Hamlet'?what is this quintessence of dust?In Shakespeare's most famous play, a young prince, alienated and betrayed, struggles to make a decision; in a court where every friend is a spy, and every loving act somehow leads to murder, the sanest person is he who pretends to be mad. A brilliantly controlled plot, complex and convincing characters, and, above all, wonderful poetry have won Hamlet a deserved place as Shakespeare's most popular and frequently-performed play. Any young person who has been deceived or disappointed by an adult has been the young prince; anyone who has ever felt alone in the modern world has wandered the castle at Elsinore. Thus Hamlet, who asks, ?Why am I here? is a hero for our times, as well as his own. To make Hamlet more accessible for the modern reader, our Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary of the more difficult words, as well as convenient sidebar notes to enlighten the reader on aspects that may be confusing or overlooked. In doing this, it is our intention that the reader may more fully enjoy the beauty of the verse, the wisdom of the insights, and the impact of the play. |
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Contents
4 | |
10 | |
13 | |
15 | |
SCENE II | 20 |
SCENE III | 27 |
SCENE IV | 31 |
SCENE V | 34 |
SCENE IV | 80 |
ACT IV | 87 |
SCENE II | 88 |
SCENE III | 89 |
SCENE IV | 92 |
SCENE V | 94 |
SCENE VI | 101 |
SCENE VII | 102 |
ACT II | 41 |
SCENE II | 45 |
ACT III | 61 |
SCENE II | 66 |
SCENE III | 77 |
ACT V | 109 |
SCENE II | 117 |
VOCABULARY AND GLOSSARY | 129 |
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Common terms and phrases
answer arms believe BERNARDO better blood body breath cause CLOWN comes daughter dead dear death Denmark doth drink earth Elsinore England Enter Exeunt Exit eyes fair faith fall Farewell father fear follow Fortinbras friends Gertrude GHOST give grace grow GUILDENSTERN HAMLET hand hast hath head hear heart heaven hold HORATIO I'll keep KING lady LAERTES leave light live look lord madness Majesty MARCELLUS mark marry matter means mind mother murder nature needs never night noble once OPHELIA OSRIC person play players POLONIUS poor pray QUEEN question reason rest REYNALDO Roman ROSENCRANTZ SCENE SECOND seen Shakespeare's Sings sleep soul speak speech spirit stand sweet sword tell thank thee There's thing thou thought tongue true understand young