94-478: The English Shakespeare Company was an English theatre company founded in 1986 by Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington to present and promote the works of William Shakespeare on both a national and an international level. Funding came from the state Arts Council of Great Britain , and also commercially from the Allied Irish Bank and Canadian retail tycoon Ed Mirvish . Its inaugural production (1986)
188-652: A 'performance' one" of Hamlet : an edition containing all of Shakespeare's material for the play for the pleasure of readers, so not representing the play as it would have been staged. From the early 17th century, the play was famous for its ghost and vivid dramatisation of melancholy and insanity , leading to a procession of mad courtiers and ladies in Jacobean and Caroline drama. Though it remained popular with mass audiences, late 17th-century Restoration critics saw Hamlet as primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum . This view changed drastically in
282-646: A 1600–01 attribution for the date Hamlet was written, but notes that the Lord Chamberlain's Men , playing Hamlet in the 3000-capacity Globe , were unlikely to be put to any disadvantage by an audience of "barely one hundred" for the Children of the chapel's equivalent play, Antonio's Revenge ; she believes that Shakespeare, confident in the superiority of his own work, was making a playful and charitable allusion to his friend John Marston's very similar piece. A contemporary of Shakespeare's, Gabriel Harvey , wrote
376-687: A Welsh mother (Rhoda Rees). He was educated at The John Lyon School , Harrow on the Hill , England , at Trinity College Dublin , and in Germany and France . He trained at the BBC in the 1960s and produced, wrote and directed for television in the UK and Ireland . He was a producer and director at Irish broadcaster RTÉ from 1966 to 1969, and later worked extensively for BBC Wales, making documentaries and feature films, winning several awards. Bogdanov directed eight productions for
470-465: A character trait, rather than a plot device. This focus on character and internal struggle continued into the 20th century, when criticism branched in several directions, discussed in context and interpretation below. Modern editors have divided the play into five acts, and each act into scenes. The First Folio marks the first two acts only. The quartos do not have such divisions. The division into five acts follows Seneca , who in his plays, regularized
564-510: A desire not to offend scholars at Oxford University . ( Robert Pullen , was the founder of Oxford University, and John Rainolds , was the President of Corpus Christi College .) "Any dating of Hamlet must be tentative", states the New Cambridge editor, Phillip Edwards . MacCary suggests 1599 or 1600; James Shapiro offers late 1600 or early 1601; Wells and Taylor suggest that the play
658-461: A hall of the castle to try to learn more. Hamlet feigns madness and subtly insults Polonius all the while. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive, Hamlet greets his "friends" warmly but quickly discerns that they are there to spy on him for Claudius. Hamlet admits that he is upset at his situation but refuses to give the true reason, instead remarking " What a piece of work is a man ". Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that they have brought along
752-550: A marginal note in his copy of the 1598 edition of Chaucer's works, which some scholars use as dating evidence. Harvey's note says that "the wiser sort" enjoy Hamlet , and implies that the Earl of Essex —executed in February 1601 for rebellion—was still alive. Other scholars consider this inconclusive. Edwards, for example, concludes that the "sense of time is so confused in Harvey's note that it
846-508: A minor role (most likely Marcellus). Scholars disagree whether the reconstruction was pirated or authorised. It is suggested by Irace that Q1 is an abridged version intended especially for travelling productions, thus the question of length may be considered as separate from issues of poor textual quality. Editing Q1 thus poses problems in whether or not to "correct" differences from Q2 and F. Irace, in her introduction to Q1, wrote that "I have avoided as many other alterations as possible, because
940-864: A musical version of Colleen McCullough ’s bestselling novel The Thorn Birds for the Wales Theatre Company. It has music by German opera composer Gloria Bruni and McCullough herself wrote the book and lyrics. It opened at the Grand Theatre, Swansea in April and then toured the UK, culminating at the Wales Millennium Centre. This production starred Matthew Goodgame , Helen Anker and Peter Karrie . Bogdanov continued to work extensively in Germany, above all in Hamburg, where he has won awards for productions at
1034-468: A negative review of Hamlet , stating that "it is vulgar and barbarous drama, which would not be tolerated by the vilest populace of France or Italy... one would imagine this piece to be a work of a drunken savage". By the 19th century, Romantic critics valued Hamlet for its internal, individual conflict reflecting the strong contemporary emphasis on internal struggles and inner character in general. Then too, critics started to focus on Hamlet's delay as
