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Shakespeare Made Easy: Hamlet
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 7, 2016
How would you feel if someone killed someone very close to you, so they can get a reward. The genre for this writing is historical fiction because it talks about ghosts, which is fantasy, and also talks about how kings and queens rule, which is historical. ***Spoiler Alert*** the uncle killed Hamlets father because he wanted to marry the queen so that he can be the king. According to Hamlet the play,"'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused; but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears the crown," said hamlet's father's ghost. This shows that the father's spirit told Hamlet that his uncle killed him.
During midnight, Horatio the friend of Hamlet, Marcellus the member of the king's guard, and Barnardo the member of the king's guard were the first to see the king's ghost. They immediately decided to share the news to Hamlet, which is the king's son. When the king heard the news, he decided to look for this ghost, but found something in return. He found out that his uncle killed his father, so he can get his wife and fame, which made Hamlet want to get revenge. Therefore, the theme of this piece of writing is to "Everything has consequences," because the uncle killed the father of Hamlet, which in turn made Hamlet want to get revenge.
The title "Hamlet," relates to the book because it's the main character and because it shows who were going to learn about. According to the article, we learned that his uncle became the king when his father died. We also learned that Hamlet is the prince of Denmark and his father did many great things for Denmark. Also, the first person point of view affects the story because it shows how the characters feel and act. For example, as soon as Horatio told Hamlet that he saw his father, hamlet became full of anxiety because he says,"For the love of God, let me hear!" Therefore, this piece of writing shows that every character has feeling and actions.
I was shocked as I read this passage,"Murder most foul, as it always is: but this one exceptionally foul, remarkable, and against nature. This shocked me because it's saying that a person killed Hamlet's father even though it's unnatural. Also, I like that the author shows that the characters have feelings, such as when Hamlet felt very angry when the ghost told Hamlet that his uncle killed his father. Thus, there are many great things that the author did to entertain the reader.
In conclusion, I would rate this book five stars on a scale from one through five because I like how the writer shows the characters feeling and actions. Also, I like how the author entertains the reader through suspense and mystery. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery, suspense, and history. "To be or not to be that is the question," Shakespeare said.
During midnight, Horatio the friend of Hamlet, Marcellus the member of the king's guard, and Barnardo the member of the king's guard were the first to see the king's ghost. They immediately decided to share the news to Hamlet, which is the king's son. When the king heard the news, he decided to look for this ghost, but found something in return. He found out that his uncle killed his father, so he can get his wife and fame, which made Hamlet want to get revenge. Therefore, the theme of this piece of writing is to "Everything has consequences," because the uncle killed the father of Hamlet, which in turn made Hamlet want to get revenge.
The title "Hamlet," relates to the book because it's the main character and because it shows who were going to learn about. According to the article, we learned that his uncle became the king when his father died. We also learned that Hamlet is the prince of Denmark and his father did many great things for Denmark. Also, the first person point of view affects the story because it shows how the characters feel and act. For example, as soon as Horatio told Hamlet that he saw his father, hamlet became full of anxiety because he says,"For the love of God, let me hear!" Therefore, this piece of writing shows that every character has feeling and actions.
I was shocked as I read this passage,"Murder most foul, as it always is: but this one exceptionally foul, remarkable, and against nature. This shocked me because it's saying that a person killed Hamlet's father even though it's unnatural. Also, I like that the author shows that the characters have feelings, such as when Hamlet felt very angry when the ghost told Hamlet that his uncle killed his father. Thus, there are many great things that the author did to entertain the reader.
In conclusion, I would rate this book five stars on a scale from one through five because I like how the writer shows the characters feeling and actions. Also, I like how the author entertains the reader through suspense and mystery. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery, suspense, and history. "To be or not to be that is the question," Shakespeare said.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2026
It’s been a while since I read Shakespeare (unfortunately) and this was hard to get back in the swing of 16th and 17th century English. But I picked up the 330 page Hamlet in the Baron’s series, which has a modern ‘translation’ side by side with the old text. I read the entire old text—but found myself frequently consulting the parallel modern language version.
Spoiler alert: none of the main characters are left to survive by the end of the play. It takes some twist of plot to kill everyone off. But the story is timeless and speaks to us in our own day. The king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, although the death looks innocent enough at first. But the murdered king’s ghost appears to his son, Hamlet, in order to exact revenge.
To make matters worse, the murderer marries the former king’s widow (Hamlet’s mother.) At first, Hamlet wonders whether the ghost really is his father and whether the ghost is telling the truth. Hamlet arranges to put on a play—in front of his uncle (the murderer and current king) to flush him out—see how he responds to a narrative exactly like the murder he committed.
In the course of the play, we get to witness Hamlet’s anguish and thoughts about his own death, an unfulfilled love between Hamlet and Ophelia, an obsequious windbag of a royal advisor, both loyal and disloyal friends, a fake mental breakdown and a real mental breakdown, a suicide, a plot that backfires, and the collapse of the Danish kingdom.
Spoiler alert: none of the main characters are left to survive by the end of the play. It takes some twist of plot to kill everyone off. But the story is timeless and speaks to us in our own day. The king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, although the death looks innocent enough at first. But the murdered king’s ghost appears to his son, Hamlet, in order to exact revenge.
To make matters worse, the murderer marries the former king’s widow (Hamlet’s mother.) At first, Hamlet wonders whether the ghost really is his father and whether the ghost is telling the truth. Hamlet arranges to put on a play—in front of his uncle (the murderer and current king) to flush him out—see how he responds to a narrative exactly like the murder he committed.
