"Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark, is dead. It is said that a snake bit him while he slept in his orchard, but the ghost of the king comes back and tells Hamlet that his Uncle was the murderer. This puts Hamlet in a difficult position, because his Uncle is now married to his mother and is King of Denmark. Hamlet puts on a play involving the scenario, and the king reacts to it, meaning to Hamlet and Horatio that he is guilty. Hamlet begins to go crazy. Polonius, the father of Laertes and Ophelia (the woman Hamlet loves) is convinced that Hamlet's ecstasy is from his love for Ophelia. He determines that the queen can extract the info and hides while she does. Hamlet hears him and kills him. He then buries the body in an unholy way. The king learns of this, Ophelia drowns herself in her sorrow, and the king sends Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England. The two couriers are supposed to have Hamlet killed, but Hamlet learns of the plot and heads back to Denmark. Meanwhile Laertes learned of his father's death and returns, demanding satisfaction in terms of the crown. The king decides to plot with him to kill Hamlet. They schedule a sword play where the tip of Laertes's sword is strong poison and, to be doubly sure, the wine offered to Hamlet is also poisoned. The queen ends up drinking the wine and dies. Laertes and
Hamlet both stab each other with the poisoned sword and Hamlet, upon learning of the plot, kills the king. They all die and Horatio organizes their burial with the Prince of Norway at the end."
A masterful play, but such is too be expected from Shakespeare. I somehow escaped high school without being introduced to Hamlet and it's good that I did. I was able to make a fresh start and loved it. I understood approximately 85% of the old English used and found the story mesmerizing. The amount of dialogue taken from this play that is used in TV, movies and everyday life is amazing.
"Famous lines:
From Polonius to Laertes - ""Neither a borrower nor a lender be.""
""This above all: to thine own self be true.""
paraphrased - ""The clothes make the man.""
Hamlet to himself - ""To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
etc.""
Horation to Hamlet after his death - ""Good night, sweet prince." 

Good

It is good and has nice explanations on the side of the pages. Read full review

Review: Hamlet

Brilliant in all aspects. Read full review

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favorite shakespear. Read full review

Hamlet

Just the book on Hamlet I was looking for. The Folger edition gives explanation of terms used by Shakespeare. Very useful information as well as the great play. Read full review

Review: Hamlet

try to make up your mind Read full review

Review: Hamlet

My favorite part of this book is that I learned what a "fishmonger" was. Hahahahahahahaha. Read full review

Review: Hamlet

If you only get to read one book... Read full review