Hamlet

by SparkNotes

Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.

Each No Fear guide contains:
The complete text of the original play
A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language
A complete list of characters with descriptions
Plenty of helpful commentary
When Shakespeare’s words make your head spin, our audio translations will help you sort out what’s happening, who’s saying what, and why!

Genres: Audiobook

Audiobook

First published June 8, 2021

About the author

Many of the editions by this group of authors are actually guides to books rather than the works.

If the author of the SparkNotes is known, they should be the first author. Please leave these SparkNotes Editors as the second author and the author of the original work as the last author. Do not combine with the original work. Do not put the author of the ORIGINAL work first.

Link to discussion.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full cast performance which to me makes a HUGE difference. A great audiobook that had many narrators because it was literally a play for my ears! It reminded me of mystery theater when I was young.
I just watched Macbeth with my husband and had to pay very close attention because of the old English. This however was different because it had both versions and I really enjoyed it. I’m a huge fan of Shakespeare and highly recommend this as an audiobook. It’s a game changer. I hope this was helpful.
Thanks Hachette Audio via Netgalley.

[Madison Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamlet was a really good story. The only thing I knew was “to be or not to be” and that the lion king was based on this story. It was full of dramatics, irony, and intrigue. I liked it a lot and would recommend this as one of the better Tradegies.

[Ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting format to have the play being performed in the original words and then followed by a modern adaptation. I was naively taken aback when I realised the cast was American but got used to it pretty fast. The actors were great but it is obvious that they didn’t record their lines together as the sound is often all over the place. You may be listening to one character clearly in one scene but the other character’s lines will be barely audible at the same time. Shame because otherwise I did enjoy myself. The modern version is interesting and my advice for those studying the play would be to listen to it first and then have a go at the original one for a better overall understanding.

[Anina]

everyone: (dies)

[Christian Matson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet again, Shakespeare delivers an outstanding play! However, I feel like I prefer Othello and Macbeth over this one. But it was a good read and I suggest you give it a shot!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio recording ticks so many boxes! I always tell my students that Shakespeare wrote his place to be spoken, and performed, not to be read like a book necessarily. This is why I always try to make sure that we are listening to the play, rather than having them simply read. Not only is this an amazing audio version, with stellar voice actors, but immediately following the Shakespearean language performance, there is a second performance that imagines the play in modern English.
I do not like using the “No Fear “versions of the printed play because I do think that learning the language and interpreting for yourself is an important skill, and I have found that if the modern English is right next to the Shakespearean English, students can be lazy and just look on the “left side” of the page. Here, they must listen to one, THEN the other! By doing that, in either order, students are forced to make the connections between the words and meanings without relying on the more easily accessible version. I consider it like using training wheels when learning to ride a bike... slowly you wean yourself from the stabilization and soon you can ride alone.
I’m really excited to have heard this audiobook - now I know which play to choose for next year’s class!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading/listening to Hamlet and I listened to the SparkNotes version with the full theater production. This was probably one of the best ways to read/listen to Shakespeare. I enjoyed the fact that it was read first in the original Shakespeare format, then read again the current translation with a few side notes added. I do wish it was performed the other way around.

The cast was pretty much perfect, but there were a couple characters that read the Shakespeare version very monotoned. The guy who performed Hamlet was spot on and very funny.

I will definitely be listening to more Shakespeare this way!

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are in reality here to know how the Everyday English translation stands up as a representation of the original.

Overall I think SparkNotes did incredibly well, I particularly liked "You can push my buttons, but you can't play me for a fool". My instant thought was damn dude, it had an impact that I never felt when reading this part before.

I was initially disappointed was the change of "Get thee to a nunnery" rather then a nunnery to use the word Convent instead (since per the SparkNotes annotation this can mean a religious institute or a brothel), but in digging further the British Library says this was also the intent of the initial statement, So I was taught something new in returning to Hamlet.

[Summer Ogden-Friel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My personal favourite piece by Shakespeare. It is so gay, I love it dearly. Hamlet is tragic, but it is also funny, and an amazing Hamlet follows the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet has recently lost his father, his mother remarried to his uncle, and he feels rather hard-done-by. Hamlet has to try and discover the real reason behind his father's death, and whether murdering the suspect is worth it, whilst balancing his own relationships, and betrayals from old friends. Hamlet's facade of madness, and possible actual descent into madness feels very real, even today. The relationships between all the characters are nuanced and fun to read. Hamlet and Horatio are definitely a couple, and it's an all-around incredible story.

[Catherine Craig (Angelic Light) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this audiobook very interesting, as I can't remember any Shakespeare books that I read at school, so it was great to listen to Hamlet, in an easy to read way. I liked how the audiobook explained everything in the play in a simple manner and it went through all of the characters too. The narrators of the book were outstanding and the sound effects were superb. I felt like I was sitting in a theatre watching the play in real life and I could feel the emotions of each person, as well as the suspense of the story. I look forward to reading more No Fear Shakespeare books in the future. I highly recommend this audiobook!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Carlos Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I did Macbeth. The plot seemed quite stagnant in many parts of the book, which is on purpose to show Hamlet's indecision. I did enjoy the multiple conversations about death and meaning of life, but I didn't get at all the whole plan Hamlet had with being all weird and crazy.

I enjoyed again the No Fear Shakespeare approach. This one even had more information about the book and even an analysis. It was useful to find common themes and open-questions about the book once I read it. Anyone interested in reading Shakespeare should give this series a try.

[Shihan]

In this book I really loved the format, It uses the original text AND modern text which allows us to enjoy the original text and know what they mean. If you like, you can learn what some of the words mean. I think the moral of the story is in life you will be able to get away with something for long but not forever. I would suggest this book to anyone who is in middle school and up.

[Aniya Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hamlets like one of those “Alpha Male” guys which we all know just means you’re a major dick. He’s really just a mentally ill misogynist but in a way that i kind of found comical. This almost reminded me of ‘no longer human’ emphasis on the almost.

[arianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally finished this book and while I’m glad I read it I feel I’ve been wasting my time. I enjoyed the plot and storyline but even with Sparknotes it was hard to follow and I found myself having to read an entire scene over.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to Hamlet, for those of us who are not able to follow the original text. The full cast audiobook was really entertaining, and the cast was good (except for the actor who played Laertes). I am now finally ready to start reading the original text 😊

[Jane Oldham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand. You have Shakespearean English on one side and the text translated to Modern English on the other.

[Ava Collins]

DNF

[Mandi MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute banger. Got to play Hamlet this year with my AP students and it was one of my favorite class reads of all time!

[♡︎sofia ♡︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually enjoyed it

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Shakespeare! Finished just in time before tonight’s performance.

[♡ ayla ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

when my teacher said there was a lot of death in this book, i didn’t think he meant everyone…

[Bradley Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read!

[Cadie Strahota · Rating 3 out of 5]

I played Ophelia for a majority of the play and Horatio at times. I actually did like this play a lot because it had a lot of drama that was easy for me to understand. I also liked how like everyone died at the end cause i feel like that doesn’t normally happen in plays or stories. The one thing I didn’t like was the fact that it’s hard to read because it’s not the modern text. So if Whitsetts notes weren’t there I would have no idea what’s going on.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sorry I read this. Nice to see where all those famous quotes come from.

[Christa Ohlman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite Shakespeare play!