Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

Classic literary piece.

Genres: Fiction, Shakespeare, Graphic Novels, Read For School, Classics

271 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Aida · Rating 5 out of 5]

وای خیلی خوب بودددد. من همیشه فکر میکرد هملت یک داستان عاشقانه باشه🥲(خب نمیدونستم داستانش چیه!) ولی اصلا عاشقانه نیست،مرگ،خیانت،اشباح،دیوانگی، خودکشی و....... ولی اصلا عاشقانه ای وجود نداره. خیلی قشنگ بود و خیلی دوستش داشتم.

این کتاب به صورت کمیک کشیده شده و اصلا باعث اذییت شدن نیست و پایین هر تصویر یکسری نوشته وجود داره که اگه اشتباه نکنم متن های یک راوی برای نمایش نامه هست.

این کتاب ترجمه شده به اسم هملت شاهزاده دانمارک از انتشارات سایه گستر. ترجمه ادبی شکل خوبی داره ولی ممکنه برای کسایی که با متن های نمایشنامه ای خوششون نیاد، یکم اینجور متن ها براشون اذییت کننده باشه.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was basically a No Fear Shakespeare with pictures. In other words, it had lines in Old English and a translation below. And Hamlet’s haircut was probably the worst I’ve ever seen.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always liked Hamlet, because I like Shakespeare. This was a good full cast dramatization.

[notmymango · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting reading Shakespeare in a comic book format. I remember reading sonnets in high school for pleasure. I’m truly blessed that I enjoy almost every story/play/book that I choose to read.

Also, what if every family would solve its problems like this? With so much “passion”. None of us would be alive.

[Xavier (cursesandkings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl, whatever

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adaptation is a tricky thing. Adaptors fail if they do not use the tricks which change for each book into each new medium. The Fago family and the Redondo Studios did not use the tricks when moving this book from Shakespeare's script into this highly abridged educational graphic novel. It does summarize the story, but misses the flavor of the original.

[isa diosa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

i actually liked reading this! shakespeare is usually difficult for me but reading it in class helped a ton with my poor attention span. hamlet was goofy but in a good way

[Caomhghain · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the umpteenth time of reading I am left with the feeling that I should spend a great deal more time studying it so that I am as familiar with it as I am with Lear, Macbeth, Much Ado, the Tempest etc.
So I've put it on my Deep Study list to currently join Milton.

[Vikas V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greed, revenge and madness is the main theme of Hamlet, with memorable character building and story line with the touch of suspense. One of the best from William Shakespeare's tragedies.

[Jazmín Jiménez · Rating 3 out of 5]

No puedo creer dos cosas: que no lo haya leído antes; lo disfruté un montón y lo devoré, también.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Hamlet.

Not only that, it's the Arden edition, which means I got to nerd out on figuring out Q1, Q2, and F.

[Paul Frandano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Play and the Great Arden Shakespeare Edition. The Bard's timeless words. 'Nuff said, right? Read it over and over, again and again.

[Alphekka · Rating 5 out of 5]

That so much of a language and a culture can be traced back to one work by one person is almost incredible.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good simplified version of the story of Hamlet.  It makes it easily accessible.

