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Summary: Ghosts, guilt, and graveyards
Review: Ah, yes. Hailed by many as Shakespeare's Magnum Opus (is that right?), this is certainly one of his most significant dramatic works. Hamlet is an atmosperic story of internalization - of feelings (guilt, love, hatred), of people, thoughts, and actions. Marked by indecision and a strong sense of self-pity and self-consciousness, Hamlet makes the slow transition from fear to determination in his quest to avenge his father's death. Oedipal complex, supernatural powers, royal incest, revenge - these are all explored in the play. Several famous questions are posed and thoughts explored - of existence, suicide, meaning, value. Hamlet is just packed with philosophy, psychology, and humanity. A must-read in which you will find many of the most famous soliloquies in all of Shakespeare. Thrown in Yorick's skull, poor Ophelia, good Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, you've got yourself one awesome play.
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Summary: attention shakespeare lovers
Review: Hamlet has always been thought of as one of the classics of literature. I could not think of another book which deserves this title more. The story of a Danish pricne who learns from his fathers ghost that his father, the king, was murdered by his brother, Hamlet's uncle, who then went on to marry Hamlet's mother. Hamlet is overcome by a longing for revenge, but also indecisive. Shakespeare creates a great amount of tension between the chatacters with powerful confrontatoins and biting language. It is a suspenseful tragedy, filled with anguish.William Shakespeare was a genious when it came to breaking down the human psyche, and Hamlet is perhaps one of the most complex plays when it comes to human emotions. It is undoubtably one of his finest works, full of very complex, interesting characters, and a wonderfully chaotic plot. There are innumerable theories on Hamlet, why he is so indecisive, and if it all comes down to an oedipus complex. whatever way you interpret it, everyone can get something out of it. I feel like I am priveleged to have read such a wonderful play. Hamlet is a character that I can relate to in some ways, being a very indecisive person myself. I felt I could connect with him better than many Shakespeare characters, MacBeth, Ceasar, Juliet, Helena or Hermia. That is one of the reasons that I enjoyed Hamlet so very much. I wish that everyone could love Hamlet as much as I did, but I know, especially being a high-school student, that it is a little much for general reading. For high school students, like me, I very strongly recommend this book, if you really like Shakespeare, and aren't looking for a quick read. Otherwise, it might be a little to much to tackle, if you don't really enjoy Shakespearian tragedies. For anyone who has time required to comprehend such a complex work, and is looking for a masterpiece of literature that will keep them thinking, Hamlet is the book for you.
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Summary: The Greatest Story Ever?
Review: Hamlet is considered by many to be the greatest story in the English language. At any rate, it is one of the most famous of all of Shakespeare's works, only Romeo & Juliet really comes close. I recently finished reading the book in my Honors English class and I truly believe that it stands the test of time, and that it's reputation is well deserved. But I would also like to comment on this edition. It provides a lot of helpful notes on vocabulary and cultural notes about the period in which it was written and takes place. There is also an essay in the end with some analysis, and several pages of notes and helpful facts at the beginning. If you are reading Hamlet on your own and/or this is your first time reading it, I suggest using this edition.
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Summary: What Is The Meaning of Hamlet?
Review: Hamlet is considered, by many scholars, the pinnacle of Shakespeare's dramas. If you haven't read it yet this this Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism edition would be a great place to begin. The text notes that are included with the play are very helpful to understand some of the more difficult language nuances that are inevitable with any Shakespeare. The structure is well laid out and conclusive. It complements the complexity of Hamlet very well. Of course Hamlet is one of the great paradoxes and mysteries every written. The search of finding yourself and what it is that fuels the human spirit. Hamlet can be a very confusing play because of the depth of substance. However, the critical essays that suppliment the reading make it very accessable. Each of the critical essays are of different schools of literary criticism: Feminist Criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, post-structuralist (deconstuctionist) criticism, Marxist critism, and finally a New Historicist criticism. Before each critism there is clearly written introduction to explain the motives and histories of that type of criticism. This edition of Hamlet will not only introduce the reader to more Shakespeare, but also explain the play and help to familiarize the reader with literary criticism too. It is a beautiful volume that cannot be more recommended if you are wanting to buy a copy Hamlet.