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#17328547071711128-580: A nunnery", though it is unclear whether this, too, is a show of madness or genuine distress. His reaction convinces Claudius that Hamlet is not mad for love. Shortly thereafter, the court assembles to watch the play Hamlet has commissioned. After seeing the Player King murdered by his rival pouring poison in his ear, Claudius abruptly rises and runs from the room; for Hamlet, this is proof of his uncle's guilt. Gertrude summons Hamlet to her chamber to demand an explanation. Meanwhile, Claudius talks to himself about
1222-609: A pun; when Claudius addresses him as "my cousin Hamlet, and my son", Hamlet says as an aside: "A little more than kin, and less than kind." An unusual rhetorical device, hendiadys , appears in several places in the play. Examples are found in Ophelia's speech at the end of the nunnery scene: "Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state" and "And I, of ladies most deject and wretched ". Many scholars have found it odd that Shakespeare would, seemingly arbitrarily, use this rhetorical form throughout
1316-621: A second volume focusing on the histories in 2005. Bogdanov died of a heart attack on 16 April 2017, aged 78. Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark , often shortened to Hamlet ( / ˈ h æ m l ɪ t / ), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark , the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius , who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother . Hamlet
1410-510: A stage adaptation. On the title page of Q2, its text is described as "newly imprinted and enlarged to almost as much again as it was." That is probably a comparison to Q1. Much of Hamlet ' s language is courtly: elaborate, witty discourse, as recommended by Baldassare Castiglione 's 1528 etiquette guide, The Courtier . This work specifically advises royal retainers to amuse their masters with inventive language. Osric and Polonius, especially, seem to respect this injunction. Claudius's speech
1504-480: A troupe of actors that they met while travelling to Elsinore. Hamlet, after welcoming the actors and dismissing his friends-turned-spies, asks them to deliver a soliloquy about the death of King Priam and Queen Hecuba at the climax of the Trojan War . Hamlet then asks the actors to stage The Murder of Gonzago , a play featuring a death in the style of his father's murder. Hamlet intends to study Claudius's reaction to
1598-401: A typical Elizabethan play would need two to three hours. It is speculated that because of the considerable length of Q2 and F1, there was an expectation that those texts would be abridged for performance, or that Q2 and F1 may have been aimed at a reading audience. That Q1 is so much shorter than Q2 has spurred speculation that Q1 is an early draft, or perhaps an adaptation, a bootleg copy, or
1692-687: A witness. After the ghost appears again, the three vow to tell Prince Hamlet what they have witnessed. The court gathers the next day, and King Claudius and Queen Gertrude discuss affairs of state with their elderly adviser Polonius . Claudius grants permission for Polonius's son Laertes to return to school in France, and he sends envoys to inform the King of Norway about Fortinbras. Claudius also questions Hamlet regarding his continuing to grieve for his father, and forbids him to return to his university in Wittenberg . After
1786-424: Is a "divinity that shapes our ends". Hamlet's enquiring mind has been open to all kinds of ideas, but in act five he has decided on a plan, and in a dialogue with Horatio he seems to answer his two earlier soliloquies on suicide: "We defy augury. There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness
1880-546: Is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, knows aught, what is't to leave betimes." The First Quarto (1603) text of Hamlet contains 15,983 words, the Second Quarto (1604) contains 28,628 words, and the First Folio (1623) contains 27,602 words. Counting the number of lines varies between editions, partly because prose sections in the play may be formatted with varied lengths. Editions of Hamlet that are created by conflating
1974-509: Is an act-break after which the action appears to continue uninterrupted. Q1 was discovered in 1823. Only two copies are extant. According to Jenkins, "The unauthorized nature of this quarto is matched by the corruption of its text." Yet Q1 has value: it contains stage directions (such as Ophelia entering with a lute and her hair down) that reveal actual stage practices in a way that Q2 and F1 do not; it contains an entire scene (usually labelled 4.6) that does not appear in either Q2 or F1; and it
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#17328547071712068-593: Is based on an entry, of 26 July 1602, in the Register of the Stationers' Company , indicating that Hamlet was "latelie Acted by the Lo: Chamberleyne his servantes ". In 1598, Francis Meres published his Palladis Tamia , a survey of English literature from Chaucer to its present day, within which twelve of Shakespeare's plays are named. Hamlet is not among them, suggesting that it had not yet been written. As Hamlet
2162-485: Is characteristically Catholic, make up most of the play's Catholic connections. Some scholars have observed that revenge tragedies come from Catholic countries such as Italy and Spain, where the revenge tragedies present contradictions of motives, since according to Catholic doctrine the duty to God and family precedes civil justice. Much of the play's Protestant tones derive from its setting in Denmark—both then and now
