Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)

Whilst younger in my mid teens I remember being very troubled and somewhat puzzled by this story as I had never found any final, complete, and unambiguous meaning to it. As I started to read the story I didn’t think to begin with that Hamlet was a particularly sad Prince and he didn’t seem to me as a teenager very lonely and he certainly wasn’t mad…until one day that...more

Whilst younger in my mid teens I remember being very troubled and somewhat puzzled by this story as I had never found any final, complete, and unambiguous meaning to it. As I started to read the story I didn’t think to begin with that Hamlet was a particularly sad Prince and he didn’t seem to me as a teenager very lonely and he certainly wasn’t mad…until one day that all changed! (after his fathers’ ghost, demanding revenge came to visit him). And so, revenge was certainly the dish of the day as Hamlet invited the wandering actors to perform for the ‘new’ King and Queen a play in which he re-created his fathers’ murder. And do you know what it took me years and years to realise that it was the ghost of his father that eventually, (after becoming totally mad), killed him. For he allowed the spirit of trauma into himself, he allowed the demon to invade his memory (with the hurt of his father’s death) which in turn became a part of himself. He was lost I guess…to a very hungry ghost! (Alas Orphelia!) I believe Shakespeare certainly understood the battle to 'let go' and the madness it creates when one fails to do so…By allowing ourselves to be haunted by the past, maybe haunted by our childhood trauma and the emotional difficulties that arise from these times, we inevitably become affected to varying ways of being, and those ways, well I guess they impact upon us, in particular upon our souls. And now twenty-five years later, I can see that Hamlet was without doubt, Shakespeare's MASTERPIECE too! AWESOME!!...xx   hide

I like the fact that there is still controversy over this play. I think people forget that the idea of ghosts at that the time was that they were as real as bridges and the main question was whether the ghost was who (or what) it claimed to be, as an evil spirit or demon could have assumed Hamlet's father's form. And for the people who think he was whining, how would you feel if...more

I like the fact that there is still controversy over this play. I think people forget that the idea of ghosts at that the time was that they were as real as bridges and the main question was whether the ghost was who (or what) it claimed to be, as an evil spirit or demon could have assumed Hamlet's father's form. And for the people who think he was whining, how would you feel if the supreme ruler of your country murdered your father and shacked up with your mother, and quite possibly could have your head cut off at any time? Hamlets fears are quite justified, as he is murdered by the king's poison in the end.   hide

Finally understood it.

this is the novel which is more of live, meaning lie is worthless without a conscience

My all time favorite book by my literary lover Shakespeare. No one can tell a tale like him, and this simple tale of revenge has the most in depth look at the human psyche of any book unless you want to read Freud, but I think Shakespeare is a little more accurate. Hamlet encompasses everything you could want in a book from murder to revenge to ghosts to madness to a play within a play to comedic...more

My all time favorite book by my literary lover Shakespeare. No one can tell a tale like him, and this simple tale of revenge has the most in depth look at the human psyche of any book unless you want to read Freud, but I think Shakespeare is a little more accurate. Hamlet encompasses everything you could want in a book from murder to revenge to ghosts to madness to a play within a play to comedic grave diggers to random pirates. What more could you ask from this not really, yet maybe, crazy Prince of Denmark? Every time I read this play i discover something new on every page because there is also so many ways to read this play, every point has validity and every sentence and usually every word tells this huge story of its own. Like Falconry... ~shivers~ Millennium Falconry... teehee, Nate is amazing.   hide

Hamlet is a classic must read for any Shakespeare fan. It tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark and his tragic tale after the murder of his father by his uncle Claudius. It has everything you would want in a story. Action, drama, romance, death, mystery, suspence...you name it and this play has it. It would not do the play justice to try and sum it up in this short review, so I am recommend...more

Hamlet is a classic must read for any Shakespeare fan. It tells the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark and his tragic tale after the murder of his father by his uncle Claudius. It has everything you would want in a story. Action, drama, romance, death, mystery, suspence...you name it and this play has it. It would not do the play justice to try and sum it up in this short review, so I am recommend that if you are looking for a good read that will entertain for a long time to come, choose Hamlet!   hide

FAVORITE QUOTES: "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel..." "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, while, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own reed." "Ay, springes to catch woodcocks!" ...more

FAVORITE QUOTES: "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel..." "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, while, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own reed." "Ay, springes to catch woodcocks!" "I am but mad north-north-weat. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." "Purpose is but a slave to memory, of violent birth, but poor validity, which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree, but fall unshaken, when they mellow be..." "'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes between the pass and fell incensed points of mighty opposites."   hide

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loved it