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Summary: Hamlet : Folger Library edition
Review: Hamlet is, by far, the most complex of Shakespeare's many plays. Many of the themes covered are love vs hate, action vs non-action, revenge, and jealousy. Hamlet discovers that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" when he encounters the ghost of his father, the King, who has recently been killed in battle. From here, Hamlet goes on a search for the discovery of what happened to his father. However, Hamlet not only uncovers secrets of the past, but also the depths of his own being. The Folger Edition of Hamlet is a great edition to buy, especially for those who are studying this play in high school or college, because it is relatively cheap in price and is very "reader-friendly" with side notes and footnotes that accompany each page of each scene. So, even if you aren't a Shakespeare lover or if Shakespeare is just a little intimidating (we all know how this feels), this version at least allows you to get the gist of what is going on. Also, there are summaries of each scene within each act, to let you know in layman's terms what is taking place. I highly recommend this edition.
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Summary: Hamlet, glossed.
Review: I hated Shakespeare in high school, partly because I could only understand about one word out of every three. Recently -- that is, thirty years post-high-school -- I forced myself to read it again, in the Signet edition, and was dumbfounded at how different my response was. All the difficult terms were explained at the bottom of each page in footnotes. I learned the difference between the two terms of address, "Sir" and "Sirrah," and a lot of other things as well. As an adolescent I asked myself why the hero didn't just kill Claudius right of the bat and have done with it. The reason, it seemed to me, is that there wouldn't have been any play. Hamlet refuses to use his sword on his uncle for the same reason the Indians don't shoot the horses when they're chasing the stagecoach. What a change time has wrought. I guess when you're a kid you don't know the meaning of the term "moral doubt" because so many things seem black and white. It takes a certain degree of maturation to realize that murdering a king because some ghost told you to is a bit morally -- well, fuzzy. For instance, can you be absolutely certain that you're doing it to avenge your father instead of being jealous about your mother's affections? Questions like that, which a thoughtful adult might ask himself, are enough to give anyone pause. It's a fascinating tragedy. Probably the best film about it is still Olivier's from 1947 or 1948, which won an Academy Award if that still means anything. The signet edition is extremely helpful too in providing brief critical essays that review the play from differing perspectives, the Freudian, the feminist, and so on.
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Summary: Signet Edition
Review: I'm not writing a review of Hamlet the play here - that would be superfluous. Next to the Bible, it is the greatest piece of literature of all time. I think that the signet edition is the best. It has its usual introduction on Shakespeare and his times. It then goes into the different versions of Hamlet that have come down to us. It has several commentaries on the play, including one by Coleridge. Most useful of all is a history of the productions of Hamlet on the stage and screen.
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Summary: The human tragedy seen as drama...
Review: I've read Hamlet in Spanish, so I guess I may have lost most of its magic. However, the translation was good enough to transport myself to Shakespeare's wonderful drama.
Hamlet is so human, so well depicted that all the things said about this drama is true.
I would have loved to read it in English, but it's not my native language, but I'm sure might lost many of the word meanings.
This is book is very interesting to start reading Shakepeare.
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Summary: Liberal Doses of Ham in your Sublet
Review: In my eyes, Shakespeare could do almost no wrong, but some of his plays were decidedly better than others--Hamlet, for example--for reasons of literary style, subject matter, etc. In my case, his tragedies are far more interesting than his romances/comedies/histories given the wide range of emotions you're made to feel upon reading them. In any case, Hamlet has the best quotes, and has spawned a million books/movie versions/spin-offs. "Get the to a nunnery", "something rotten in Denmark", "To be, or not to be", "A hit; a very palpable hit"... the list is endless. If nothing else, it's the kind of material that's easily visualized and easily understood. I might have been 15 years old when I first read it, but it all made sense. Moral dilemma--ethics--deceit--virtue--honour--revenge... these are all things that make a story classic, not rustic. Over 400 years later, the source material is as vital as ever. Excellent stuff.
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Summary: To buy this edition or not to buy it - to buy it, I say.
Review: My review merely glances at the New Penguin Shakespeare Edition, rather than saying anything about the famous play. This edition is well worth getting: it is cheap, small, toughly bound, & durable (so it can fit in your pocket without falling apart). Best of all though, it is extremely reader friendly, and so, with interested dedication by virtually ANY reader, Shakespeare's plays - the language, plot, etc. - can be mastered; yes, thoroughly, fluently, enjoyably grasped. How does this paricular edition so effectively enable this? Well, the edition is split into three parts: First, there is a large, plainly & elegantly written, introduction on all aspects of the play, and then there is the play itself, and finally there are textual notes, i.e., explanatory and interpretative notes on the play's text. Everything you could want on this play - except a dictionary - is bound between the covers of this sturdy little book.
Five stars for the play, five stars for the edition!
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