HUM 1213 Engaging Ancient Texts: Hamlet

Hamlet by William Shakespeare; John Crowther (Editor); SparkNotes Staff Read Shakespeare's plays in all their brilliance--and understand what every word means!   Don't be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard's plays accessible and enjoyable. Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language A complete list of characters with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary

Hamlet's Absent Father by Avi Erlich Avi Erlich finds that Hamlet deals not with repressed patricidal impulses but with a complex search, partially unconscious, for a strong father. Much more than he wants to have killed his father, Hamlet wants his father back and seeks a strong man with whom to identify. The playwright presents one ambivalent father figure after another, each an imitation or parody of the seemingly titanic king. Polonius, Osrick, Yorick, Old Fortinbras, Priam, Achilles, Horatio--these are a few versions ofthe father who bequeathed to his son his own ambivalence. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Hamlet's Dreams: The Robben Island Shakespeare by David Schalkwyk Hamlet's Dreams brings together the Robben Island Prison of Nelson Mandela and the prison that is Denmark for Shakespeare's Hamlet. David Shalkwyk uses the circulation of the so-called 'Robben Island Shakespeare', a copy of the Alexander edition of the Complete Works that was secretly circulated, annotated and signed by a group of Robben Island political prisoner in the 1970s (including Nelson Mandela), to examine the representation and experience of imprisonment in South African prison memoirs and Shakespeare's Hamlet. It looks at the ways in which oppressive spaces or circumstances restrict the ways in which personal identity can be formed or formulated in relation to others. The 'bad dreams' that keep Hamlet from considering himself the 'king of infinite space' are, it argues, the need for other people that becomes especially evident in situations of real or psychological imprisonment.

Hamlet's Perfection by William Kerrigan How does the rash yet serene Hamlet of act 5 arise from the passive and grief-stricken Hamlet of act 1? What path leads him from sickened thoughts of birth and incest to the certainty that thoughtfulness itself must be escaped through bold action? The roles of Senecan avenger and patient Christian may seem worlds apart, observes William Kerrigan, but Shakespeare fused them in a character that has fascinated the world for centuries. In this lively study, Kerrigan celebrates both Hamlet's perfectionthe character's creation of new ideals out of an inheritance of disillusionment--and Hamlet 's perfection--the play's brilliance as Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Kerrigan's approach reflects his interests in literary formalism, historical scholarship, intellectual history, and psychoanalysis.

Hamlet: a Critical Reader by Ann Thompson (Editor) Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of past critical views of the play as well as new writing about the play from today's leading scholars. The range of perspectives offered makes the book an invaluable companion to anyone studying the play at an advanced level. The final chapter on learning and teaching resources is particularly useful as a guide for further study.

Hamlet: A User's Guide by Michael Pennington "Pennington's great experience of the play...love for it...depth of knowledge...of many productions and interpretations culminate in a book of infinite value to any actor, director and above all to any passionate playgoer...written with passion, humor and rigor...an excellent read." Ralph Fiennes

Hamlet: Character Studies by Michael Davies Arguably Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet is studied widely at universities internationally. Approaching the play through an analysis of its key characters is particularly useful as there are few plays which have commanded so much critical attention in relation to "character" as Hamlet. The guide includes: an introductory overview of the text, including a brief discussion of the background to the play including its sources, reception and critical tradition; an overview of the narrative structure; chapters discussing in detail the representation of the key characters including Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia as well as the more minor characters; a conclusion reminding students of the links between the characters and the key themes and issues and a guide to further reading.

Hamlet and the Acting of Revenge by Peter Mercer Introduction - PART 1 - The Ghost - Thyestes and Revenge Structure - The Spanish Tragedy: Dagger and Mirror - Antonio's Revenge: Stoic and Player - The Revenger's Tragedy: Mirror and Dagger - PART 2 HAMLET - Commandment - Performance - Unmasking - I Antithesis - II Deliverance - Appendix - Notes - Index

Hamlet in Pieces: Shakespeare Reworked : Peter Brook, Robert Lepage, Robert Wilson by Andy Lavender Between 1995 and 1996, three highly unusual shows were produced by three celebrated figures in world theatre: Qui Est La, directed by Peter Brook; Elsinore, directed by Robert Lepage; and Hamlet - A Monologue, directed by Robert Wilson. Each was a version - at least in part - of Shakespeare's Hamlet, although none treated the show in anything like an orthodox manner.

