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HamletText Overview

We will read Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a series of related critical essays. The titles, authors, and locations of these texts are indicated in the Unit Text List. Unit Readers are available through Open Up Resources.

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Simon and Schuster, 2003
  • Multimedia
    • Hamlet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition, William Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library, Simon and Schuster, 2014
  • Digital Access
    • “Get Thee to a Nunnery,” excerpt from Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh performance, Kenneth Branagh (Director), Sony Pictures
    • Ophelia, Sir John Everett Millais, Wikipedia, 1851
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from “Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge,” Aaron Shaw and Neil Pickering, BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd., 2002
    • Excerpt from “Discovering Feminism through Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet,” Zamila Abdul Rani, Siti Hawa Muhamad, and Siti Masitah, 2nd International Conference on Economics and Banking, 2016
    • Excerpt from “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism,” Elaine Showalter, Methuen Publishing, 1985
    • Excerpt from “The Real or Assumed Madness of Hamlet,” Simon Augustine Blackmore, Stratford Company, 1917
    • Excerpt from “The Sanity of Hamlet,” Tenney L. Davis, The Journal of Philosophy, 1921
    • “The Claudian Globe,” excerpt from Hamlet and the Distracted Globe, Andrew Gurr, Sussex University Press, 1978
    • Tragedy, excerpt from “A Guide to the Study of Literature: A Companion Text for Core Studies 6, Landmarks of Literature, Section II Tragedy: A Genre, Tragedy,” English Department, Brooklyn College, English Department, Brooklyn College, 2009

Optional

  • Digital Access
    • “A Brief History of Psychiatry,” Neel Burton, Psychology Today, 2012, 2017
    • “Hamlet and Elizabethan England,” Hannah Lavery, The Open University, 2016
    • Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1, Paapa Essiedu performance, Simon Godwin (Director), Royal Shakespeare Company, 2017
    • Ophelia Before the King and Queen, Benjamin West, Wikipedia
    • Ophelia, John William Waterhouse, Wikipedia
    • “To Be or Not to Be,” soliloquy from Hamlet, Andrew Scott performance, Robert Icke (Director), Almedia, 2017
    • “To Be or Not to Be,” soliloquy from Hamlet, Kenneth Branagh performance, Kenneth Branagh (Director), Sony Pictures, 1996
    • “To Be or Not to Be,” soliloquy from Hamlet, Maxine Peake performance, Sarah Frankcom (Director), Royal Exchange, 2014
    • “To Be or Not to Be,” soliloquy from Hamlet, Mel Gibson performance, Franco Zeffirelli (Director), Warner Brothers, 1990
    • “Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter,” David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor, TED-Ed, 2015
    • “Why Should You Read Hamlet?,” Iseult Gillespie, TED-Ed, 2019
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from “Hamlet: A Feminist Argument,” Steve Henderson, ThoughtCo., 2019

Text Icons

The following text icons are used in the Text pages:

Unit Reader Unit Reader Texts

Digital Access Digital Access Texts

Tradebook Tradebook Texts

Multimedia Multimedia Texts

To find digital access texts on the Internet, complete the following steps:

  1. Locate the reference information for the text (text title, author, date of publication, and publisher) found on the Text page for a unit, section, or lesson.

  2. Highlight and copy the reference information.

  3. Paste the information into a search engine.

  4. The text will appear as one of the first search results.

  5. Verify the result by comparing the reference information on the website to the information on the Text page.