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Hamlet
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Among Shakespeare's plays, "Hamlet" is considered by many his masterpiece. Among actors, the role of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is considered the jewel in the crown of a triumphant theatrical career. Now Kenneth Branagh plays the leading role and co-directs a brillant ensemble performance. Three generations of legendary leading actors, many of whom first assembled for the
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Paperback, 289 pages
Published
August 1st 2005
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 1601)
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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

I don't have any earth-shattering insights to share from this most recent of god-knows-how-many readings, but this time through I was 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 ch ...more

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

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602.
Set in Denmark, the play depicts 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.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «هملت»؛ «سوگنمایش هملت شاهپور دانمارک»؛ «تراژدی هملت : پرنس دانمارک»؛ «هملت شاهزاده ی د ...more
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1602.
Set in Denmark, the play depicts 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.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «هملت»؛ «سوگنمایش هملت شاهپور دانمارک»؛ «تراژدی هملت : پرنس دانمارک»؛ «هملت شاهزاده ی د ...more

shakespeare when pitching this play, probably: this is my OC hamlet. hes a prince. hes bisexual. hes moody, brooding, and is anywhere between the ages of 16 to 30 years old. and no, i am not taking constructive criticism.
well, let me tell you what. im sold! i love hamlet. i love his angsty monologues. i love his sassy remarks. i love that he cant seem to shut up. i love his relationship with horatio. i love everything about him avoiding osric and his hat. i love that hes OTT and i seriously cant ...more
well, let me tell you what. im sold! i love hamlet. i love his angsty monologues. i love his sassy remarks. i love that he cant seem to shut up. i love his relationship with horatio. i love everything about him avoiding osric and his hat. i love that hes OTT and i seriously cant ...more

if you don't ship Hamratio did you even read the play???
...more

Is it possible that I had only read the first 4 scenes and Hamlet already became one of my favorite male characters ever? YES!
Why?
He’s constantly wearing black and monologuing about how literally everything is hard and making everything more dramatic then it is, is so ME!?
And this is considered a tragedy (which in some ways it is) but I found it so funny (probably because I have a dark soul) and I will definitely reread this at any given moment of peace.
I absolutely loved this play, and I’m s ...more
Why?
He’s constantly wearing black and monologuing about how literally everything is hard and making everything more dramatic then it is, is so ME!?
And this is considered a tragedy (which in some ways it is) but I found it so funny (probably because I have a dark soul) and I will definitely reread this at any given moment of peace.
I absolutely loved this play, and I’m s ...more

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

Updated review February 2017:
This is my third time reading Hamlet and, like a fine wine... you know the rest. I read the same copy I've had lying around for years with one page of notes on the left and the play on the right. This time I was able to read most of the play without notes which was pretty awesome. Just had to glance over to figure out what some of the words meant, but I actually got the story this time. It's taken me three tries with a book that helps me cheat, but boy oh boy I final ...more
This is my third time reading Hamlet and, like a fine wine... you know the rest. I read the same copy I've had lying around for years with one page of notes on the left and the play on the right. This time I was able to read most of the play without notes which was pretty awesome. Just had to glance over to figure out what some of the words meant, but I actually got the story this time. It's taken me three tries with a book that helps me cheat, but boy oh boy I final ...more

Here's the thing about Hamlet: if you see it and you hate it, you saw a terrible Hamlet. I don't care if it's given critical acclaim - fuck off, Kenneth Branagh - Hamlet is supposed to be compelling, and if you didn't find the character compelling, that actor didn't do their job. You need a Hamlet who knows the character, not a Hamlet who wants to do grace to the character or some shit.
Here's the thing: I used to hate this play. Not lowkey hate, I fucking despised it. I thought it was boring an ...more
Here's the thing: I used to hate this play. Not lowkey hate, I fucking despised it. I thought it was boring an ...more

Jun 25, 2014
Lisa
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
shakespeare,
favorites
I bought a skull as my only prop for Halloween dress-up, and I hope someone will recognise that I will be Hamlet. As spontaneous actions always need to be followed by bookish contemplation for full satisfaction, I am preparing for the event by rereading the whole play.
Somewhere in the middle I started laughing at Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: "To the nunnery!" For who wants to end up a breeder of sinners? I rejoiced at the fact that fake news are as old as the rotten state of states in general, an ...more
Somewhere in the middle I started laughing at Hamlet's advice to Ophelia: "To the nunnery!" For who wants to end up a breeder of sinners? I rejoiced at the fact that fake news are as old as the rotten state of states in general, an ...more

“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

Apr 05, 2016
Mark André (on hiatus)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
plays
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?
... and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural
shocks
That flesh is heir to ...
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the
rub ... what dreams may come ...
Must give us pause:
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country f ...more
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?
... and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural
shocks
That flesh is heir to ...
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the
rub ... what dreams may come ...
Must give us pause:
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country f ...more

“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
William Shakespeare ~~ Hamlet

Richard Burton
I recently discovered that my non-existent HAMLET review has 51 likes. With that many likes I figured I better buckle down and write a proper review for this amazing piece of theatre.
It's no wonder William Shakespeare’s HAMLET is so famous and beloved. HAMLET provides all the ingredients of a thrilling plot, while offering some of literature’s most breathtaking poetry and philosophical reflection. In Shake ...more
William Shakespeare ~~ Hamlet

Richard Burton
I recently discovered that my non-existent HAMLET review has 51 likes. With that many likes I figured I better buckle down and write a proper review for this amazing piece of theatre.
It's no wonder William Shakespeare’s HAMLET is so famous and beloved. HAMLET provides all the ingredients of a thrilling plot, while offering some of literature’s most breathtaking poetry and philosophical reflection. In Shake ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

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 ...more
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 ...more

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

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.”