In the course of the play, we get to witness Hamlet’s anguish and thoughts about his own death, an unfulfilled love between Hamlet and Ophelia, an obsequious windbag of a royal advisor, both loyal and disloyal friends, a fake mental breakdown and a real mental breakdown, a suicide, a plot that backfires, and the collapse of the Danish kingdom.
August 30, 2018
Hamlet. A classic, right? Yeah, if ‘classic’ means hard to read with a confusing plot. Well at least that’s what I expected. So why did I read it? Well because it was the first book on my sister’s bookshelf I hadn’t already read and I needed a summer reading book. With the help of Alan Durband’s modernized version, Hamlet is about a boy who has a lot of grief from his father (the king’s) death. The queen (Hamlet’s mother), remarries to Hamlet’s uncle, or her late husband's brother. So with this new anger and resentment towards his mother and uncle, added with the grief, we have the perfect tragedy ready to unfold. Reading these classic novels can be very challenging, but the modern version next to the real text makes the plot and writing a simple read. I liked reading this book a lot, the modernized version makes this classic much more enjoyable.
February 4, 2021
The book Shakespeare Made Easy: Hamlet - published 1984 by Barron's Educational Series inc., Edited and rendered to modern English by Alan Durband, is a great read for me, given it has modern English right beside the original texts. It was easier to comprehend the story this way, and even better I could read first the original, then refer to the modern translation to be able to comprehend.
A good classic that rang many bells since some lines did make it to modern media. It's written to be a 2-hour play, which is why I have been able to read this very quickly. It also helped that it has modern English translation next to the original text - even some actions that weren't very clear were noted - and I had a great time reading this.
A good classic that rang many bells since some lines did make it to modern media. It's written to be a 2-hour play, which is why I have been able to read this very quickly. It also helped that it has modern English translation next to the original text - even some actions that weren't very clear were noted - and I had a great time reading this.
July 21, 2018
Fabulously told. A story of great beauty. The only fault I find is that Hamlet didn't once sing his desire to become king.
January 19, 2020
Always a joy to read. I read Hamlet in conjunction with an online course with Hillsdale College which made it even more fun.
May 18, 2022
It was a fast read thanks to the side by side comparison of the original text! It really helped to read the original text and then read the modern version to fully understand the play.
June 13, 2017
We had to read this in high school. This was our very first contact with Shakespeare and understandably not everyone saw the charm and greatness in his work. A lot of this had to do with the archaic language which is - especially for a non-native speaker - not Always understandable.
This book has the perfect solution for this problem: on the right side of the page you can find the original text by Shakespeare, while on the left page the put the "translation" into modern English.
This makes these old texts much more accesible. i therefore recommend this book to any non-native speaker of English or any young reader who still has difficulty with the archaic writing. This story is so timeless and well-written that it would be a shame that some people would be unable to read it because of the archaic wording.
This book has the perfect solution for this problem: on the right side of the page you can find the original text by Shakespeare, while on the left page the put the "translation" into modern English.
This makes these old texts much more accesible. i therefore recommend this book to any non-native speaker of English or any young reader who still has difficulty with the archaic writing. This story is so timeless and well-written that it would be a shame that some people would be unable to read it because of the archaic wording.
February 23, 2014
I did enjoy reading this. Shakespeare's works are wonderful to read on a normal day. However, they can be hard to understand. This book broke his writing down in an easy to understand way.
The only bad thing is that it seems very similar to Macbeth in some regards. But all-in-all, I was still thrilled with the book.
The only bad thing is that it seems very similar to Macbeth in some regards. But all-in-all, I was still thrilled with the book.
June 30, 2014
Timeless dark tale of revenge, obsession, betrayal and destiny. Inspired countless books and movies - was actually struck by how many soap opera plots and Bollywood Hindi movies are very Shakespeare-like in their essence.
The side-by-side translations are superb for Shakespeare novices like me because it allows you to grasp the essence quickly and then dwell on the language later.
The side-by-side translations are superb for Shakespeare novices like me because it allows you to grasp the essence quickly and then dwell on the language later.
December 28, 2015
5/5 stars
Hamlet was a fantastic story filled with sacrifice, betrayal, death and of course lots of drama. The characters were unique and the story was very complex. This was my first time reading a classic/play and it was a very interesting experience. I recommend this to anyone trying to get into Shakespeare's work.
Hamlet was a fantastic story filled with sacrifice, betrayal, death and of course lots of drama. The characters were unique and the story was very complex. This was my first time reading a classic/play and it was a very interesting experience. I recommend this to anyone trying to get into Shakespeare's work.
December 18, 2016
Again, I have to say I am so enjoying Shakespeare in these modern translations.
Hamlet is the tale of a Danish prince who, after being visited by the ghost of his murdered, wronged father, the king, seeks revenge. The story is told side-by-side with Shakespeare's original text on one page, and modern English on the opposite page.
Hamlet is the tale of a Danish prince who, after being visited by the ghost of his murdered, wronged father, the king, seeks revenge. The story is told side-by-side with Shakespeare's original text on one page, and modern English on the opposite page.
July 4, 2013
Hamlet is ageless. It never gets old. Sons and fathers, good and evil, madness and sanity, death and revenge, power and lust, greed, a ghost more. I loved the wit throughout the lines. It is a masterpiece.
March 24, 2014
Its a book every student assigned to read hamlet must read. It helps those who do not understand the writings of shakespeare to grasp the concept. I found it fairly difficult to put down. Hamlet is a beautifully written and wonderful play.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews