Hamlet (some important info)

Hamlet is without question the most famous play in the English language. Probably written in 1601 or 1602, the tragedy is a milestone in Shakespeare’s dramatic development; the playwright achieved artistic maturity in this work through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder.
Shakespeare’s focus on this conflict was a revolutionary departure from contemporary revenge tragedies, which tended to graphically dramatize violent acts on stage, in that it emphasized the hero’s dilemma rather than the depiction of bloody deeds. The dramatist’s genius is also evident in his transformation of the play’s literary sources—especially the contemporaneous Ur-Hamlet—into an exceptional tragedy. The Ur-Hamlet, or “original Hamlet,” is a lost play that scholars believe was written mere decades before Shakespeare’s Hamlet, providing much of the dramatic context for the later tragedy. Numerous sixteenth-century records attest to the existence of the Ur-Hamlet, with some references linking its composition to Thomas Kyd, the author of The Spanish Tragedy. Other principal sources available to Shakespeare were Saxo Grammaticus’s Historiae Danicae (circa 1200), which features a popular legend with a plot similar to Hamlet, and François de Belleforest’s Histoires Tragiques, Extraicts des Oeuvres Italiennes de Bandel (7 Vols.; 1559-80), which provides an expanded account of the story recorded in the Historiae Danicae. From these sources Shakespeare created Hamlet, a supremely rich and complex literary work that continues to delight both readers and audiences with its myriad meanings and interpretations.
In the words of Ernest Johnson, “the dilemma of Hamlet the Prince and Man” is “to disentangle himself from the temptation to wreak justice for the wrong reasons and in evil passion, and to do what he must do at last for the pure sake of justice.… From that dilemma of wrong feelings and right actions, he ultimately emerges, solving the problem by attaining a proper state of mind.” Hamlet endures as the object of universal identification because his central moral dilemma transcends the Elizabethan period, making him a man for all ages. In his difficult struggle to somehow act within a corrupt world and yet maintain his moral integrity, Hamlet ultimately reflects the fate of all human beings.
Hamlet Summary


Prince Hamlet of Denmark is urged by his father’s Ghost to avenge his murder at the hands of the dead king’s brother, now King Claudius; to make matters worse, Claudius has married the widow, Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. Denmark is under threat of invasion from young Fortinbras, who seeks to regain lands lost to Hamlet’s father by Fortinbras’s father. Claudius sends word to the King of Norway (Fortinbras’s uncle) to curb Fortinbras’s aggression. In the meantime, Hamlet feigns madness with his family and friends, including his beloved, Ophelia, sister to Laertes and daughter to Polonius. Both Polonius and Laertes warn Ophelia against Hamlet’s amorous advances. Polonius believes Hamlet’s “madness” to be love sickness. Laertes is given permission to return to his studies in Paris.
Claudius directs Gertrude to try to learn the cause of Hamlet’s odd behavior; they suspect it is the old king’s death and their own recent marriage. Meantime, Claudius and Polonius eavesdrop on Ophelia and Hamlet, who spurns her and appears mad. The King reveals to Polonius his plan to send Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Hamlet seizes the opportunity presented by a traveling troupe of players to expose the King’s guilt with..
Prince Hamlet of Denmark is urged by his father’s Ghost to avenge his murder at the hands of the dead king’s brother, now King Claudius; to make matters worse, Claudius has married the widow, Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. Denmark is under threat of invasion from young Fortinbras, who seeks to regain lands lost to Hamlet’s father by Fortinbras’s father. Claudius sends word to the King of Norway (Fortinbras’s uncle) to curb Fortinbras’s aggression. In the meantime, Hamlet feigns madness with his family and friends, including his beloved, Ophelia, sister to Laertes and...

William shakespeare's Biography

Details about William Shakespeare’s life are sketchy, mostly mere surmise based upon court or other clerical records. His parents, John and Mary (Arden), were married about 1557; she was of the landed gentry, he a yeoman—a glover and commodities merchant. By 1568, John had risen through the ranks of town government and held the position of high bailiff, similar to mayor. William, the eldest son, was born in 1564, probably on April 23, several days before his baptism on April 26, 1564. That Shakespeare also died on April 23, 52 years later, may have resulted in the adoption of this...

and you can find more and more on :
http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/summary-analysis

Thank you Mr.Hush , I am so happy because you are here ..and thank you so much for your advice .
Actually, The play of Hamlet is some how difficulte but i'm trying to read it till the end.On the same time i'm reading the creticism to understand it better .please tell me: is it correct way to read creticism and the play on the same time !?,because i find it some how hard Mr.Hush..
I'm waiting your answer ..or let's say your advice to me and to all students ..please ..

My respect and best regards

Hush wrote: Enjoy your time and I wish so bad one day this play and others will be performed in our department.

My dream was shattered, we really wanted to perform the play, we even started learning our roles , but due to some circumstances we gave it up... I hope that they'll perform it and invite us. Please do it! Mr. Toufik think about Hamlet's role.

I'm sorry to interfere, Mr.Toufik what Mr. Hush said is totally true. Read the play first. You may read some background information about the Elizabethan Era, the Renaissance which may give you some insight on the milieu where the Bard ( Shakespeare) produced his plays. For me reading a plot summery or criticisms has never been a substitute for reading the whole play and drawing my own impression and understanding.
It's funny the way some critics or better say some amateur money-seekers discuss the play and publish their writings…( Ophelia is docile, submissive always saying yes to her dad
... Or how long it will take this guy to make up his mind and kill his uncle? Probably that's what you'll find) Enjoy your reading!

All my respect

thanks for mentioning the idea tofik since before the summer holidays we agreed to perform the play.Don't worry Ezinma you will be the first one to beinvited.

I've always thought of Hamlet as a Woman..until lately. you can't blame me,It sound like a woman's name!!!

Anyway I'm planing to read it, but I'm worried that I will have difficulties in the vocabulary,because shakespeare uses an "Old" vocabulary and the rhyme is making it harders to understand..
that's what I think

thank you Toufikzad