Product Description

Hamlet's combination of violence and introspection is unusual among Shakespeare's tragedies. It is also full of curious riddles and fascinating paradoxes, making it one of his most widely discussed plays. Professor Hibbard's illuminating and original introduction explains the process by which variant texts were fused in the eighteenth century to create the most commonly used text of today. Drawing on both critical and theatrical history, he shows how this gusion makes Hamlet seem a much more 'problematic' play than it was when it originally appeared in the First Folio of 1623. The Oxford Shakespeare edition presents a radically new text, based on that First Folio, which printed Shakespeare's own revision of an earlier version. The result is a 'theatrical' and highly practical edition for students and actors alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #251746 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Undoubtedly the most famous of all of Shakespeare's plays, Hamlet remains one of the most enduring but also enigmatic pieces of western literature. The story of Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, his tortured relationship with his mother, and his quest to avenge his father's murder at the hand of his brother Claudius has fascinated writers and audiences ever since it was written around 1600.

For many years interest focused on both Hamlet's inability to avenge his father's death, claiming that "the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought", and, according to none other than Freud, his oedipal fixation with his mother. However, more recently critics have turned their attention to Hamlet's bold theatrical self-reflexivity (most famously reflected in the performance of "The Mousetrap"), its fascination with issues of theology and Renaissance humanism, and its dense, complex poetic language. What is so remarkable about the play is the way in which it tends to uncannily reflect the concerns of different epochs. As a result, Hamlet has been at different moments defined as a romantic rebel, an angst-ridden existentialist, a paralysed intellectual and an ambivalent New Man. Whatever subsequent generations make of Hamlet, they are unlikely to exhaust the possibilities of this most extraordinary play. --Jerry Brotton

Review
"For those whose scholarship extends beyond the usual one-volume editions, this Hibbard Hamlet will prove the most fascinating of the decade."--Reg Saner, University of Colorado, Boulder

About the Author
G. R. Hibbard is dead

Customer Reviews

Best footnotes I've ever seen.
Very easy to follow and wonderfully simply explained textual footnotes make this a very user friendly Hamlet.

Best Version of the Best Play!
Great version of the classic with incredibly detailed footnotes and a clear and well presented text. Hamlet is not only the greatest of Shakespeare's plays but one of the greatest books in the English language; beautifully written, flawlessly structured, with a dozen deftly woven subplots all open to countless interpretation. At times you can almost taste the words in your mouth like honey. What more could any literate human being want from fiction? And remember, Shakespeare was written to be spoken, so lock all the doors, sit down and read it out aloud.

I Loved This Book!!!
This book is an excellent way to read Shakespeare. The many "Foreign" words and phrases of old english are explained on the facing page. Shakespeare is not that difficult to read, it just takes some practice. This book helps a lot.