2256-654: Is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others". It is widely considered one of the greatest plays of all time. Three different early versions of the play are extant: the First Quarto (Q1, 1603); the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604); and the First Folio (F1, 1623). Each version includes lines and passages missing from
2350-402: Is no subplot, but the play presents the affairs of the courtier Polonius, his daughter, Ophelia, and his son, Laertes—who variously deal with madness, love and the death of a father in ways that contrast with Hamlet's. The graveyard scene eases tension prior to the catastrophe, and, as Hamlet holds the skull, it is shown that Hamlet no longer fears damnation in the afterlife, and accepts that there
2444-404: Is not. The contrast (appearance and reality) is also expressed in several "spying scenes": Act two begins with Polonius sending Reynaldo to spy on his son, Laertes. Claudius and Polonius spy on Ophelia as she meets with Hamlet. In act two, Claudius asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet. Similarly, the play-within-a-play is used by Hamlet to reveal his step-father's hidden nature. There
2538-611: Is precise and straightforward, as when he explains his inward emotion to his mother: "But I have that within which passes show, / These but the trappings and the suits of woe". At times, he relies heavily on puns to express his true thoughts while simultaneously concealing them. Pauline Kiernan argues that Shakespeare changed English drama forever in Hamlet because he "showed how a character's language can often be saying several things at once, and contradictory meanings at that, to reflect fragmented thoughts and disturbed feelings". She gives
2632-683: Is really of little use in trying to date Hamlet ". This is because the same note also refers to Spenser and Watson as if they were still alive ("our flourishing metricians "), but also mentions " Owen's new epigrams", published in 1607. Three early editions of the text, each different, have survived, making attempts to establish a single "authentic" text problematic. This list does not include three additional early texts, John Smethwick 's Q3, Q4, and Q5 (1611–37), which are regarded as reprints of Q2 with some alterations. Early editors of Shakespeare's works , beginning with Nicholas Rowe (1709) and Lewis Theobald (1733), combined material from
2726-605: Is rich with rhetorical figures—as is Hamlet's and, at times, Ophelia's—while the language of Horatio, the guards, and the gravediggers is simpler. Claudius's high status is reinforced by using the royal first person plural ("we" or "us"), and anaphora mixed with metaphor to resonate with Greek political speeches. Of all the characters, Hamlet has the greatest rhetorical skill. He uses highly developed metaphors, stichomythia , and in nine memorable words deploys both anaphora and asyndeton : "to die: to sleep— / To sleep, perchance to dream". In contrast, when occasion demands, he
2820-554: Is silence". Fortinbras, who was ostensibly marching towards Poland with his army, arrives at the palace, along with an English ambassador bringing news of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths. Horatio promises to recount the full story of what happened, and Fortinbras, seeing the entire Danish royal family dead, takes the crown for himself and orders a military funeral to honour Hamlet. Hamlet -like legends are so widely found (for example in Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Byzantium, and Arabia) that
2914-422: Is solely responsible, but a letter soon arrives indicating that Hamlet has returned to Denmark, foiling Claudius's plan. Claudius switches tactics, proposing a fencing match between Laertes and Hamlet to settle their differences. Laertes will be given a poison-tipped foil, and, if that fails, Claudius will offer Hamlet poisoned wine as a congratulation. Gertrude interrupts to report that Ophelia has drowned, though it
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3008-523: Is the Roman legend of Brutus , recorded in two separate Latin works. Its hero, Lucius ("shining, light"), changes his name and persona to Brutus ("dull, stupid"), playing the role of a fool to avoid the fate of his father and brothers, and eventually slaying his family's killer, King Tarquinius . A 17th-century Nordic scholar, Torfaeus , compared the Icelandic hero Amlóði (Amlodi) and the hero Prince Ambales (from
3102-423: Is unclear whether it was suicide or an accident caused by her madness. Horatio has received a letter from Hamlet, explaining that the prince escaped by negotiating with pirates who attempted to attack his England-bound ship, and the friends reunite offstage. Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia's apparent suicide while digging her grave. Hamlet arrives with Horatio and banters with one of the gravediggers, who unearths
3196-468: Is useful for comparison with the later editions. The major deficiency of Q1 is in the language: particularly noticeable in the opening lines of the famous " To be, or not to be " soliloquy: "To be, or not to be, aye there's the point. / To die, to sleep, is that all? Aye all: / No, to sleep, to dream, aye marry there it goes." However, the scene order is more coherent, without the problems of Q2 and F1 of Hamlet seeming to resolve something in one scene and enter
