Book Bearings
Hamlet
- 192 pages · about 3 hours
- First published 1602
- 2,377 editions
- Free to read
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1 About this book
Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1600 and the longest of his plays. In Denmark, Prince Hamlet is in mourning: his father the king has died, and his uncle Claudius has taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Then the ghost of the dead king appears on the castle walls and tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet swears revenge, but he doubts the ghost, puts on a show of madness and delays, and his hesitation draws in everyone around him, among them the counselor Polonius and Polonius's children, Ophelia and Laertes.
- Classics
- Murder victims' families
- Victims of crimes
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Performing arts
- Succession
- Fathers
2 What to expect
Shakespeare's longest tragedy: a Danish prince is told by his father's ghost to avenge his murder, and hesitates. Revenge, grief, madness real and pretended, and the gap between thinking and acting are its themes, explored in some of the best-known speeches in English. It is a play in verse, written to be performed; the Elizabethan language takes effort, and an edition with notes helps.
Good for readers who want: a great tragedy, Shakespeare's language, and a play that rewards close reading.
3 Read it free, right here
A free scan from the Internet Archive opens right here on the page, with no sign-up.
Read it on the Internet Archive4 About William Shakespeare
Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
5 More by William Shakespeare
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