Hamlet's father is killed by his uncle, Claudius, who takes the throne and marries the widowed queen. The ghost of his father asks him to avenge his death by killing Claudius. Hamlet kills Polonius, Claudius' counselor, accidentally. Claudius sends Hamlet to England where he is to be killed, but he gets back to Denmark safe. Claudius and Laertes, Polonius' son, plot to kill him by poisoning a rapier and wine. Ophelia, Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's love, drowns after going mad.The queen, Gertrude, drinks the poisoned wine while watching Hamlet and Laertes duel. She falls, and while distracted, Hamlet is wounded slightly by Laertes. They have a scuffle and switch swords and Hamlet wounds Laertes. Laertes dies and Hamlet stabs Claudius when he finds out he was behind everything. Hamlet, dying, leaves his crown to Fortinbras of Norway.

This play was alright. Wasn't very easy to read, but there was a lot of action to keep one slightly interested. My sister tells me that Lion King was based on this (which makes sense).

"Give thy thoughts no tongue, nor any
unproportioned thought his act."
-Act I, Scene III, Lines 65-6

"To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand."
-Act II, Scene II, Lines 194-5

"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go."
-Act III, Scene I, Line 203

What can I say? This is my favorite of WS's plays. Although I'm not a big reader of his, I appreciate his work.

Hamlet is a young prince who sees the ghost of his dead father, telling him that the new king, Hamlet's uncle, killed him. He is told to kill his uncle to avenge his father. Those around Hamlet see him descend into madness, though whether it is feigned is of some debate.

I have had the opportunity to love Shakespeare from an actor's, reader's, and audience's point of view. This play achieves magnificence at all levels. It is my favorite work by a true genius who wrote the world as no one had even thought of doing.

Reread for class on Heroes in Literature

What can one say about Hamlet that has not already been said? I am not Harold Bloom.

Hamlet is the most convoluted character ever! But his story is interesting. I love how everything wraps up nicely in the end.

BONUS: The Simpsons' parody of this is hilarious!

Shakespeare's exploration of the human conscience - the meaning of "madness" - is what made this play so revolutionary and it is what has kept the play so popular for over 300 years. Hamlet breaks tradition from previous revenge tragedies of the jacobean, elizabethan, and classical tragedies in that Shakespeare provides a "method" for the madness. The purpose of the "ghost" of Hamlet's father remains debated today. The discussion of protestant vs catholic vs pagan beliefs is exciting.

The Arden edition is especially beneficial to students of literature or of Shakespeare because it provides excellent explanatory notes, appendices, introductions, etc.

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcumb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent murder for the crime, and there almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the Clutter muders and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy.

I'm not sure why I thought this would be more than a sensationalist true-crime book... it was very good and well-written, and the characters were portrayed as complex. But still sensationalist.
I did make me think seriously about how I feel about capital punishment.

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held at close range. Thee was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy.

I became a bit squeamish with the way Truman Capote became so close to the killers. The writing was captivating but the true story was such a sad one -- a whole innocent family killed.

Truman Capote is one of the best writers I have ever read. His passages in the opening chapters when he is writing about the family are magnificent. Can't really describe why-you should just read for yourself. He definitely got into the mind of a killer.

One of my first true crime books happened to be one of the first true crime books- In Cold Blood stands the test of time, being just as shocking when I read it as I assume it was back in 1966. Capote gets you to care for these strangers, and the level of detail really lets you know how much painstaking research put into making this. The book covers the Clutter's normal, if not perfect lives all the way to the trial and imprisonment of the murderer's, and provides an in depth psychological analysis of why the crime was committed. This has me interested in seeking out more Capote.