3290-565: The Ambales Saga ) to Shakespeare's Hamlet . Similarities include the prince's feigned madness, his accidental killing of the king's counsellor in his mother's bedroom, and the eventual slaying of his uncle. Many of the earlier legendary elements are interwoven in the 13th-century "Life of Amleth" (Latin: Vita Amlethi ) by Saxo Grammaticus , part of Gesta Danorum . Written in Latin, it reflects classical Roman concepts of virtue and heroism, and
3384-516: The Adelaide Festival , Brisbane , The Netherlands , Hamburg , Berlin and Frankfurt . In addition to The Wars of the Roses , productions of many individual Shakespeare plays were also presented. They included Twelfth Night , Macbeth , The Tempest , Romeo & Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra and As You Like It . The last production of Romeo and Juliet , the closing production of
3478-656: The English Shakespeare Company . As joint artistic director, he directed the company's inaugural productions of The Henrys and, in 1987, the seven-play history cycle of The Wars of the Roses , which toured worldwide. For this ambitious programme he earned the 1990 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director. In the 1990s he directed the English Shakespeare Company's international productions of Coriolanus , The Winter's Tale , Macbeth and The Tempest . He continued to direct productions around
3572-893: The Royal Shakespeare Company , including The Taming of the Shrew for which he received a Director of the Year award in 1979. From 1980 to 1988, he was associate director of the National Theatre where he directed about 15 productions. These included, in 1980, Howard Brenton 's The Romans in Britain , which resulted in a private prosecution in which Bogdanov was accused by counsel for Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse of "procuring an act of gross indecency" in one scene where two male actors simulated anal rape. However, 15 months later when it came to court, Whitehouse's barrister abandoned
3666-456: The Ur-Hamlet has survived, and it is impossible to compare its language and style with the known works of any of its putative authors. In 1936 Andrew Cairncross suggested that, until more becomes known, it may be assumed that Shakespeare wrote the Ur-Hamlet . Eric Sams lists reasons for supporting Shakespeare's authorship. Harold Jenkins considers that there are no grounds for thinking that
3760-537: The Ur-Hamlet is an early work by Shakespeare, which he then rewrote. Professor Terri Bourus in 2016, one of three general editors of the New Oxford Shakespeare, in her paper "Enter Shakespeare's Young Hamlet, 1589" suggests that Shakespeare was "interested in sixteenth-century French literature, from the very beginning of his career" and therefore "did not need Thomas Kyd to pre-digest Belleforest's histoire of Amleth and spoon-feed it to him". She considers that
3854-421: The 18th century, when critics regarded Hamlet as a hero—a pure, brilliant young man thrust into unfortunate circumstances. By the mid-18th century, however, the advent of Gothic literature brought psychological and mystical readings, returning madness and the ghost to the forefront. Not until the late 18th century did critics and performers begin to view Hamlet as confusing and inconsistent. Before then, he
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3948-873: The English Theatre Company in 1998, Timon of Athens for the Shakespeare Repertory Theater in Chicago in 1999, and Macbeth for the Residenz Theater in Munich, again in 1999. From 2002 to 2004, Bogdanov took charge of productions at the Ludlow Castle Open Air Theatre as part of the annual Ludlow Festival. With an ensemble of mainly Welsh players, he produced The Merry Wives of Windsor , The Winter's Tale , The Merchant of Venice , Cymbeline and Twelfth Night . In 2003, he
4042-518: The French-language version. Prince Hamlet of Denmark is the son of the recently deceased King Hamlet , and nephew of King Claudius , his father's brother and successor. Claudius hastily married King Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and took the throne for himself. Denmark has a long-standing feud with neighbouring Norway , in which King Hamlet slew King Fortinbras of Norway in a battle some years ago. Although Denmark defeated Norway and
4136-557: The Kammerspiele which include Der Diener Zweier Herren , Der Garderobier , Warten auf Godot , Elling and Frost/Nixon . In 2011 he directed A Midsummer Night's Dream in Platt as the opening production of the new Ohnsorg-Theater in Hamburg, which had moved from its old location into a newly built theatre. His essays on Shakespeare were published in a critically acclaimed book: Shakespeare: The Director's Cut ; in 2003, followed by
4230-505: The Norwegian throne fell to King Fortinbras's infirm brother, Denmark fears that an invasion led by the dead Norwegian king's son, Prince Fortinbras , is imminent. On a cold night on the ramparts of Elsinore , the Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernardo and Marcellus discuss a ghost resembling the late King Hamlet which they have recently seen, and bring Prince Hamlet's friend Horatio as
4324-524: The Roof , West Side Story and My Fair Lady . In 2006, Bogdanov brought his production of Mal Pope 's musical Amazing Grace in Cardiff to sell-out performances at the Wales Millennium Centre, with every show ending in a standing ovation. It was the first Welsh musical on the national stage of Wales. Judith Isherwood, the centre's chief executive, said of the show's success noting: "A new musical, Amazing Grace,
