Hamlet

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare’s longest play, with 30,557 words. 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.

About Hamlet in brief

Summary Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare’s longest play, with 30,557 words. 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. Hamlet is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world literature. It was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most performed, topping the performance list of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879. It has inspired many other writers—from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Charles Dickens to James Joyce and Iris Murdoch—and has been described as ‘the world’s most filmed story after Cinderella’ The story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was derived from the legend of Amleth, preserved by 13th-century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum, as subsequently retold by the 16th- century scholar François de Belleforest. Shakespeare may also have drawn on an earlier Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-Hamlet, though some scholars believe he wrote it himself. The play’s structure and depth of characterisation have inspired much critical scrutiny. More recently, psychoanalytic critics have examined Hamlet’S unconscious desires, while feminist critics have re-evaluated and attempted to rehabilitate the often-maligned characters of Ophelia and Gertrude.

In the 400 years since its inception, the role has been performed by numerous highly acclaimed actors in each successive century. Three different early versions of the play are extant: the First Quarto; the Second Quarto ; and the First Folio. Each version includes lines and entire scenes missing from the others. The ghost of the late King Hamlet appears to the prince, telling the prince that he was murdered by Claudius and demanding that Hamlet avenge him. That night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernardo and Marcellus discuss a ghost resembling the late Hamlet which they have recently seen. After the ghost appears again, the three vow to tell Hamlet what they have witnessed. As the court gathers the next day, while Hamlet looks on glumly. Hamlet resolves to see the ghost from Horatio, who offers him advice in the maxim ‘to thine own self be true’ Hamlet agrees and confides to Horatio that the ghost vanishes, and Horatio confides in Hamlet. The prince then resolves to kill the ghost, telling him that he is the only one who can save Denmark from an invasion led by the dead Norwegian king’s son, Prince Fortinbras. In a final scene, the ghost tells Hamlet that he must kill his uncle.