First performed in 1603, Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark is probably the best known of William Shakespeare's works, and may well be the most famous English-language play ever written. Categorized as one of Shakespeare's "later tragedies," Hamlet and its namesake hero display fully the mature Bard's extraordinary talents.
The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet.
English adopted “hamlet” in the 1300s from Old French, where hamelet was a diminutive of hamel (village), according to the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology. Chambers notes that hamel itself was a diminutive of ham, a word for home in many old Germanic languages, including Old English.
Hamlet was written towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's rule when the English people were nervous about succession. Queen Elizabeth's long reign represented a time of peace after lengthy turmoil.
Written between 1599 and 1601, Hamlet is widely recognised as one of the most powerful plays in the history of English theatre. It is a revenge tragedy that revolves around the agonised interior mind of a young Danish prince.
'To be, or not to be: that is the question'.
Arguably the most famous quotation in the whole of Hamlet, this line begins one of Hamlet's darkest and most philosophical soliloquies.
Arguably the most famous quotation in the whole of Hamlet, this line begins one of Hamlet's darkest and most philosophical soliloquies.
Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare around 1600, is a tragedy that explores themes of friendship, madness, and revenge.
From the outset, it is clear that Hamlet is a play with overt political themes. Shakespeare's characters are so politically-motivated that they resort to ploys like spying, deception and murder in order to either obtain power or to remain in the favour of those in power.
By its genre, Hamlet is a revenge tragedy. It is the genre of literature where the dominant motive is to take revenge for a wrong action done to the main character or their family. Revenge tragedies were exceptionally popular in England in the 1580s-1600s.
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