4418-615: The Roses . The production toured for two years in seventeen venues in the UK including the Old Vic in London , as well as appearing at several international venues, including the Hong Kong Festival, opening the new Tokyo Globe Theatre, being the centrepiece of The 1988 International Theatre Festival of Chicago , and touring to Stamford, Connecticut , the Spoleto Festival, Melbourne ,
4512-712: The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, and the dual Welsh and English language productions of Hamlet , with the same cast, at The Swansea Grand and Cardiff's New Theatre. The new Welsh Language translation by Gareth Miles was commissioned by the Arts Council of Wales. Among his many TV credits are Shakespeare on the Estate , RTS Award, Bafta Nomination and A Light in the Valley , RTS Best Regional Programme Award. Bogdanov has also directed three musicals for Aberystwyth Arts Centre : Fiddler on
4606-436: The brawl is broken up. Back at Elsinore, Hamlet explains to Horatio that he had discovered Claudius's letter among Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's belongings and replaced it with a forged copy indicating that his former friends should be killed instead. A foppish courtier, Osric , interrupts the conversation to deliver the fencing challenge to Hamlet. Hamlet, despite Horatio's pleas, accepts it. Hamlet does well at first, leading
4700-499: The company, ended in Plymouth after touring the world. Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare , musicals and work for young people. Bogdanov was born Michael Bogdin in Neath , Glamorgan , of a Jewish father (Francis Benzion Bogdin) and
4794-451: The conversation from behind a tapestry , calls for help as Gertrude, believing Hamlet wants to kill her, calls out for help herself. Hamlet, believing it is Claudius, stabs wildly, killing Polonius, but he pulls aside the curtain and sees his mistake. In a rage, Hamlet brutally insults his mother for her apparent ignorance of Claudius's villainy, but the ghost enters and reprimands Hamlet for his inaction and harsh words. Unable to see or hear
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#17328547071714888-419: The core "hero-as-fool" theme is possibly Indo-European in origin. Several ancient written precursors to Hamlet can be identified. The first is the anonymous Scandinavian Saga of Hrolf Kraki . In this, the murdered king has two sons— Hroar and Helgi —who spend most of the story in disguise, under false names, rather than feigning madness, in a sequence of events that differs from Shakespeare's. The second
4982-406: The court exits, Hamlet despairs of his father's death and his mother's hasty remarriage. Learning of the ghost from Horatio, Hamlet resolves to see it himself. As Polonius's son Laertes prepares to depart for France, Polonius offers him advice that culminates in the maxim "to thine own self be true." Polonius's daughter, Ophelia , admits her interest in Hamlet, but Laertes warns her against seeking
5076-568: The differences...are especially intriguing...I have recorded a selection of Q2/F readings in the collation." The idea that Q1 is not riddled with error but is instead eminently fit for the stage has led to at least 28 different Q1 productions since 1881. Other productions have used the Q2 and Folio texts, but used Q1's running order, in particular moving the to be or not to be soliloquy earlier. Developing this, some editors such as Jonathan Bate have argued that Q2 may represent "a 'reading' text as opposed to
5170-411: The example of Hamlet's advice to Ophelia, "get thee to a nunnery", which, she claims, is simultaneously a reference to a place of chastity and a slang term for a brothel, reflecting Hamlet's confused feelings about female sexuality. However Harold Jenkins does not agree, having studied the few examples that are used to support that idea, and finds that there is no support for the assumption that "nunnery"
5264-473: The figure of Polonius caricatured Burghley. A. L. Rowse speculated that Polonius's tedious verbosity might have resembled Burghley's. Lilian Winstanley thought the name Corambis (in the First Quarto) did suggest Cecil and Burghley. Harold Jenkins considers the idea of Polonius as a caricature of Burghley to be conjecture, perhaps based on the similar role they each played at court, and perhaps also based on
5358-658: The ghost herself, Gertrude takes Hamlet's conversation with it as further evidence of madness. After begging the queen to stop sleeping with Claudius, Hamlet leaves, dragging Polonius's corpse away. Hamlet jokes with Claudius about where he has hidden Polonius's body, and the king, fearing for his life, sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to England with a sealed letter to the English king requesting that Hamlet be executed immediately. Unhinged by grief at Polonius's death, Ophelia wanders Elsinore. Laertes arrives back from France, enraged by his father's death and his sister's madness. Claudius convinces Laertes that Hamlet
5452-419: The ghost's reliability. Ophelia rushes to her father, telling him that Hamlet arrived at her door the prior night half-undressed and behaving erratically. Polonius blames love for Hamlet's madness and resolves to inform Claudius and Gertrude. As he enters to do so, the king and queen are welcoming Rosencrantz and Guildenstern , two student acquaintances of Hamlet, to Elsinore. The royal couple has requested that
