Hamlet (Bantam Classic) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553212923 ISBN 13: 9780553212921

Publisher: Bantam Classics, 1988

Synopsis

One of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater.

Each Edition Includes:
· Comprehensive explanatory notes
· Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
· Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
· Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
· An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

About this title

Book Description

This edition tells the story of Hamlet in production, from Burbage at the Globe to Branagh on film, relating stage interpretations to developments in the theatre, in literary criticism and in society. The detailed stage history records an ongoing process of discovery, as successive performers have found what it is in the play that will speak most powerfully to the audiences of their own times. The introduction focuses not only on star Hamlets, but on whole productions of the play including supporting players and, in this century, direction and design.

From the Back Cover

In this quintessential Shakespeare 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.
The title role of Hamlet, perhaps the most demanding in all of Western drama, has provided generations of leading actors their greatest challenge. Yet all the roles in this towering drama are superbly delineated, and each of the key scenes offers actors a rare opportunity to create theatrical magic.
As if further evidence of Shakespeare's genius were needed, Hamlet is a unique pleasure to read as well as to see and hear performed. The full text of this extraordinary drama is reprinted here from an authoritative British edition complete with illuminating footnotes.
A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Classics
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0553212923
• ISBN 13: 9780553212921
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 384
• Editor: Bevington David, Kastan David Scott