Hamlet Without Hamlet by Margreta De Grazia 'Hamlet' without Hamlet sets out to counter the modern tradition of abstracting the character Hamlet from the play. For over two centuries, Hamlet has been valued as the icon of consciousness: but only by ignoring the hard fact of his dispossession. By admitting that premise, this book brings the play to life around man's relation to land, from graves to estate to empire. Key preoccupations are thereby released, including the gendered imperatives of genealogy, and man's elemental affinity to dust. As de Grazia demonstrates from the 400 years of Hamlet's afterlife, such features have disappeared into the vortex of an interiorized Hamlet, but they remain in the language of the play as well as in the earliest accounts of its production. Once reactivated, a very different Hamlet emerges, one whose thoughts and desires are thickly embedded in the worldly, and otherworldly, matters of the play: a Hamlet within Hamlet.

Hide Fox, and All After: What is Concealed in Shakespeare's Hamlet? by J. D. Winter Is there anything more to say on Hamlet, this most-discussed of plays? It has become a hive of furious theorising, an anthill of scholarly research. Author J. D. Winter looks at the text afresh, seeing it as something to be viewed through a play-goer's eyes: what is taking place on stage, and that only. He adopts three phrases from the text to provide a context for his approach: the play's the thing, a rhapsody of words, and the invisible event. The first suggests the spectacle itself, without regard to what has been written about it. There is no reference to outside opinion nor is another literary work named. The second indicates an awareness of the text as poem. While the tremendous sweep of Shakespearean blank verse-the prose-paragraphs on fire with their own poetry, the whispering gallery of metaphor-can scarcely be accorded proper respect in a prose commentary, certain rhapsodic effects are noted. Finally, the play is contained within a mystery. There is the question of the prince's mental state, that so consumes other characters; there is the question of his procrastination, which he himself is desperate about. But the larger question, which in one shape or another has dogged critics down the ages, has to do with the drift of the action towards its culmination, including the way the mind of the audience (or reader) is taken on board. There can be no definitive answer to Hamlet or Hamlet. But like a signpost in a swarming mist, the third phrase may offer a faint clue: the invisible event. [Subject: Hamlet, Shakespeare, Literary Criticism, Theatre Studies]

Philosophy and the Puzzles of Hamlet: a study of Shakespeare's Method by Leon Harold Craig Shakespeare's famous play, Hamlet, has been the subject of more scholarly analysis and criticism than any other work of literature in human history. For all of its generally acknowledged virtues, however, it has also been treated as problematic in a raft of ways. In Philosophy and the Puzzles of Hamlet, Leon Craig explains that the most oft-cited problems and criticisms are actually solvable puzzles. Through a close reading of the philosophical problems presented in Hamlet, Craig attempts to provide solutions to these puzzles. The posing of puzzles, some more conspicuous, others less so, is fundamental to Shakespeare's philosophical method and purpose. That is, he has crafted his plays, and Hamlet in particular, so as to stimulate philosophical activity in the "judicious" (as distinct from the "unskillful") readers. By virtue of showing what so many critics treat as faults or flaws are actually intended to be interpretive challenges, Craig aims to raise appreciation for the overall coherence of Hamlet: that there is more logical rigor to its plot and psychological plausibility to its characterizations than is generally granted, even by its professed admirers. Philosophy and the Puzzles of Hamlet endeavors to make clear why Hamlet, as a work of reason, is far better than is generally recognized, and proves its author to be, not simply the premier poet and playwright he is already universally acknowledged to be, but a philosopher in his own right.

Shakespeare's Hamlet by Sidney Lamb (Editor) In the CliffsComplete guides, the novel'scomplete text and a glossary appear side-by-side with coordinating numbered lines to help you understand unusual words and phrasing. You'll also find all the commentary and resources of a standard CliffsNotes for Literature. CliffsComplete Hamlet covers details of the most widely produced and critiqued Shakespearean play. Written in poignant language,Hamlet contains all the elements necessary for a good tragedy, including a brave and daring hero who suffers a fatal flaw. Discover what happens to the complicated cast of characters -- and save valuable studying time -- all at once. Enhance your reading ofHamlet with these additional features: A summary and insightful commentary for each chapter Bibliography and historical background on the author, William Shakespeare A look at Early Modern England historical, intellectual, religious, and social context Insight into the play's classical elements and language A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters Review questions, a quiz, discussion guide, and activity ideas A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Web sites Streamline your literature study with all-in-one help from CliffsComplete guides!

