Folger Shakespeare Library: Hamlet

Leserrillen im Rücken, Namenseintrag und Überreste eines Ex-libris-Aufklebers auf der ersten Innenseite, einige wenige Eselsohren und Bleistiftunterstreichungen
insgesamt ein gutes Schmökerexemplar

Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most popular, and most puzzling, play. It follows the form of a “revenge tragedy,” in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father’s murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Much of its fascination, however, lies in its uncertainties.

Among them: What is the Ghost—Hamlet’s father demanding justice, a tempting demon, an angelic messenger? Does Hamlet go mad, or merely pretend to? Once he is sure that Claudius is a murderer, why does he not act? Was his mother, Gertrude, unfaithful to her husband or complicit in his murder?

The authoritative edition of Hamlet from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

- freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
- newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
- scene-by-scene plot summaries
- a key to the play’s famous lines and phrases
- an introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language
- an essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
- images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books
- an annotated guide to further reading

Shakespeare, annotated, Folger Library