The First Quarto of Hamlet (Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author), Kathleen O. Irace (Editor) "FIRST SENTINEL Stand! Who is that?..." (more)
Key Phrases: short quartos, first quarto, this edn, Prince Hamlet, First Quarto, The Murder of Gonzago (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The first printed text of Shakespeare's Hamlet is about half the length of the more familiar second quarto and Folio versions. It reorders and combines key plot elements to present its own workable alternatives. This is the only modernized critical edition of the 1603 quarto in print. Kathleen Irace explains its possible origins, special features and surprisingly rich performance history, and while describing textual differences between it and other versions, offers alternatives that actors or directors might choose for specific productions.

Book Description
The first printed text of Shakespeare's Hamlet is about half the length of the more familiar second quarto and Folio versions. It reorders and combines key plot elements to present its own workable alternatives. This is the only modernised critical edition of the 1603 quarto in print. Kathleen Irace explains its possible origins, special features and surprisingly rich performance history, and while describing textual differences between it and other versions, offers alternatives which actors or directors might choose for specific productions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521653908
• ISBN-13: 978-0521653909
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,014,991 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "To Be Or Not To Be, Ay, There's the Point...", June 17, 2000

By	Mark V. Moorhead (Glendale, Arizona) - See all my reviews

...Yep, that's how the line goes in this early, pirated, "bad quarto" edition of the greatest masterwork in the history of English drama, assembled and published on the sly in 1603, probably from the memories of actors who had appeared in the original production of the show. This edition is a cause for non-academic Shakespeare geeks everywhere to rejoice--it's a general-reader's version, highly affordable, copiously annotated, with an intelligent introduction. While no one will ever suggest that this text is on a level with the magnificent First Folio "Hamlet," it still has theatrical merits all its own--a quicker pace, a simpler, less dilatory structure, and, at times, a fiercer, more pungent sense of language: "Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I" here becomes "Why, what a dunghill idiot slave am I." Reading it gives a fascinating new perspective on the most towering achievement of English-language tragedy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His father murdered, and a Crown bereft him..., October 7, 2002

By	Tim Sheridan, Theatre of NOTE (Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is - without question - the essential edit of Q1 Hamlet. Ms. Irace presents in the clearest way to date the several arguments for origin, being careful not to tip her hand in any one particular direction. The introduction is a revelation, the annotations are superb and unmatched, and the modernisation of the language is most unobtrusive. This is the kind of work that will inspire and invigorate the artistic and academic masses to accept Q1 not as "the bad quarto," but as an elemental part of the Hamlet legacy...