Cliffsnotes Shakespeare's Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

Offers an author profile, historical background, critical commentaries, chapter summaries, and character insight into the play.

Genres: Shakespeare, Reference, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Academics

Audio CD

First published May 30, 2000

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is 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 extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Hamlet using spark notes, "No fear Shakespeare." I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read, and I like most of the themes in Hamlet. I'm glad I read it.

[Sandrine Pal · Rating 2 out of 5]

How quickly we forget the absolute nuisance of taking extensive notes while reading! I do not miss that from my full-time student days. This was not as good as the Spark Notes, in my opinion, but it gets the job done. There are some egregious typos, such as "capitol crime" (could lead to confusion, except this was published long before 1/6/2021) or "soliloquys". But hey, it's not like there's an English teacher at the helm... Oh wait.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read! The notes in the margins helped explain the complex thinking of Shakespeare and even some of the things that have been lost over time that would've been common knowledge during Shakespeare's time. It was very enlightening and very enjoyable to be able to read with understanding. I would highly recommend this book to any interesting in Shakespeare, plays, or the Elizabethan era.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used the cliff notes in my 1st semester sophmore year english class to quote the suicide of Ophelia. My teacher was a feminist so I just blamed everything on Hamlet and men in general. I got an A in the class.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the Cliff Notes for Hamlet along with the book Hamlet by William Shakespeare. No, it is not cheating, it is just my way of understanding what I am reading, since I am reading it for myself and not for school.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

...and this how I REALLY read Hamlet.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to get a copy when I read Edgar Sawtelle.

[CA Ram Melam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This notes just summarises the each part of the drama in modern English.

[Katherine]

8/1/92. Mt. Dora.