Just an observation
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Has anyone noticed that the cover picture is actually a painting of Romeo & Juliet? It struck me as a bit bizarre really, but otherwise it's a really brilliant edition.
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Easy does it
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Hamlet (Shakespeare Made Easy) places English beside English for those that need a translation from English to English. If this is read or acted out loud the translation would be superfluous. There is nothing wrong with a starting place but reading is not the way.
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This really is "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark" and not only the Prince but his family. Not only his family but his friends. Not only his friends but all though that came before him and is told to those that came after him.
You can slow down and pick apart many underlying themes and may of the phrases that now challenge Bible sayings in today's sound bites. But the real fun is in just reading the story and you will find that it is not as foreign as you may have thought.
A quick synopsis is that Old Hamlet conquered Old Fortinbras seizing his land. Now that Old Hamlet is dead, Young Fortinbras wants his land back and is willing to take it by force. Meanwhile back in Dänemark Young Hamlet who is excessively grieving for the loss of his father, gets a now insight from his fathers ghost. Looks like he was a victim of a "murder most foul"; it looks like his mother and uncle were in cahoots on the murder.
The story is about what each person felt and acted or did not act upon the situation.
You will find many movies and perverted imitations of the story but nothing will replace the original that was intended to be watched but reads well.
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Shakespeare's Greatest
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After learning that I would study this text at A-Level, I was initially concerned but soon changed my mind. The play in itself has everything that you could ask for; an exciting plot and believable characters, and is easy to understand with this particular edition of the book. I would recommend this to anyone, young or old, as it is one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever read.
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From a director's perspective...
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I have just finished using Robert Hapgood's book on Hamlet for a full-scale production with 25 actors. The phenomenal success of our run (sold out all but 1 performance) can be attributed to Hapgood's book which provides a treasure-trove of other famous productions of Hamlet throughout the past four centuries. With so much information provided beyond just the text of the play, this book is an unparalleled gift for casual fans of the play or for the die-hard theatre scholar who wants to know how Olivier, Burton, Guinness, Geilgud, Kemble, Burbage, Kean, Garrick, Irving, Branagh and Rylance have approached the role. A delicious treat to be enjoyed by all. I happened to stumble on it in a Cambridge Library at Gonville and Caius College and I have been the better director for it. Dig in!
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Goodnight, sweet prince
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Admittedly, there is really nothing I can say about Shakespeare's brilliant The Tragedy of Hamlet that has not been said before. The fact that this tragedy is so praiseworthy does not mean it should no longer be praised, though. So many of us had to read Hamlet in school, but there is something to be said and much to be gained by reading it on one's own again for pure pleasure. The story is a compelling one, the characters are sharply presented and unforgettable, and the play represents human tragedy in the fullest sense of the word. No matter how well you know the story, you as a reader are totally captivated by the human drama of the ill-fated prince of Denmark. The Bard's characters are incredibly human, be they good or evil, powerful or fragile. One can delight in the downfall of evil men and lament the fate of their innocent victims. The language is beautiful but difficult, of course. I often found myself rereading lines or entire passages to try and get a better sense of their meaning, and even then some vagaries of the language escaped me. The story itself, though, is vividly revealed through the Bard's poetic words, and even the most insensible lines roll off the tongue beautifully. I was most amazed by all of the famous lines and quotations found in this one drama; pop culture itself almost demands of you some knowledge of Hamlet. If "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio" or "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" mean nothing to you, you would do well to brush up on your Hamlet. If you draw a blank at the words "To be or not to be," you might want to check your pulse to see if you still have one. I will not attempt any literary criticism here because libraries are already overflowing with books on the subject. The madness of Hamlet is, I suppose, debatable; certainly, his madness is feigned early on, and I have much admiration for his manner of calling forth the guilty conscience of those who wronged his father through his supposed ravings, but one must particularly question his dealings with the lovely and innocent Ophelia. Madness, rage, murder, incest (of a sort), graveyards, sword fighting, poison, love, betrayal--this play has all of these things and more, yet it is the great humanity of Prince Hamlet himself which makes this tragedy foremost among all of the Great Bard's dramas. Good and evil exist in each soul; evil does not always lose, and good does not always win. Shakespeare understood this, and that is why this tragedy will always serve as a literary mirror in which careful readers can peer into the depths of their own souls.
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