicide. I was really interested in her because s...more
The character who really drew my attention was Ophelia. I am a person who loves romantic stories, but this play is a tragedy and Ophelia ends up committing suicide. I was really interested in her because s...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The best film version | 79 | 343 | May 18, 2013 01:53am | |
| Dithering | 1 | 24 | Apr 29, 2013 07:43pm | |
| Hamlet's relationship with his mother | 16 | 101 | Mar 11, 2013 05:02am | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Please add page numbers | 10 | 30 | Feb 28, 2013 11:39am | |
| “...and you thought your life was crazy.” | 6 | 64 | Feb 06, 2013 01:10pm | |
| Infinite Jest – D...: Hamlet | 4 | 37 | Dec 29, 2012 08:37am |
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...more
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“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.”
—
4,727 people liked it
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
—
4,307 people liked it
More quotes…
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
Apr 28, 2013 11:13pm
May 09, 2013 09:05pm