Advantages: poetic language
Disadvantages: some may find the ending with Fortinbras unsatisfactory

...This play is one of Shakespeare's greatest - and Hamlet's certainly one of those roles an actor dreams of. It takes the form of a revenge tragedy - a popular genre in Shakespeare's time - but being Shakespeare he manages to change it. Old Hamlet (Hamlet's father) has been murdered before the play begins. Claudius, his brother and murderer, is now king. Claudius has also married old Hamlet's widow (Hamlet's mother). Then Old Hamlet appears to Hamlet as a ghost, explains about the murder and makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death. Hamlet agrees but he is not a man of action. The play follows Hamlet's tortured attempts to spur himself into action and to kill Claudius but being a thinging man he finds it very difficult. In this play we get excellent insights into Hamlet's state of mind through the soliloquies. Themes... Read review

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Advantages: Clever, lots of blood and a wonderful death scene!
Disadvantages: Goes on and on and on and on and on- about nothing much!

...Hello! I am here to show a more negative view of the play. I studied Hamlet for my A/S Levels, and whether it is because i am younger and only studied the book for a few months, or whatever else could have put me off the play i don't know. I can honestly say that the play is extremely wonderfully written, i'll give it that, but having read many other plays and also watched many at the theatre etc.., for this to be Shakespeare's most famous play saddened me. I won't bother going into all the deatils of the play as you will have read them in other comments, but it is basically about this mid-thrity year old prince, who's father was murdered by his uncle (little did the other cast members know). Then, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him and tells him it was his uncle who had murdered him, and that Hamlet should get revenge on him... Read review

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Advantages: lots
Disadvantages: few

...First, a quick summary. Hamlet is very sad, because his father, the King of Denmark, has just died. His mom remaries soon , with his uncle Claudius. He learns that his dad has been killed and must revenge. Thanks to some sub-plots, he finally succeeds and kills Claudius. I think it's a quite interesting name, Hamlet. Shakespeare did not create this story, it is a legend in Denmark. And there were other authors who wrote about it, but most of the time they chose an other name, for instance "Antonio's revenge". Hamlet is interesting, because of its meaning. First -let refers to something delicate, something which needs protection. And Hamlet sounds like "femmelette" - it has exactly the same prononciation, the only thing is to remove the H and to put F instead. Femmelette means woman like, bodily like, which insists on the fact... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Best play ever written
Disadvantages: Language might put some off

...This is Shakespeare’s longest play, and of all Shakespearean characters, Hamlet has the most words to say. The main theme of the play is death, which is why the enduring image of Hamlet is of him holding up Yorick’s skull – a symbolic representation of humanity confronting death. In brief, Hamlet discovers that his recently deceased father was in fact murdered by his uncle who has married Hamlet’s mother and assumed the throne. Hamlet vows revenge but fails to take immediate action. As a result of his inability to act, various innocent people die until, finally, Hamlet takes his revenge but is himself killed in the process. This play revolves around the character of Hamlet, and the action and course of the play depend upon him. The basic premise of the play is that Hamlet is a man born into the wrong time... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent adaptation
Disadvantages: Shakespeare's always hard to convert

...Well I can say very few bad things about this amazing adaptation of one of Shakespeare's finest plays. The original play itself takes about three and a half hours to perform (trust me I've been a very cold producer of an outdoors perofrmance) but this 106 minute long film did the play more than justice. For those who do not know the play here is a breif synopsis. It is a dark time in the Kingdom on Denmark - The King Hamlet is dead. His son young Hamlet has returned form University to find that his mother has remarried already but not only that, she has married her husband's brother. Now that Hamlet's uncle is the King understandably Hamlet is angry and cofused. He feels his mother has betrayed the memory of his father, a notion which is only fuled by the strange sightings of his father's ghost. When Hamlet speaks to the ghost... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: different interpretations of the character of Ophelia
Disadvantages: not applicable

...One critic suggests th