The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
William Shakespeare, 1603 (First Quarto)
W.W. Norton & Co.
150 pp. (plus commentary)
ISBN-13: 9780393929584
Summary
In this quintessential Shakespearean tragedy, a young prince's halting pursuit of revenge for the murder of his father unfolds in a series of highly charged confrontations that have held audiences spellbound for nearly four centuries.
Those fateful exchanges, and the anguished soliloquies that precede and follow them, probe depths of human feeling rarely sounded in any art. His father is dead. Has his mother married the killer? A ghost cries out for vengeance, but has the Prince who hears the cry gone mad? A kingdom hangs in the balance, but who can be trusted? Family, politics, blood lust, betrayal, mystery, friendship and love—each plays a role in Shakespeare's great tragedy, Hamlet. (From the publisher.)