Hamlet: Prince of Denmark (The New Cambridge Shakespeare), 2nd Edition

Philip Edwards deals succinctly with the exhaustive commentary and controversy which Hamlet has provoked in the manifestation of its tragic energy. Robert Hapgood has contributed a new section on prevailing critical and performance approaches to the play in this updated edition. He discusses recent film and stage performances and actors of the Hamlet role as well as directors of the play. His account of new scholarship stresses the role of memory in the play and the impact of feminist and performance studies upon it. First Edition Hb (1985): 0-521-22151-X First Edition Pb (1985): 0-521-29366-9 Drama Cover 1 Copyright page 6 Contents 9 List of Illustrations 10 1 Suggested Elizabethan staging of the Ghost scenes (1.4 and 1.5). Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 58 2 Henry Irving as Hamlet and Ellen Terry as Ophelia in the 'nunnery' scene (3.1), as painted by Edward H. Bell, 1879 63 3 Suggested Elizabethan staging of the play-within-the-play (3.2). Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 65 4 'Now might I do it pat' (3.3.73). One of a series of lithographs of the play published by Eugène Delacroix in 1844 67 5 Possible Elizabethan staging of the graveyard scene (5.1). Drawing by C. Walter Hodges 71 6 'Do you not come your tardy son to chide?' (3.4.106). Redrawn by Du Guernier for the 1714 edition of Rowe's Shakespeare 79 7 J. P. Kemble as Hamlet, by Sir Thomas Lawrence (Royal Academy, 1801) 82 8 'Go on, I'll follow thee' (1.4.86). Forbes Robertson as Hamlet in a 1913 film 83 9 The burial of Ophelia (5.1). Modern-dress production at the London Old Vic, 1938 84 10 Kenneth Branagh's film of Hamlet 1996, with Branagh in the title role between Claudius (Derek Jacobi) and Gertrude (Julie Christie) 87 11 Simon Russell Beale as Hamlet, with Yorick's Skull, National Theatre, 2001 89 Preface 11 Abbreviations and Short Titles 12 Introduction 15 Source and date 15 The play's shape 22 The play and the critics 46 The action of the play 54 The Platform 54 'I know not seems' 55 The Ghost 57 The Antic Disposition 59 Rogue and Peasant Slave 61 'To be or not to be' 61 Play, Prayer, Murder 64 The Closet Scene 68 To England 69 The Return 69 The Silence of the Ghost 72 Hamlet and the actors 75 Names 84 Recent stage, film and critical interpretations, by Robert Hapgood 86 Film and stage interpretations 86 Critical interpretations 91 Note on the text 97 List of characters 100 Hamlet 101 Act 1 101 1 101 2 109 3 120 4 127 5 131 Act 2 140 1 140 2 145 Act 3 169 1 169 2 178 3 196 4 200 Act 4 210 1 210 2 212 3 213 4 216 5 219 6 229 7 230 Act 5 239 1 239 2 251 Reading list 270 Bibliographies 270 Histories and Analyses of Criticism 270 Anthologies of Criticism 271 Stage History 271 ( --Other Releases-- ) -1 Shakespeare;,literature;,drama;,literary,criticism Shakespeare,literature,drama,literary criticism 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. (back cover) In This Work, Philip Edwards Aims To Bring The Reader, Playgoer And Director Of Hamlet Into The Closest Possible Contact With Shakespeare's Most Famous And Most Perplexing Play. Introduction : Source And Date ; The Play's Shape ; The Play And The Critics ; The Action Of The Play ; Hamlet And The Actors ; Names ; Recent Stage, Film And Critical Interpretations / By Robert Hapgood -- Note On The Text -- List Of Characters -- The Play. Edited By Philip Edwards. Previous Ed.: 1985. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 256-258).