Created using Notebooks by Droid-Veda LLP0 The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to´Hamlet´(/¸hˆƒmlÆ»t/), is atragedy´written by´William Shakespeare´at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in the´Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge´Prince Hamlet´is called to wreak upon his uncle,´Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet’s father,´King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother’s widow.´Hamlet´is Shakespeare’s longest play, and is ranked among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others".[1]´The play likely was one of Shakespeare’s most popular works during his lifetime,[2]´and still ranks among his most performed, topping the performance list of the´Royal Shakespeare Company´and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879.[3]´It has inspired many other writersfrom´Johann Wolfgang von Goethe´and´Charles Dickens´to´James Joyceand´Iris Murdoch´ and has been described as "the world’s most filmed story afterCinderella".[4]´The story of Shakespeare’sHamlet´was derived from the legend ofAmleth, preserved by 13th-century chroniclerSaxo Grammaticus´in his´Gesta Danorum, as subsequently retold by 16th-century scholarFranˆ§ois de Belleforest. Shakespeare may also have drawn on an earlier (hypothetical)Elizabethan´play known today as the´Ur-Hamlet, though some scholars believe he himself wrote the´Ur-Hamlet, later revising it to create the version of´Hamlet´we now have. He almost certainly wrote his version of the title role for his fellow actor,´Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of Shakespeare’s time. In the 400 years since its inception, the role has been performed by numerous highly acclaimed actors in each successive century. Three different early versions of the play are extant: the´First Quarto´(Q1, 1603); the SecondQuarto´(Q2, 1604); and the´First Folio´(F1, 1623). Each version includes lines and entire scenes missing from the others. The play’s structure and depth of characterisation have inspired much critical scrutiny. One such example is the centuries-old debate about Hamlet’s hesitation to kill his uncle, which some see as merely a´plot device´to prolong the action, but which others argue is a dramatisation of the complex philosophical and ethical issues that surround cold-blooded murder, calculated revenge, and thwarted desire. More recently,´psychoanalytic criticshave examined Hamlet’s´unconscious desires, while´feminist critics´have re-evaluated and attempted to rehabilitate the often maligned characters of´Ophelia´and´Gertrude.Tragedy of Hamlet
Created using Notebooks by Droid-Veda LLP1 Hamlet´ Son of the late King and nephew of the present kingClaudius´ King of Denmark and Hamlet’s uncleGertrude´ Queen of Denmark and mother to HamletPolonius´ Chief counsellor to the kingOphelia´ Daughter to PoloniusHoratio´ True friend to HamletLaertes´ Son to PoloniusVoltimand and Cornelius
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