Hamlet (Signet Classic Shakespeare) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Sylvan Barnet (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Signet Classic Shakespeare | Publication Date: March 28, 2006

To be, or not to be-that is the question.

Perhaps Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet is a masterpiece of Elizabethan theater. In this classic, the Prince of Denmark is torn by the choices he must make to revenge the murder of his father, who has returned to him as a ghost. By emphasizing the emotional and moral dilemma facing the introspective Hamlet, Shakespeare elevates the drama above a simple revenge story. The themes of this brilliant work-those of love, family, betrayal, madness, and death-have continued to resonate with audiences throughout the centuries. This beautifully repackaged Signet Classic edition includes an extensive overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater, along with a special introduction to the play, a note on the three early texts, and sources from which the character of Hamlet was derived. Also included are dramatic criticism from the past and present, a comprehensive stage and screen history of notable productions, an up-to-date list of recommended readings, and a DVD of the BBC adaptation.

DVD INCLUDES:

The BBC Television Shakespeare production of Hamlet, starring Patrick Stewart and Tony Award winner Derek Jacobi.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, where he died in 1616. A prolific writer of poetry and drama both tragic and comic, he is routinely referred to as the greatest master of the English language, and his influence on popular culture is evident even today.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Chamberlain Bros.; Pap/DVD Up edition (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596092203
• ISBN-13: 978-1596092204
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars INCLUDES A DVD OF DEREK JACOBI'S HAMLET, September 19, 2011

By 

W. H. Pugmire "I never can be tied to raw, ne... (Sesqua Valley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hamlet (Signet Classic Shakespeare) (Paperback)

I read somewhere that the first HAMLET one sees, experiences on stage or film, remains one's favorite Hamlet. Although I have a special fondness for the cinematic beauty of Sir Laurence Olivier's cinematic presentation of the Prince, Derek Jacobi's was my first, when as a young man I sat entranced and watched the BBC Shakespeare productions on public telly. And so, although I had this Signet Classic edition in my library, I bought this edition for the DVD. But the book itself is excellent, as are all of the Signet Shakespeare. They remain my favorite mass market paperback Shakespeare because of easy-to-read presentation of the text and especially because of all the extras. For example, here is the description of the opening essay as presented on the Contents Page:

Shakespeare: An Overview vii
Biographical Sketch vii / A Note on the Anti-Stratfordians, Especially Baconians and Oxfordians xi / The Shakespeare Canon xv / Shakespeare's English xviii / Shakespeare's Theater xxvi / A Note on the Use of Boy Actors in Female Roles xxxiii / Shakespeare's Dramatic Language: Costumes, Gestures and Silences; Prose and Poetry xxxvi / The Play Text as a Collaboration xliii / Editing Texts xlix / Shakespeare on the Stage liv

This is followed by an interesting and knowledgeable Introduction by editor Sylvan Barnet, who bravely tackles this amazing play. Playfully, he writes: "So many commentators on HAMLET have written so many words on one particular question, 'Is Hamlet mad, or only pretending to be?' that Oscar Wilde was moved to ask yet another question, 'Are the commentators on HAMLET mad, or only pretending to be?'"

Some few of those myriad Commentators are presented at the end of the book:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from The Lectures of 1811-1812, Lecture XII;
A. C. Bradley, from SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY;
Maynard Mack, THE WORLD OF HAMLET;
Robert Ornstein, from THE MORAL VISION OF JACOBEAN TRAGEDY;
Carolyn Heilbrun, from THE CHARACTER OF HAMLET'S MOTHER;
Catherine Belsey, from THE SUBJECT OF TRAGEDY;
Sylvan Barnet, HAMLET on Stage and Screen.

It is these Commentaries that make this series of the plays from Signet such a joy for me. As the decades stagger forth, new editions of the series replace certain older essays with more recent ones, thus I am always buying the newer editions just for the Commentary. I imagine this series would be an ideal Introduction to they who are approaching the Bard for the first time. The DVD is a wonderful bonus: one of the finest ways to first come to Shakespeare is through excellent productions of the plays; for although he gains added potency when read as text, these are plays that come fully to life when performed.