Hamlet (Wordsworth Classics)

Edited, Introduced and Annotated by Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex

The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series offers a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing incorporates recent scholarship while providing the material with a careful reappraisal.

About Hamlet

Hamlet is not only one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, but also one of the most fascinatingly problematical tragedies in world literature.

• First performed around 1600, this gripping and exuberant drama of revenge is rich in contrasts and conflicts:
  • Violence alternates with introspection.
  • Melancholy is juxtaposed with humour.
  • Subtlety is paired with spectacle.
• The Prince, Hamlet himself, is portrayed as a complex, divided, and introspective character. His reflections on death, morality, and the very status of human beings have led to him being described as ‘the first modern man.’

Cultural Relevance

Countless stage productions and numerous adaptations for cinema and television have demonstrated the continuing cultural relevance of this vivid, enigmatic, profound, and engrossing drama.