Hamlet (Hardbound - 2024)

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, usually shortened to just Hamlet, was written by Shakespeare sometime between 1599–1602. It is arguably one of his most famous tragedies. The lines from Hamlet's monologue in act three that begin "To be, or not to be …." Have been studied and are widely known even amongst those that are otherwise unfamiliar with Shakespeare's work. Even in Shakespeare's own lifetime, Hamlet would have been performed multiple times and considered remarkably influential. Its appeal has not lessened over time.

The play is set in Denmark and follows the prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge upon his uncle Claudius. Claudius murdered his brother, Hamlet's father, in order to seize the throne and also married his wife and Hamlet's mother Gertrude. After Hamlet's sentries and his friend Horatio encounter the ghost of King Hamlet, they vow to tell his son what they have witnessed.

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “The Bard”). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623 two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare’s.