Hamlet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- This article refers to Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the tragedy by William Shakespeare. For other uses of the word hamlet see Hamlet (disambiguation).
Written between 1598 and the summer of 1602, this masterpiece of Elizabethan theatre first appeared in print in 1603 in a version known as the Bad Quarto, a pirated version with no authority. The authorised Second Quarto (Q2) followed shortly after the first, while a slightly altered and reduced version was published in the First Folio of Shakespeare's complete works. See Folios and Quartos (Shakespeare). The text in modern editions is a compromise between the Second Quarto text and the Folio text.
In theatre, Hamlet is possibly the most often produced work, in almost every western country, and it is considered a crucial test for mature actors; notably Hamlet's soliloquy (Act Three, Scene One), the most popular passage of this play, is so well known that it has become a stumbling-block for many modern actors. Depressed by events surrounding his father's apparent murder, he seems to contemplate suicide, then waxes philosophical on why people choose to live on despite the hardships of life.
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2 Main characters 3 History 4 External links 5 Cinema |
Plot summary
Warning: Plot details follow. The play concerns the dilemma of prince Hamlet, whose father, King of Denmark, has recently died. Hamlet's uncle Claudius has taken the throne of Denmark following the King's death, and immediately married the widowed Queen of Denmark.
Hamlet expresses a profound dissatisfaction with the accession of the mediocre Claudius and particularly with his mother's hasty remarriage. Hamlet soon encounters the ghost of his dead father, who informs him that he was murdered by Claudius, and urges Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet is unsure whether the ghost he has seen is truly his father, and suspects that it might be an evil spirit provoking him to evil. He therefore sets out to test the king's conscience with a play re-enacting the circumstances of the murder.
The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.
(Act II, scene II)
The king's reaction to the play's performance convinces Hamlet of his guilt. Shortly afterward, Hamlet has an opportunity to kill Claudius at prayer, but he does not take it, reasoning that he does not want to send Claudius directly to heaven.
Hamlet confronts his mother about the murder of his father, and during their conversation, he stabs Polonius, the king's councillor, who had been hiding behind a tapestry. The king, who has realised that Hamlet knows about the murder he committed, sends Hamlet to England with a message to the English ordering his death. On the way to England, Hamlet's ship is overcome by pirates, and Hamlet manages to return to Denmark.
Laertes, Polonius' son, vows to kill Hamlet in revenge for his father's murder. He and Claudius engineer a scheme whose intent is that Hamlet die without the people suspecting that he has been murdered. Claudius persuades Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match. Unknown to Hamlet, Laertes would be fighting with a sharpened and poisoned sword, instead of the customary blunt blade. In addition, Claudius prepared some wine for Hamlet, but had put poison in it. Hamlet is pricked with the sword, and is thereby fatally poisoned, but in the confusion, he and Laertes swap blades, and Laertes is also fatally wounded by the poisoned sword. Hamlet's mother drinks the poisoned wine, and dies. In his dying breaths, Laertes confesses the plot to Hamlet. Enraged, Hamlet kills Claudius, finally avenging his father's death.
Main characters
Hamlet is the son of the late King of Denmark. He is urged by the ghost of his father to avenge his murder, which he eventually does, after he has been stabbed with a poisoned rapier by Laertes.
Claudius is the current King of Denmark. It is discovered that he murdered the old king by pouring hemlock in his ear while he was asleep. He is eventually stabbed by Hamlet and forced to drink poison.
Old Hamlet was Hamlet's father. At the start of the play, he is not long dead. He appears to Hamlet as a ghost and urges him to avenge his murder.
Gertrude is Hamlet's mother, and widow of Old Hamlet and wife of Claudius. She dies by drinking poisoned wine intended for Hamlet.
Polonius is Claudius' chief councillor, who is distrustful of Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. Hamlet frequently teases him. He is stabbed by Hamlet while hidden behind an arras while trying to overhear a conversation between Hamlet and his mother.
Laertes is Polonius' son, who kills Hamlet with a poisoned rapier to avenge the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia. He is killed by Hamlet with the same rapier, although at the time Hamlet did not realise it was poisoned.
Ophelia is Polonius' daughter. At the beginning of the play, she is being courted by Hamlet. She goes mad with grief at the death of her father, and drowns herself, possibly accidentally.
Horatio is a friend of Hamlet's from university. He is the only main character who is alive at the end of the play.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are old school-fellows of Hamlet, who were summoned to the castle by Claudius to keep a watch on Hamlet. Hamlet soon suspects that they are spies. They die off-stage in England by a warrant signed by Hamlet (in the king's name).
History
Hamlet, or Amleth, was a legendary Danish prince (see: Hamlet (legend)) whose exploits were recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum around 1200 AD; Francois de Belleforest adapted Saxo's story in his Histoires tragiques (1570). Shakespeare's main source, however, is believed to be an earlier play about Hamlet (the Ur-Hamlet), which is attributed to Thomas Kyd and is known to have introduced a ghost to the story. Shakespeare may also have taken some elements from Kyd's other play, The Spanish Tragedy, especially the hero's procrastination.
External links
- Wikiquote - Quotes from Hamlet
- Wikisource - Hamlet's soliloquy
- Complete e-text of Hamlet
- Hamlet - Searchable, indexed version.
Cinema
According to the Internet Movie Database there have been 22 theatrical movies with the simple title Hamlet plus another 16 with that title that were made for TV. Another 50 productions have included this name as part of the title or have used a foreign language variation of the name.
The first such movie, Le Duel d'Hamlet, was produced and directed by Clement Maurice in France in 1900, and starred Sarah Bernhardt (reprising her stage role) as Hamlet. Pierre Magnier played Laertes.
1948: Hamlet, directed by Laurence Olivier
- Received four Academy Awards
- Best Picture - Laurence Olivier producer
- Best Actor - Laurence Olivier as Hamlet
- Best Costume Design, Black-and-White - Roger K. Furse
- Best Art Direction, Set Decoration, Black-and-White - Carmen Dillon and Roger K. Furse
- It was nominated for a further three awards
- Best Director - Laurence Olivier
- Best Supporting Actress - Jean Simmons as Ophelia
- Best Music Score - William Walton
- Notable other appearances include Patrick Troughton as the player king, Stanley Holloway as the gravedigger, Peter Cushing as Osric, Felix Aylmer as Polonius, Terence Morgan as Laertes, John Gielgud as the uncredited voice of the ghost, and Christopher Lee as an uncredited spear carrier.
- Hamlet played by Nicol Williamson, Claudius played by Anthony Hopkins
- Hamlet played by Mel Gibson, Gertude played by Glenn Close
- A "full text" version, this movie runs in excess of 4 hours.
- Hamlet played by Kenneth Branagh
- Set in modern Manhattan
- Hamlet played by Ethan Hawke.