5546-547: The hero's melancholy . According to one theory, Shakespeare's main source may be an earlier play—now lost—known today as the Ur-Hamlet . Possibly written by Thomas Kyd or by Shakespeare, the Ur-Hamlet would have existed by 1589, and would have incorporated a ghost. Shakespeare's company, the Chamberlain's Men , may have purchased that play and performed a version for some time, which Shakespeare reworked. However, no copy of
5640-509: The hypothesized Ur-Hamlet is Shakespeare's Q1 text, and that this derived directly from Belleforest's French version. The precise combination of Shakespeare's use of the Ur-Hamlet , Belleforest, Saxo, or Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy as sources for Hamlet is not known. However, elements of Belleforest's version which are not in Saxo's story do appear in Shakespeare's play. Most scholars reject
5734-408: The idea that Hamlet is in any way connected with Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet Shakespeare , who died in 1596 at age eleven. Conventional wisdom holds that Hamlet is too obviously connected to legend, and the name Hamnet was quite popular at the time. However, Stephen Greenblatt has argued that the coincidence of the names and Shakespeare's grief for the loss of his son may lie at the heart of
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#17328547071715828-439: The impossibility of repenting, since he still has possession of his ill-gotten goods: his brother's crown and wife. He sinks to his knees. Hamlet, on his way to visit his mother, sneaks up behind him but does not kill him, reasoning that killing Claudius while he is praying will send him straight to heaven while his father's ghost is stuck in purgatory. In the queen's bedchamber, Hamlet and Gertrude fight bitterly. Polonius, spying on
5922-573: The match by two hits to none, and Gertrude raises a toast to him using the poisoned glass of wine Claudius had set aside for Hamlet. Claudius tries to stop her but is too late: she drinks, and Laertes realizes the plot will be revealed. Laertes slashes Hamlet with his poisoned blade. In the ensuing scuffle, they switch weapons, and Hamlet wounds Laertes with his own poisoned sword. Gertrude collapses and, claiming she has been poisoned, dies. In his dying moments, Laertes reconciles with Hamlet and reveals Claudius's plan. Hamlet rushes at Claudius and kills him. As
6016-462: The murder of their fathers, and many about clever avenging sons pretending to be foolish in order to outsmart their foes. This would include the story of the ancient Roman, Lucius Junius Brutus , which Shakespeare apparently knew, as well as the story of Amleth , which was preserved in Latin by 13th-century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum , and printed in Paris in 1514. The Amleth story
6110-427: The needs of a wider public. Traditionally, editors of Shakespeare's plays have divided them into five acts. None of the early texts of Hamlet , however, were arranged this way, and the play's division into acts and scenes derives from a 1676 quarto. Modern editors generally follow this traditional division but consider it unsatisfactory; for example, after Hamlet drags Polonius's body out of Gertrude's bedchamber, there
6204-489: The next drowning in indecision. New Cambridge editor Kathleen Irace has noted that "Q1's more linear plot design is certainly easier [...] to follow [...] but the simplicity of the Q1 plot arrangement eliminates the alternating plot elements that correspond to Hamlet's shifts in mood." Q1 is considerably shorter than Q2 or F1 and may be a memorial reconstruction of the play as Shakespeare's company performed it, by an actor who played
6298-524: The others. Many works have been pointed to as possible sources for Shakespeare's play, from ancient Greek tragedies to Elizabethan dramas . The editors of the Arden Shakespeare question the idea of "source hunting", pointing out that it presupposes that authors always require ideas from other works for their own, and suggests that no author can have an original idea or be an originator. When Shakespeare wrote, there were many stories about sons avenging
6392-488: The play is driven forward in dialogue; but in the soliloquies time and action stop, the meaning of action is questioned, fog of illusion is broached, and truths are exposed. The contrast between appearance and reality is a significant theme. Hamlet is presented with an image, and then interprets its deeper or darker meaning. Examples begin with Hamlet questioning the reality of the ghost. It continues with Hamlet's taking on an "antic disposition" in order to appear mad, though he
6486-480: The play, and thereby determine the truth of the ghost's story of Claudius's guilt. Polonius forces Ophelia to return Hamlet's love letters to the prince while he and Claudius secretly watch in order to evaluate Hamlet's reaction. Hamlet is walking alone in the hall as the King and Polonius await Ophelia's entrance. Hamlet muses on thoughts of life versus death . When Ophelia enters and tries to return Hamlet's things, Hamlet accuses her of immodesty and cries "get thee to
6580-504: The play. Colin Burrow has argued that most of us should read a text that is made up by conflating all three versions ... it's about as likely that Shakespeare wrote: "To be or not to be, ay, there's the point" [in Q1], as that he wrote the works of Francis Bacon . I suspect most people just won't want to read a three-text play ... [multi-text editions are] a version of the play that is out of touch with
