Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The essential revenge story from the master of the stage, Hamlet tells the tale of a Danish prince as he begins to unravel, losing track of what's real and what's not. This timeless classic will always be a warning against the quest for vengeance by showing the repercussions of exactly that.

In this quintessential Shakespearean tragedy, a young prince's halting pursuit of revenge for the murder of his father unfolds in a series of highly charged confrontations that have held audiences spellbound for nearly four centuries. Those fateful exchanges, and the anguished soliloquies that precede and follow them, probe depths of human feeling rarely sounded in any art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9782806240187
Publisher:	Candide & Cyrano
Publication date:	01/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	127
File size:	475 KB
Language:	French

About the Author

"William Shakespeare began his career as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as King’s Men, in London. Often regarded as the ‘Bard of Avon’ he is one of the world’s pre-eminent dramatists.
Most of his known works have been produced between 1589 and 1613. His plays demonstrate the expansiveness of his imagination and the extent of his learning. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is one of his most delightful creations. Romeo and Juliet is his most famous romantic tragedy of sexually charged adolescence, love, and death. Shakespeare’s sequence of great comedies continue with Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. Until about 1608, he mainly wrote tragedies including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus— his last major tragedies, contain some of his finest poetry.
A true genius, Shakespeare’s popular characters and plots are studied, performed, reinterpreted, and discussed till today. William Shakespeare, known as the English national poet, is considered the greatest dramatist of all time."

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Read an Excerpt

Act 1 Scene 1 running scene 1
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Hamlet"
by .
Copyright © 2011 William Shakespeare.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Preface: Performing Dialogues of Race and Culture | Interviews: Jeffery Kissoon and Mark Norfolk | Hamlet playtext

Readership

This fast-paced, all-Black, contemporary version of Hamlet has appeal across audiences young and old, those studying English and Drama at school, those recently introduced to Hamlet through popular TV adaptations and classic drama audiences. In particular, lovers of traditional drama and Shakespeare, schools and Black African & Caribbean audiences (including previous Black Theatre Live tours). Students studying Shakespeare and/or drama studies.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Jonathan Bate is a passionate advocate of Shakespeare and his introductions are full of striking and convincing observations ... footnotes at the bottom of each page gloss unfamiliar items of vocabulary, paraphrase tricky meanings and uncover bawdy puns. There is a universe to be found in these annotations: the Renaissance world of power and fate, sex and death, language and philosophy.' – Times Educational Supplement

Editorial Reviews

Unwin's production genuinely makes us feel the play afresh in our nerves and hearts. Strongly recommended” —The Independent

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2014
For individual plays, these editions are appealing in their presentation of easy-to-read text with footnotes on alternate pages, next to the text, instead of buried in small print at the bottom of every page. The notes are precise and often feature contemporary illustrations. Supplemental essays convey modern perspectives on the plays, which are likely to be of interest to students.

Library Journal

This American-accented HAMLET is a churning, turbulent production with many fine moments resulting from its fast pace. This energy may inevitably lead to a few missed opportunities for quiet and meditation (or for the listener to have a respite), but the overall effect is satisfying. The greatest range is shown by Emily Swallow as Ophelia. Stacy Keach is also excellent—imposing, chilling, and nuanced as the ghost. Josh Stamberg plays Hamlet as tormented and confrontational. One of his finest touches enhances the outset of the recorder scene with restraint and calm. Listeners who follow along with a text of the play will best keep up with the rapid pace. G.H. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

MAY 2012 - AudioFile

2019-07-13
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

The timeless tale of the young and disaffected Danish prince who is pushed to avenge his father's untimely murder at the hands of his brother unfolds with straightforward briskness. Shakespeare's text has been liberally but judiciously cut, staying true to the thematic meaning while dispensing with longer speeches (with the notable exception of the renowned "to be or not to be" soliloquy) and intermediary dialogues. Some of the more obscure language has been modernized, with a glossary of terms provided at the end; despite these efforts, readers wholly unfamiliar with the story might struggle with independent interpretation. Where this adaptation mainly excels is in its art, especially as the play builds to its tensely wrought final act. Illustrator Kumar (World War Two, 2015, etc.) pairs richly detailed interiors and exteriors with painstakingly rendered characters, each easily distinguished from their fellows through costume, hairstyle, and bearing. Human figures are generally depicted in bust or three-quarter shots, making the larger panels of full figures all the more striking. Heavily scored lines of ink form shadows, lending the otherwise bright pages a gritty air. All characters are white.

A solid introduction for budding lovers of the Bard. (biography of Shakespeare, dramatis personae, glossary) (Graphic novel. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews