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Hamlet Paperback – 2 July 2007

by William Shakespeare (Author)

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A young prince meets with his father's ghost, who alleges that his own brother, now married to his widow, murdered him. The prince devises a scheme to test the truth of the ghost's accusation, feigning wild madness while plotting a brutal revenge. But his apparent insanity soon begins to wreak havoc on innocent and guilty alike.

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ISBN-10

014062337X
ISBN-13

978-0140623376
Publisher

Penguin Classics
Publication date

2 July 2007
Language

English
Dimensions

11.1 x 1.2 x 18.1 cm
Print length

192 pages
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Product description

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and mother Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), a collection of sonnets and a variety of other poems.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics (2 July 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014062337X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140623376
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.1 x 1.2 x 18.1 cm

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stuart mcarthur

Hamlet has a lot to say

Reviewed in Australia on 14 June 2023

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… and misogyny features large. Ophelia is the tragic death. And at the indirect but unrepentant hands of her proclaimed but angrily confused adorer. Hamlet, famous for his indecisiveness, should be more famous for his repressed anger issues. And is Shakespeare sort of implying at the end he learnt this tale from Horatio? Like Ishmael in Moby Dick, one character survives to pass the legend on.

Reviewed in Australia on 29 March 2019

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Amazing book for free.

Reviewed in Australia on 28 October 2021

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It was alright, i liked the weiting and it was short. Overall, a solid tragedy to pick up if you like revenge stories

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Jennifer Riggs

Of course! Shakespeare never fails. I just wanted ...

Reviewed in Australia on 19 February 2015

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Of course! Shakespeare never fails. I just wanted to check some quotes for a poem I was writing ... Success! Do you want the poem?

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E. A. Solinas

Rotten in the state of Denmark

Reviewed in Australia on 12 January 2015

"Hamlet" doesn't need any introduction -- the tortured Dane, the ghost, meditations on suicide and a climax full of death. But as well-known as the storyline is, the play itself is what deserves the attention, both for Shakespeare's shadowy plot filled with uncertainty and treachery -- and for his brilliant, immortal writing, which takes on a new dimension when read on the page.

Prince Hamlet of Denmark is understandably upset when, only a short time after his father's death, his mother Gertrude marries his uncle Claudius, who is now the new king. Who wouldn't be unhappy? But when Hamlet encounters the tormented ghost of his father ("I am thy father's spirit/Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night"), he learns that his dad was murdered by his uncle -- but he's plagued by indecision, since he's unsure if the spirit was truly his dad.

In response to this vision, Hamlet's behavior becomes more bizarre and erratic -- he dumps his girlfriend Ophelia, arranges a play that mimics real life a little too closely, and generally acts like a loon. But when an argument with his mother ends in tragedy -- and the death of one of Ophelia's loved ones -- Hamlet's fate is sealed as Claudius begins plotting to get rid of him too.

Small warning: like all Shakespeare's plays, it's best to read "Hamlet" after you've seen a good performance, because the entire thing was intended to be acted out. Otherwise, it's like reading a movie script to a movie you haven't seen -- easy to get lost, and the dramatic effects aren't easy to connect to.

But if you HAVE seen a good performance of "Hamlet," then the play will just jump off the page. The plot is a relatively simple one, but it's tangled up in all sorts of moral dilemmas, personal doubts, deteriorating personal relationships, and a creeping undercurrent of darkness. The best part is that Shakespeare leaves you with all sorts of questions that are left up in the air -- is Hamlet crazy or just faking it? Is the ghost really his dad?

And, of course, it contains some of the most intense, powerful examples of Shakespeare's work here -- vivid, nasty imagery ("In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed/Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love/Over the nasty sty"), some bleak humor ("you're a fishmonger"), and Hamlet's immortal soliloquies. It's also one of Shakespeare's most quotable plays -- obviously you've got bits like "Alas, poor Yorick," "to be or not to be" and "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," but there are countless other familiar phrases littered through the text.

On the page, Hamlet is basically an embittered young man who is torn between his doubts and convictions, but is still determined to fix things ("O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!"). A lot of the supporting cast are hard to follow, but there are some brilliant and enduring roles here -- the incestuous queen Gertrude, the subtle menace of Claudius, the windbag Laertes, and Ophelia, whose uncertainties spiral into madness after her ex-boyfriend kills her dad.

It's best to get a grip on this classic tragedy by watching an actual performance, but reading "Hamlet's" text is a vivid experience on its own. Brilliant, complex and intense.

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Book

Good read but physical book bad

Reviewed in Australia on 8 April 2023

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I loved to read this book but when it arrived it was bent and had heaps of scratches all over it.

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GB

Hamlet is the perfect read, a truly timeless classic

Reviewed in the United States on 12 March 2024

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I am seeing Eddie Izzard perform Hamlet in NYC and bought this edition to compare it to the Riverside Shakespeare massive volume currently on my shelf. Being able to read this digitally is great. I love it. If one is to stare at a screen, lets have that screen be filled with Hamlet.

Eduardo

Bom produto

Reviewed in Brazil on 30 April 2023

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MUSKAN SINGH

Nice one

Reviewed in India on 14 August 2023

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I wanted to buy Hamlet for my book collection and saw this one with its unique cover so I bought it. The cover is so very classy and the book itself is good. The font is clear and book is medium sized. A good buy.

One person found this helpful