William Shakespeare's Hamlet by Sean McEvoy (Editor) William Shakespeare's Hamlet(c.1600-1601) has achieved iconic status as one of the most exciting and enigmatic of plays. It has been in almost constant production in Britain and throughout the world since it was first performed, fascinating generations of audiences and critics alike. Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Shakespeare's remarkable play offers: extensive introductory comment on the contexts, critical history and performance of the text, from publication to the present annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself cross-references between documents and sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism suggestions for further reading.

Hamlet by Kenneth Branagh

Hamlet by Michael Almereyda

Life of William Shakespeare: A Critical Biography by Lois Potter The Life of William Shakespeare is a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of Shakespeare's life and works focusing on oftern neglected literary and historical contexts: what Shakespeare read, who he worked with as an author and an actor, and how these various collaborations may have affected his writing. Written by an eminent Shakespearean scholar and experienced theatre reviewer. Pays particular attention to Shakespeare's theatrical contemporaries and the ways in which they influenced his writing. Offers an intriguing account of the life and work of the great poet-dramatist structured around the idea of memory. Explores often neglected literary and historical contexts that illuminate Shakespeare's life and works.

Shakespeare: The Poet in his World by M. C. Bradbrook First published in 1978. In this study, Shakespeare's own life story and the development of English theatrical history are placed in the wider context of Elizabethan and Jacobean times, but the works themselves are the final objective of this 'applied biography'. The main contention of the book is that Shakespeare's life was the lure of the stage itself which inspired him to transform what everyday life provided into the worlds of Hamlet, King Lear and Prospero.

Shakespeare and Biography by David Bevington Shakespeare and Biography is not a new biography of Shakespeare. Instead, it is a study of what biographers have said about Shakespeare, from the first formal biography in the early 18th century by Nicholas Rowe to Stephen Greenblatt, James Shapiro, Jonathan Bate, Germaine Greer, Katherine Duncan-Jones, Park Honan, René Weis, and others who have written recent biographical accounts of England's greatest writer. The emphasis is on what sort of issues these biographers have foundespecially interesting in relation to sex and gender, politics, religion, pessimism, misanthropy, jealousy, aging, family relationships, the end of a career, the end of life. How has Shakespeare's contemplation of these issues changed and grown, and in what ways do those changes reflect new cultural developments inour world as it continues to reinterpret Shakespeare?

The Truth about William Shakespeare: Fact, Fiction and Modern Biographies by David Ellis A polemical attack on the ways recent Shakespeare biographers have disguised their lack of information.How can biographies of Shakespeare continue to appear when so little is known about him? And when what isknown has been in the public domain for so long? Why have the majority of the biographies published in the last decade been written by distinguished Shakespeareans who ought to know better? To solve this puzzle, David Ellis looks at the methods that Shakespeare's biographers have used to hide their lack of knowledge. At the same time, by exploring efforts to write a life of Shakespeare along traditional lines, it asks what kind of animal 'biography' really is and how it should be written.Key Features* An exposé of the Shakespeare biography industry showing that books which are marketed as biographies of Shakespeare are nothing of the kind. * From this book, the reader can learn all that is directly known about Shakespeare* Asks the reader to think about how we acquire our knowledge of other people and what we ought therefore to expect of biographies.

William Shakespeare by Peter Holland Definitive, concise, and very interesting...From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt A young man from a small provincial town moves to London in the late 1580s and, in a remarkably short time, becomes the greatest playwright not of his age alone but of all time. How is an achievement of this magnitude to be explained? How did Shakespeare become Shakespeare? Stephen Greenblatt brings us down to earth to see, hear, and feel how an acutely sensitive and talented boy, surrounded by the rich tapestry of Elizabethan life, could have become the world's greatest playwright. A Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Finalist.