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Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet
 
 
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Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet [Paperback]

Kenneth Chan (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 10, 2004
Shakespeare's Hamlet contains a profound spiritual message for mankind that has been largely unrecognized for centuries. The meaning of Hamlet so perplexed critics over the last four hundred years that many finally concluded, after immense struggle, that the play lacks a binding philosophy. Nothing, in fact, is more wrong.

Quintessence of Dust now explains how Shakespeare meticulously crafted every scene to convey, through our emotional involvement in the drama, a central spiritual message. The book also explains by a single coherent theme practically every aspect of the play that has puzzled critics for centuries. It demonstrates that Hamlet is nothing short of an artistic miracle, reflected both in its poetic brilliance and in its profound meaning.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth K. C. Chan holds university degrees in Medicine and Physics, and has worked for many years as a doctor and a scientific editor. He is the author of Time and Space, an original article on the Theory of Relativity, published in the anthology Thinking on the Edge. He now devotes much of his time to writing and to the study of Tibetan Buddhism and Western Mysticism, as well as researching the interactions between spiritual traditions and the Arts and Sciences. He currently resides in Singapore.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 228 pages
  • Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 10, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 059531337X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0595313372
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational reading for those on the Road Less Traveled..., January 12, 2005
This review is from: Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet (Paperback)
Watching Shakespeare's Hamlet enacted on stage and on film over the years, like many, I have been puzzled by various aspects of the play. Is Hamlet really mad? Are we mad if we fail to understand him? Why does he appear to be so indecisive? Other than the fact that everyone is dead at the end of the play, why is Hamlet's life a real tragedy? At last, all has become much clearer to me. Kenneth Chan, a medical doctor and physicist by trade and apparently a scholar and philosopher by avocation shares his vision of the meaning of Hamlet in his book QUINTESSENCE OF DUST - The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet. Chan suggests the play is nothing less than Shakespeare's reflection on the spiritual path each human must sooner or later engage or fail to find the Truth of his or her own life.

Chan suggests several of the themes found in Hamlet also run through Shakespeare's plays `Julius Caesar' (mentioned three times in Hamlet) and `Titus Andronicus' (deals with revenge). Included among these themes are the failure to be "true to one's self" and the propensity of humans to blame others for life's shortcomings.

What is the Truth? Chan suggests the truth is this...in the end we all die, but before we do, we will find multiple ways to avoid facing the reality of this eventuality. Some of us like Ophelia conform and hide behind someone else's mores, no matter how destructive their ideas are. Some like Laertes and Polonius take refuge in status and material wealth, still others like the King seek power, no matter how many others he must crush to achieve his goal.

His book has provided me with illumination about a topic that has been a lifelong interest and I recommend it to anyone on a step wise path.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Helped me understand Hamlet's greater meaning, November 30, 2004
This review is from: Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet (Paperback)
This analysis really helped me understand Hamlet in a new way. Mr. Chan offers a very solid explanation for most of the mysteries in Shakespeare. I had a lot of "Aha" moments, while reading this book. The book helped me in my school work as well. Thank you Kenneth Chan.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Approach to Hamlet, June 11, 2009
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M. North (Mililani, HI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quintessence of Dust: The Mystical Meaning of Hamlet (Paperback)
I found this book very fascinating and enjoyable. It is a welcome addition to all my other commentaries on Hamlet. Whatever our views the approach made here is consistant, illuminating and precise. A minimal amount of the cultural, historical, Renaissance academic chit-chat is used. A clean look at the Play as a performance solidified the proper place for more academic concerns that a reading public discovers.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The opening scene in a Shakespearean play usually introduces the area of concern that the play addresses. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
spiritual desecration, artificial beautification, swearing ritual, hasty remarriage, vile phrase, two childhood friends, antic disposition, condemning others
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Julius Caesar, Player King, Hamlet Nay, Hamlet Come, Hamlet Sir, Hamlet There, Lord Hamlet, Queen Alas, Ghost Swear, Hamlet One, King Laertes, Queen Come
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Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7 books:
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Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Klingon Hamlet by William Shakespeare
 

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