John Dover Wilson's What Happens in Hamlet is a classic of Shakespeare criticism. First published in 1935, it is still being read throughout the English-speaking world and has been widely translated. Hamlet has excited more curiosity and aroused more debate than any other play ever written. Is Hamlet really mad? Does he really see his father's ghost, or is it an illusion? Is the ghost good or bad? What does it all mean? Dover Wilson brings out the significance of each part of the complex action, against the background. His analysis of the play emphasises Shakespeare's dramatic art and shows how the play must be seen and heard to be understood. This is a readable, entertaining and scholarly book.
Preface to third edition; Preface to second edition; A letter by Mr Harold Child on some recent productions of Hamlet; Preface to first edition; 1. The road to Elsinore: being an epistle dedicatory to Dr W. W. Greg; 2. The tragic burden; 3. Ghost or devil?; 4. Antic disposition; 5. The multiple mouse-trap; 6. Hamlet's make-up; 7. Failure and triumph; Appendixes; Notes to the second edition; Index of passages from Hamlet quoted or discussed; General index.
Overview
John Dover Wilson's What Happens in Hamlet is a classic of Shakespeare criticism. First published in 1935, it is still being read throughout the English-speaking world and has been widely translated. Hamlet has excited more curiosity and aroused more debate than any other play ever written. Is Hamlet really mad? Does he really see his father's ghost, or is it an illusion? Is the ghost good or bad? What does it all mean? Dover Wilson brings out the significance of each part of the complex action, against the ...