6674-541: The play. One explanation may be that Hamlet was written later in Shakespeare's life, when he was adept at matching rhetorical devices to characters and the plot. Linguist George T. Wright suggests that hendiadys had been used deliberately to heighten the play's sense of duality and dislocation. Hamlet's soliloquies have captured the attention of scholars. Hamlet interrupts himself, vocalising either disgust or agreement with himself and embellishing his own words. He has difficulty expressing himself directly and instead blunts
6768-461: The poison takes effect, Hamlet, hearing that Fortinbras is marching through the area, names the Norwegian prince as his successor. Horatio, distraught at the thought of being the last survivor and living whilst Hamlet does not, says he will commit suicide by drinking the dregs of Gertrude's poisoned wine, but Hamlet begs him to live on and tell his story. Hamlet dies in Horatio's arms, proclaiming "the rest
6862-457: The present day. Some contemporary scholarship, however, discounts this approach, instead considering "an authentic Hamlet an unrealisable ideal. ... there are texts of this play but no text ". The 2006 publication by Arden Shakespeare of different Hamlet texts in different volumes is perhaps evidence of this shifting focus and emphasis. Other editors have continued to argue the need for well-edited editions taking material from all versions of
6956-547: The prince's attention, and Polonius orders her to reject his advances. That night on the rampart, the ghost appears to Hamlet, tells the prince that he was murdered by Claudius (by pouring poison into his ear as he slept), and demands that Hamlet avenge the murder. Hamlet agrees, and the ghost vanishes. The prince confides to Horatio and the sentries that from now on he plans to "put an antic disposition on", or act as though he has gone mad. Hamlet forces them to swear to keep his plans for revenge secret; however, he remains uncertain of
7050-529: The prosecution, saying in court: "The consequences of conviction - irrespective of penalty - would greatly damage Mr Bogdanov in his personal and professional life". During the 1980s, Bogdanov also worked internationally, directing Hamlet at the Abbey Theatre , Dublin, Romeo and Juliet at the Imperial Theatre, Tokyo , and Measure for Measure at Stratford , Ontario . His opera credits included
7144-465: The similarity between Burghley addressing his Ten Precepts to his son, and Polonius offering "precepts" to his son, Laertes. Jenkins suggests that any personal satire may be found in the name "Polonius", which might point to a Polish or Polonian connection. G. R. Hibbard hypothesised that differences in names (Corambis/Polonius:Montano/Raynoldo) between the First Quarto and other editions might reflect
7238-402: The skull of a jester from Hamlet's childhood, Yorick . Hamlet picks up the skull, saying "Alas, poor Yorick" as he contemplates mortality. Ophelia's funeral procession approaches, led by Laertes. Hamlet and Horatio initially hide, but when Hamlet realizes that Ophelia is the one being buried, he reveals himself, proclaiming his love for her. Laertes and Hamlet fight by Ophelia's graveside, but
7332-508: The texts of the Second Quarto and the Folio are said to have approximately 3,900 lines; the number of lines varies between those editions based on formatting the prose sections, counting methods, and how the editors have joined the texts together. Hamlet is by far the longest play that Shakespeare wrote, and one of the longest plays in the Western canon . It might require more than four hours to stage;
7426-546: The thrust of his thought with wordplay. It is not until late in the play, after his experience with the pirates, that Hamlet is able to articulate his feelings freely. Written at a time of religious upheaval and in the wake of the English Reformation , the play is alternately Catholic (or piously medieval) and Protestant (or consciously modern). The ghost describes himself as being in purgatory and as dying without last rites . This and Ophelia's burial ceremony, which
7520-643: The tragedy. He notes that the name of Hamnet Sadler, the Stratford neighbour after whom Hamnet was named, was often written as Hamlet Sadler and that, in the loose orthography of the time, the names were virtually interchangeable. Scholars have often speculated that Hamlet ' s Polonius might have been inspired by William Cecil (Lord Burghley)—Lord High Treasurer and chief counsellor to Queen Elizabeth I . E. K. Chambers suggested Polonius's advice to Laertes may have echoed Burghley's to his son Robert Cecil . John Dover Wilson thought it almost certain that
7614-464: The two earliest sources of Hamlet available at the time, Q2 and F1. Each text contains material that the other lacks, with many minor differences in wording: scarcely 200 lines are identical in the two. Editors have combined them in an effort to create one "inclusive" text that reflects an imagined "ideal" of Shakespeare's original. Theobald's version became standard for a long time, and his "full text" approach continues to influence editorial practice to
7708-546: The two students investigate the cause of Hamlet's mood and behaviour. Additional news requires that Polonius wait to be heard: messengers from Norway inform Claudius that the king of Norway has rebuked Prince Fortinbras for attempting to re-fight his father's battles. The forces that Fortinbras had conscripted to march against Denmark will instead be sent against Poland , though they will pass through Danish territory to get there. Polonius tells Claudius and Gertrude his theory regarding Hamlet's behaviour, and then speaks to Hamlet in
