The Tragedy of Hamlet: with Connections

by William Shakespeare, Hernando Téllez, John Russell Brown

Connections: Just lather, that's all (short story) / by Hernando Téllez --
Plays and performances (book excerpt) / by John Russell Brown --
In a dark time (poem) / by Theodore Roethke --
Raymond Chandler's Hamlet (short story) / by Jonathan Vos Post --
from John Gielgud directs Richard Burton in Hamlet (book excerpt) / by Richard L. Sterne --
Two poems by Maya Angelou (poems) --
The Olivier Hamlet (review) / by Bosley Crowther --
Fear no more the heat o' the sun (song) / by William Shakespeare --
The Gibson Hamlet (review) / by Roger Ebert --
The Branagh Hamlet (review) / by Roger Ebert --
Sonnet 146 (poem) / by William Shakespeare.

Genres: Classics, School

221 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1999

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

[✧ k a t i e ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read out loud in my lit class which was really fun. The people who read it did really well (especially in the last scene) which probably contributes to me enjoying this play so much. I really love Shakespeare and want to read more of his plays.

[micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

kinda mid

[Jett Odle · Rating 2 out of 5]

(to ham sandwich aka hamlet)
Get THEE to a nunnery!

[Ramina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally hated being forced to read this book

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very interesting story. It wasn't boring as I thought it would be.

[Jesten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is pretty awesome, yet there were times when it felt a little slow and hard to read. There were more seemingly unnecessary scenes than I'm used to seeing in Shakespeare's plays.

[Ahdom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shakespeare was a master at writing tragedies. I loved this one. Rediscovering Shakespeare in my thirties has been fruitful and it's shown me the beauty of his writing without the academic setting. This has caused me to consider the lines more on my own and it moves me closer to the characters and the story. There are many analysis out there as well that I used while reading and some follow up videos. I also look forward to many of the film adaptations of this play. This copy was incredible in that it has footnotes for context and related stories at the back of the book. There were even blurbs on many of the adaptations found there as well. The themes in Shakespeare's works are what make these timeless. I can't wait to discover and re-discover more of his works.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

Honestly, this is the best Shakespeare play I've read. We're required to read tons of Shakespeare in school, so I've read Romeo and Juliet as well as Macbeth and a couple of his ballads and now this. This one has been the best.

We read the entire play out loud in class, which definitely made it more fun. Shoutout to my teacher who actually went through the lines and made sure we understood everything that was being said. Without her, I would've been completely lost.

I'm still not a fan of Shakespeare's works, but considering my hatred for some of his other stuff, this one redeemed him a bit. I get why people love him now. So yeah, not bad at all.

[kaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamlet is such a big mess of a person. like genuinely this guy needs some help making smart decisions and also just making decisions in general. but i loved the chaos he created.

there’s probably a lot more i could say about this book that’s a little more on the level that an AP Lit teacher would expect, but honestly i think Shakespeare just wanted to write some politically-paralleled, morals-questioning, thought-provoking *chaos* and he succeeded.

[Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tragedy of Hamlet is the first Shakespeare book I have ever read. Although at first it was hard to read, I became used to it and was able to follow the outlined plot. 3 stars because it was not one of my favorites but it was still interesting enough to keep me engaged.

[Yami☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So dramatic but I love it

[ava merryman · Rating 2 out of 5]

respectfully no. but the movie is good!

[Abigail Worrel · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring.

[Molly Pie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s aight

[skye garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughed way too many times for this to be considered one of the greatest tragedies

[josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

the cuntery was next level

[Katie Rea · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Shakespeare play, got to play Horatio in it and that was fun for sure. I love how dramatic all of the characters are and the biblical allusions are everything! I loved it, I’m officially a Shakespeare fan for sure.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smarmy angsty teenage fun... with a VENGANCE!

[Berna · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok, so fair warning... im reading it for my 2nd Semester Senior English class... so my final review might come off a bit harsh

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What else can I say? 'Tis a classic for thy enjoyment.

[Eloisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I.......don't..............like...........