Not sure how many times I've read or watched William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The writing is fantastic! It's amazing to me how much of this play now exists in the realm of well-known quotes (more so than in any other Shakespeare play I'm aware of). Still, and I'm sure this is owing to Shakespeare's great talent, it feels fresh and I'm engaged in the story. And it is a story that works on so many levels. One of my favorite Shakespeare plays! ...more

Not sure how many times I've read or watched William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The writing is fantastic! It's amazing to me how much of this play now exists in the realm of well-known quotes (more so than in any other Shakespeare play I'm aware of). Still, and I'm sure this is owing to Shakespeare's great talent, it feels fresh and I'm engaged in the story. And it is a story that works on so many levels. One of my favorite Shakespeare plays! ...more

It is only when I read and compare across languages that I realise what a hard and thankless job translation is, especially older texts and more so when there's a significant cultural distance between 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 actually a
...more

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

Update: I've been messaging with an academic who wants to quote this review in a scholarly research article! They liked that this review was so "pithy," LOL. I'm kind of tickled.
My favorite Shakespeare play! Murdering throne-usurping uncle, Hamlet's ghost father demanding revenge, pretend insanity, death, real insanity, everyone plotting against each other, death, play within a play, more death, all wrapped up with insanely good poetry. And death. But the revenge comes first, so it's all good. ...more
My favorite Shakespeare play! Murdering throne-usurping uncle, Hamlet's ghost father demanding revenge, pretend insanity, death, real insanity, everyone plotting against each other, death, play within a play, more death, all wrapped up with insanely good poetry. And death. But the revenge comes first, so it's all good. ...more

The first time I read this book I was in highschool. It was an 80-page book. The story was so short and simple, so I wondered "Why so many people say this is such a complex play/book?". A couple of years later, I bought a special edition of 592 pages: Too much? No! Why not? Because the play was written in Shakespearean English, and every single word that was not in standard English was explained at the bottom of the page, it explained the context, the uses you can have from that word.
Ok, so I re ...more
Ok, so I re ...more

A powerful meditation on the futility of life wrapped into a highly bloody revenge tale
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Well this was a whole lot more meaty, and leading to thought about the message that William Shakespeare tries to convene than Romeo and Juliet that I read earlier this month. Hamlet tries to get revenge for the killing of his father, in a tale that initially feels a lot like a Greek tragedy (Orestes by Euripides comes to mind, in the sense that the ...more
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Well this was a whole lot more meaty, and leading to thought about the message that William Shakespeare tries to convene than Romeo and Juliet that I read earlier this month. Hamlet tries to get revenge for the killing of his father, in a tale that initially feels a lot like a Greek tragedy (Orestes by Euripides comes to mind, in the sense that the ...more

The genius in Shakespeare is that the text is so full of poetry and ambiguity that it can be interpreted (and often with reason) is diametrically opposed ways. TS Elliott thought it was a hack job whereas Coleridge saw it as a play about melancholy and inaction, Freud says Oedipus and AC Bradley sees a hero awakening to his fate. Somewhere in there, one must read the text for oneself and revel in its beauty and violence.
I watched both the 1948 film version by Laurence Olivier (2h46) and the 199 ...more
I watched both the 1948 film version by Laurence Olivier (2h46) and the 199 ...more

Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to Hamlet, a tragedy published in 1600 by William Shakespeare. Buckle your seat belts, as I have a 38 page review to share... Just Kidding! Well, I do have a lengthy review I could include from a previous course on Shakespeare, but I will not do so here... chance are you've already read the play or seen some film adaption, perhaps even a staged version. I've seen a bunch of them and read the place 4 times (once in high school, twice in college and once jus ...more
4 out of 5 stars to Hamlet, a tragedy published in 1600 by William Shakespeare. Buckle your seat belts, as I have a 38 page review to share... Just Kidding! Well, I do have a lengthy review I could include from a previous course on Shakespeare, but I will not do so here... chance are you've already read the play or seen some film adaption, perhaps even a staged version. I've seen a bunch of them and read the place 4 times (once in high school, twice in college and once jus ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

Hamlet teaches us all an important lesson. If you keep your head down, stay doing gay shit with your friends at college and never come home you'll be okay
in all seriousness, Hamlet insisting on wearing black all the time and frequently monologuing about how every decision is too hard and he's a mess is Relatable TM so I love him ...more
in all seriousness, Hamlet insisting on wearing black all the time and frequently monologuing about how every decision is too hard and he's a mess is Relatable TM so I love him ...more

Goodreads reliably informs me that I first read Hamlet a decade ago, in 2012. I am not sure what I was thinking then – I doubt I understood much, but I seem to have liked it. I gave it 4 stars. That’s a lie… I remember some of what I was thinking, and a lot of it was confusion. 10 years later, I have gained that naïve confidence that tells me I have understood a lot more, but I will be looking back and laughing at this instance too, hopefully sooner than in 10 more years.
This time around it’s a ...more
This time around it’s a ...more
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Goodreads Librari...: AudioBook Cover | 3 | 14 | May 25, 2022 03:07AM | |
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Goodreads Librari...: Hamlet - ASIN - B00A3D1LL6 - Cover | 3 | 12 | Nov 23, 2021 02:48PM | |
Shakespeare Fans: Hamlet's Guide to Overcoming Fear | 7 | 30 | Jun 30, 2021 08:00AM |
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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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“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
—
9382 likes
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
—
7687 likes
More quotes…