William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Among the best-known plays written by William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” is considered by many critics as his greatest play. It is also one of the most-performed plays in the list of Royal Shakespeare Company since 1879. Even during the Shakespeare’s most productive years in theater, “Hamlet” was among his popular plays. According to critics, Shakespeare created the role of Prince Hamlet, the lead protagonist of the story, especially for his friend and colleague in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Richard Burbage. Burbage was also the leading tragedy actor during their time. The play centers on the how Prince Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, took revenge on his uncle for killing his father. His father was the former king and upon his death, the throne went to his uncle.
This tragedy by William Shakespeare features a play within the play. In the story, Prince Hamlet wanted to prove that his uncle had a hand in his father’s death. He intended to do this by watching his uncle’s reaction as he watches the play, “The Murder of Gonzago”, which Prince Hamlet will stage with the help of a troupe of actors. The play is actually a reenactment of how the former king was killed.
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May 25th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Hamlet, written by Shakespeare between 1599 and 1601, is the story of Prince Hamlet, whose father, the King of Denmark, is murdered by Hamlet’s uncle. This murderous uncle then marries Hamlet’s mother. The play centers around Hamlet’s angst and indecision about how to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous play about Shakespeare’s most famous character and it contains Shakespeare’s most famous line: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Many scholars treat Hamlet as the beginning of a new kind of literature that focused on the struggles and conflicts within a single individual, rather than the external conflicts between individuals. Now, more commonly known as the novel, at the time when Shakespeare wrote the play, the novel form was not quite where it is now. Hamlet was one of the first characters ever to have such a developed, and mysterious, inner life. For more insights and analysis on Hamlet, you should check out Shmoop. It even has an act by act break down, which I found invaluable.