Description
This edition of Hamlet, edited by A. R. Braunmuller, was redesigned in an easy-to-read format that preserves the favorite features of the original. It includes essays on the theatrical world of Shakespeare and texts of Shakespeare, an introduction to the play itself, and a note on the text used for this edition of it.
This is part of Hewitt’s Lightning Literature & Composition curriculum (See Related Items below). From our Guide by Elizabeth Kamath:
You might wonder how a play written four hundred years ago in England, and set eight hundred years ago in Denmark, could be so interesting and popular today. If Hamlet were only about Elizabethan politics (or, worse still, twelfth-century Danish politics), it would have ended its run centuries ago. But Hamlet is not just about politics, nor is it simply a revenge tragedy. Hamlet is about life, death, family, friendship, integrity, and art.
Hamlet is also about questioning. Questions fill the play—some easily answered, others never answered, and some for which the questioner doesn?t expect an answer. The first line of the play is a question: Who?s there? In context, this question is answered simply and easily. But think of this question not just in its simple form, but as asking ?Who are you, really?? Then read thoughtfully, and you will find many other places in the play to ask this question, but it will not always be so easily answered.