[Becca Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having never read a graphic novel in my life, I was a bit hesitant to start with a story as dear to my heart as "Hamlet." However, I was intrigued by the idea of this beautiful Shakespearean play, which in its original form was visually graphic (originally presented as a play), being converted into a comic book form of sorts, yet still hesitant to read it. Well to put it bluntly, I loved every minute of it. This novel tells the classic story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and his search for revenge for the death of his father, killed by his his uncle, Claudius, who married Gertrud, the late king's wife, and through that union stole Hamlet's crown and became king. The twist of the story appears when Hamlet receives his information regarding the death of his father from his late father's ghost whom only he, Hamlet, can see. What do you do when the only real evidence is real only in your head? This novel, part of the Graphic Classics series, utilizes an abridged version of the original Shakespearean text and at the bottom of every three to four "scenes" provides a one sentence synopsis of what just occurred. The presentation of "Hamlet" through this means makes the text come alive and would spark any older adolescent audience's interest, maybe spurring them to read the original text in full. I, who have read and written on "Hamlet" many times, learned new understanding and meaning to the wording through reading this condensed version of the play. Instead of becoming bogged down with the wording, (as sometimes happens when reading the original text) I was able to focus on main lines and speeches, annotating those lines and gaining new insights. This story was well written, and nicely illustrated. It is a great bridge point between general knowledge of "Hamlet" and an actual reading of Shakespeare's original play.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Dunn's graphic novel adaptation of "Hamlet" attempts to do the bard justice, reimagining Shakespeare's tragic tale with more panels than a Renaissance fair has corsets. Dunn dives quill-first into the drama, transforming the iconic soliloquies and existential angst of Denmark's most indecisive prince into speech bubbles and thought captions. While the artwork bravely jousts with the ghost of Shakespeare's prose, at times it feels like it's fencing in the dark, struggling to capture the full depth of the original with its ink and pen. The result is a bit like watching a Shakespearean play performed by enthusiastic cosplayers; it's visually engaging and spirited, but you can't help missing the richness of the original dialogue. Still, for those who prefer their classics with a side of illustrations and a dash of modern flair, Dunn's "Hamlet" offers a breezy, if not entirely regal, romp through Elsinore Castle. Just be prepared for more skulls and fewer words than your English teacher might approve of.

[Thayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desafiador e uma linguagem que atualmente eu sinto que afasta o leitor pois não flui tanto, pelo menos para mim e sou mais adepta das adaptações com linguagem mais atual e o fato de haver peças, filmes e inspirações sobre essa história facilitaram muito.
Outra questão que me agrada é como é escrito narrativamente, pois passa mais rápido ao ser em peça
Houveram seus pontos positivos e negativos pessoais mas é inegável que é uma obra famosa por um motivo!

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an introduction to the much larger work, this graphic novel format of "Hamlet" is perfect. Hamlet is my favorite of all of Shakespeare's plays. I've read it several times and I felt that it was a wonderful mini version of the full story. Rebecca Dunn retained many of the major lines and gave plenty of background and information before and after the play.

[Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

well... when compared with original work of the great dramatist Shakespeare, it certainly lacks subtlety and cannot be considered as a good rendering of the original in a new medium. Aside from it's defects, because of it's straight forward narrative it could be considered as a good introduction or pre-read to the original text.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic Shakespeare has a great way to introduce students to Shakespeare. Having taught literature for a number of years, students frequently have trouble following the action because the names are so unfamiliar to them. This allows them to see the action. It makes it easier to follow what is happening when there are pictures for students.

[Página inquieta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3"5 ⭐
Esta vez me ha gustado mucho más que la primeros vez que lo leí ya que entendí mejor la historia
Pd. Si estás empezando a leer o empezando a leer clásicos este mejor léelo cuando tengas mejor nivel y sobre todo estés acostumbrado a su léxico de época , porque si no..se te va hacer un poco bola
( En mi opinión)

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simplified way to introduce Hamlet and some background information on William Shakespeare to your junior high or high school aged students. Kind of like illustrated cliff notes. Where was this book series when I was in school??

[Damaris Lisbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

No dudo que la historia sea bonita pero siento que el libro que ha sacdo esta editorial lo resume muchisimo, en lo personal creo que prefiero leer la historia en un formato más grande y en el idioma original.

[Michael P.]

There is so much cut from the play that often the dialog from one panel to the next makes little sense. Dozens of the glosses are incorrect and the writer occasionally imposes unlikely interpretations on the plot and motives of the characters. This isn't a book, but bound excrement.

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a graphic novelization of Hamlet that I read to fill a slot in a challenge. Maybe I just don't like graphic novels...but this is awful.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

a much easier way to read and understand Shakespeare

[Misheel Munkhtsetseg]

- Glossary of terms
- Biography of Shakespeare and play background included
- Famous phrases provided

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too few pages to reproduce Hamlet but what they chose to present won't make proper sense unless you know the play already.

The manga-faced females just didn't fit in with everyone else.

[Mira Pinnella · Rating 3 out of 5]

you see i, personally, just wouldn’t go crazy

[Ala · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for school! hamlet deserved better