HAMLETIntroduction

Date

The story of Hamlet was written 700 years ago by Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish historian.

Shakespeare rewrote the history based on a French translation, and it was first performed in 1602.

Interpretations

This is Shakespeare’s most famous and most complex play.

There are infinite interpretations that can be made on almost any aspect of the play.

Main themes include: death, corruption, misogyny, evil, immortality, the nature of man, the search for self-identity, making moral choices – all are essential to an understanding of the play.

Hamlet

A study of the character Hamlet involves looking at his melancholy, indecision, fatalism, cynicism, disillusionment with humanity, the question of his sanity or insanity, and the avenging of his father’s death.

He is a scholar turned courtier; a mourner turned avenger; a lover turned lunatic.

Soliloquies

There are seven soliloquies that must be thoroughly understood because they are famous, and because they reflect so many of Hamlet’s character traits.