Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
Perhaps the most influential of all English tragedies, the play's full title, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, was written by William Shakespeare between 1599 and 1602. The ghost of Hamlet's father calls the young prince to seek revenge on his weak uncle Claudius, who murdered his own brother and seized the throne. As if that's not enough, he also stole the heart of his dead brother's wife. A complicated tragedy-for-the-ages to reread or watch in its numerous and far-ranging adaptations. This is Shakespeare's most performed and longest play, often studied in high school grades 11-12. You might also be interested in reading Hamlet and His Problems by T.S. Eliot
Return to the William Shakespeare library.