Poison, play, and duel: A study in Hamlet

by Nigel Alexander

Book by Alexander, Nigel

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Nigel Alexander is an Emeritus Professor of English of the University of London. He is the editor of the Macmillan edition of 'Hamlet' (London, 1973), and the author of 'Poison, Play, and Duel' (London, 1971) and 'Shakespeare: Measure for Measure' (London, 1975).

Reviews

[Sarath Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The major claim of this critical study is that 'Hamlet is a play of ideas'. It dramatizes complex intellectual and emotional questions. It discusses various ideas such as Hamlet's problems and the problems of Hamlet.

The point the author wants to make can be summed up here:
" 'It is perhaps natural to conclude that the dilemma is insoluble and that "the experience of Hamlet, then, culminates in a set of questions to which there are no answers"'- Normal Rabkin, Shakespeare and the Common Understanding, 1967.