Part of: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (The Oxford Shakespeare) Hamlet Prince of Denmark

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the great English language tragedies. It wrangles with themes of revenge, despair, indecision, and mortality and questions about the place of the individual human being in the sweep of larger events. This edition comes from the 1916 Oxford University Press edition of all of Shakespeare’s plays and poems.

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Citation

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (The Oxford Shakespeare), ed. with a glossary by W.J. Craig M.A. (Oxford University Press, 1916).

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Geoffrey Chaucer (Author)

The greatest English writer before Shakespeare, Chaucer pioneered the use of English, rather than French or Latin, for serious literary works. He also brought all classes of society onto the page together, particularly in his masterwork, The Canterbury Tales.

Christopher Marlowe (Author)

Marlowe and Shakespeare were the top two poets and playwrights of their day. They referenced one another’s work and competed with and inspired each other.
John Dryden (Author)

One of the great English poets and playwrights who followed Shakespeare, Dryden is similarly interested in portraying the importance of English history for English audiences. Dryden was also deeply interested in establishing the theater as a legitimate art form rather than just a popular entertainment.
Alexander Pope (Author)

A great poet in his own right, Pope also edited Shakespeare’s work, regularizing and “smoothing” it to accord with 18th century aesthetic judgements.

Critical Responses

Painting

Ophelia

John Everett Millais

Millais’s painting of Ophelia’s suicide is one of the most important pre-Raphaelite paintings, renowned for both its attention to realistic detail and the romanticism with which the figure of Ophelia is presented.

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Book

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Tom Stoppard

Stoppard’s comedy uses two minor characters from Hamlet to explore great philosophical issues about truth, mortality, and identity.

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Connected Readings

What to read next.

The First part of King Henry the fourth (facs. 1st Folio 1623)

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s history plays are often interesting analogues to his tragedies. This exploration of a historical figure with a complex father/son relationship and ambiguous feelings about kingship makes an interesting pairing with Hamlet

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Audio

Listen to Selections of Hamlet

The Folger Shakespeare Library

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Podcast

Shakespeare at EconTalk

Russ Roberts

Author Scott Newstok of Rhodes College talks about his book, How to Think Like Shakespeare, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Newstok draws on Shakespeare and other great writers and thinkers to explore the nature of education and the life well-lived.

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What to read next.

Drama versus Data: Adam Smith on Description

Sarah Skwire

Speaking of Smith (and Shakespeare)

Why use drama to understand things that could be captured in data? Can everything be captured in data?

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