7802-414: The way ancient Greek tragedies contain five episodes, which are separated by four choral odes. In Hamlet the development of the plot or the action are determined by the unfolding of Hamlet's character. The soliloquies do not interrupt the plot, instead they are highlights of each block of action. The plot is the developing revelation of Hamlet's view of what is "rotten in the state of Denmark." The action of
7896-843: The world in the 1990s, including a revival of the musical Hair at the Old Vic in London in 1993, his own version of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf for both the Royal National Theatre of Denmark in 1994 and the English Shakespeare Company in London in 1997, Peer Gynt for the Residenz Theatre in Munich in 1995, Goethe's Faust Parts 1 and 2] for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Antony and Cleopatra and As You Like It for
7990-666: The world premiere of Stockhausen 's Montag aus Licht at La Scala , Milan . At the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg (Germany's equivalent of the Royal National Theatre), he directed an award-winning Julius Caesar, and adapted and directed Goethe 's Reineke Fuchs . From 1989 to 1992, he became Chief Executive of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus. In 1986, Bogdanov and actor Michael Pennington founded
8084-521: Was an anthology entitled The Henrys ( Henry IV, Part 1 , Henry IV, Part 2 , and Henry V ) which opened at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth in December 1986. A year later, several more plays ( Richard II , Henry VI: House of Lancaster , Henry VI: House of York and Richard III ) were added to the original productions and were presented as a complete history cycle under the title of The Wars of
8178-401: Was either mad, or not; either a hero, or not; with no in-betweens. These developments represented a fundamental change in literary criticism, which came to focus more on character and less on plot. In the 18th century, one negative French review of Hamlet would be widely discussed for centuries, in particular in publications throughout the 19th and 20th century. In 1768, Voltaire wrote
8272-513: Was involved in setting up the Wales Theatre Company , based in Swansea and Cardiff , taking on the position of artistic director. He directed productions of both Shakespeare and new works, including Twelfth Night , Cymbeline , The Merchant of Venice and Dylan Thomas 's Under Milk Wood . In 2005, he directed the critically acclaimed musical, Amazing Grace , at Swansea Grand Theatre and
8366-412: Was presented by the Wales Theatre Company — Welsh writers, and a very Welsh story about a revivalist preacher. It had a huge response. I’ve had letters from people saying how emotional they felt about seeing Welsh history re-created on their national stage". The show was described by critic Michael Kelligan as being the "first great Welsh musical". Bogdanov returned to musical theatre in 2009, directing
8460-460: Was subsequently adapted and then published in French in 1570 by the 16th-century scholar François de Belleforest . It has a number of plot elements and major characters in common with Shakespeare's Hamlet , and lacks others that are found in Shakespeare. Belleforest's story was first published in English in 1608, after Hamlet had been written, though it is possible that Shakespeare had encountered it in
8554-411: Was used that way in slang, or that Hamlet intended such a meaning. The context of the scene suggests that a nunnery would not be a brothel, but instead a place of renunciation and a "sanctuary from marriage and from the world's contamination". Thompson and Taylor consider the brothel idea incorrect considering that "Hamlet is trying to deter Ophelia from breeding ". Hamlet's first words in the play are
8648-685: Was very popular, Bernard Lott, the series editor of New Swan , believes it "unlikely that he [Meres] would have overlooked ... so significant a piece". The phrase "little eyases" in the First Folio (F1) may allude to the Children of the Chapel , whose popularity in London forced the Globe company into provincial touring. This became known as the War of the Theatres , and supports a 1601 dating. Katherine Duncan-Jones accepts
8742-487: Was widely available in Shakespeare's day. Significant parallels include the prince feigning madness, his mother's hasty marriage to the usurper, the prince killing a hidden spy, and the prince substituting the execution of two retainers for his own. A reasonably faithful version of Saxo's story was translated into French in 1570 by François de Belleforest , in his Histoires tragiques . Belleforest embellished Saxo's text substantially, almost doubling its length, and introduced
8836-641: Was written in 1600 and revised later; the New Cambridge editor settles on mid-1601; the New Swan Shakespeare Advanced Series editor agrees with 1601; Thompson and Taylor, tentatively ("according to whether one is the more persuaded by Jenkins or by Honigmann") suggest a terminus ad quem of either Spring 1601 or sometime in 1600. The earliest date estimate relies on Hamlet ' s frequent allusions to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar , itself dated to mid-1599. The latest date estimate
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