HamletRandom House Publishing Group, 2008 M08 12 - 272 pages One of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography |
From inside the book
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Page vii
... play . The Prince of Denmark himself is the most famously interroga- tive of all dramatic characters . He is Shakespeare's ultimate man of words . The actor who plays him has to learn over 340 speeches ; the role has a higher proportion ...
... play . The Prince of Denmark himself is the most famously interroga- tive of all dramatic characters . He is Shakespeare's ultimate man of words . The actor who plays him has to learn over 340 speeches ; the role has a higher proportion ...
Page viii
... play seems able to speak without pro- ducing a double epithet : " the sensible and true avouch / Of mine own eyes , " " the gross and scope of my opinion , " " post - haste and rummage in the land , " " the grace and blush of modesty ...
... play seems able to speak without pro- ducing a double epithet : " the sensible and true avouch / Of mine own eyes , " " the gross and scope of my opinion , " " post - haste and rummage in the land , " " the grace and blush of modesty ...
Page ix
... play along . He has " that within which passeth show " the solitary self is set against social custom . He has returned from university determined to " wipe away " all the customary wisdom of Stoic deco- rum , all that " discourse of ...
... play along . He has " that within which passeth show " the solitary self is set against social custom . He has returned from university determined to " wipe away " all the customary wisdom of Stoic deco- rum , all that " discourse of ...
Page x
... play , first by pretending to be mad , then through theater . It is the arrival of the actors that reinvigorates him . Hamlet loves plays and the players because he recognizes the power of acting to expose the feigning of public life ...
... play , first by pretending to be mad , then through theater . It is the arrival of the actors that reinvigorates him . Hamlet loves plays and the players because he recognizes the power of acting to expose the feigning of public life ...
Page xi
... play , just as King Lear was a reworking of the anonymous History of King Leir , which does survive . The old Hamlet is sometimes speculatively attributed to Thomas Kyd , whose Spanish Tragedy established the late - Elizabethan vogue ...
... play , just as King Lear was a reworking of the anonymous History of King Leir , which does survive . The old Hamlet is sometimes speculatively attributed to Thomas Kyd , whose Spanish Tragedy established the late - Elizabethan vogue ...
Contents
Textual Notes | 137 |
ScenebyScene Analysis | 149 |
The RSC and Beyond | 166 |
Shakespeares Career in the Theater | 217 |
A Chronology | 231 |
Acknowledgments and Picture Credits | 237 |
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Common terms and phrases
ACT 4 SCENE action actor audience BARNARDO blood Boyd Caird character David Warner dead dear death Denmark doth Elsinore Exit eyes father fear Folio Following Fortinbras friends GERTRUDE HAMLET Ghost give grave grief HAMLET Ay HAMLET OPHELIA Hamlet play hast hath hear heart heaven HORATIO HAMLET HORATIO is't Jonathan Bate kill KING HAMLET LAERTES HAMLET LAERTES KING leave Lines look Lord Hamlet madness MARCELLUS Mark Rylance Matthew Warchus Michael Boyd mother murder nature night Norway nunnery Ophelia OPHELIA HAMLET OSRIC passion performance play players Polonius POLONIUS HAMLET pray prince production queen question rapiers revenge REYNALDO role Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Royal Shakespeare Royal Shakespeare Company SECOND CLOWN sense sexual Sings soliloquy soul speak speech stage sword tell theater theatrical thee There's thing thou thought Toby Stephens Tragedy watch Wittenberg words young