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Hamlet is a tragedy that always should be remembered for its historical background, complex characters, and iambic perimeter prose. William Shakespeare’s world famous play has been performed for many generations in theatre, film, and television. Critics have often dived deep into studying the titled character and the major events in his journey to revenge. So it only figures that this should be recognized as one of the most important pieces of literature ever written. Written between 1599 &amp; 1601, the play takes place in Denmark where the prince Hamlet grieves the loss of his father for two months while his uncle Claudius is crowned king and marries his mother Gertrude. He’s then visited by the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. This motivates Hamlet to avenge his father’s death but at a great cost with hesitation and death.

The play was inspired by many literary tales of the “hero as a fool” in Indo-European culture. Though, in many cases, Hamlet is really not a fool. One of the sources for the play was the third book of <em>Gesta Danorum (The Deeds of the Danes),</em> which tells the “tale of Amleth as he avenges the murder of his father, Horwendil, at the hands of Feng.” But probably one of the most major sources was a lost play known as <em>Ur-Hamlet </em>(the prefix <em>ur</em> means <em>original</em>) by Thomas Kyd. Also known as “The Spanish Tragedy,” this provides what would be the format for tragedies that time when Hamlet was released. However many sources this tragedy originated from, Shakespeare has taken many old sources for his plays as historians said.

Around the same time the play was being written, Elizabeth I was in bad health, which worried many people since she has no imminent heir. They believed that the country would be weakened and be seized by the Spanish whom the English defeated in battle. But everyone was relieved when James VI of Scotland took over the throne. Many take this significant event as a warning from Shakespeare. In the play Denmark is at stake with Fortinbras of Norway who desires to regain lost lands owned by his father. So in some ways, this tragedy also serves as a cautionary tale about being ruled by a foreign power. And it would take a brilliant person like Hamlet, or James VI, to settle things even if it ends up costing your life as it happened to the him.

Many of these Elizabethan tragedies have originated form Greek tragedies. One influential figure was Seneca who set up all of the norms and rules for the revenge tragedy genre. Shakespeare basically took those conventions and worked them in his work. Many trademarks from Hamlet are presented in Shakespeare’s additional tragedies such as “a five act structure, the appearance of a ghost, and long speeches known as soliloquies.” Hamlet uses those guidelines in its story, so it may not look that different from any other. However, they were major changes in the text. An example would be how usually in Elizabethan tragedies, the revenger would have an accomplice with him. In this case, Hamlet’s accomplice and close friend is Horatio. According to the guidelines, after the revenge is complete the hero would have died along with his companion. But in this case, Horatio survives in the end when Hamlet stops him from drinking poisoned wine so that he may preserved the knowledge of all of the events that occurred in the play since he was present for most of the action.

Back then when the play was first performed, it was favored by mass audiences. However, those who were critical of the play were 17<sup>th</sup> century Restoration critics who saw considered it “…primitive and disapproved of its lack of unity and decorum.” That all changed in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the play was praised by people who considered Hamlet a great hero even in the most consequential circumstances.

Today, the tragedy is now one of the most read and quotable pieces of literature in the world. It has been studied by students of middle and high school. It has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage, of course. There might not be a day going by where Hamlet is not being performed around the world. Considering how it was received in the past and the present, it is remarkable on how much people see in the title character through their point of view, though some would disagree. Nonetheless, the play continues to entrance readers and audience to show the power of Shakespeare.

In my opinion, this play is a sight to behold with what it has to offer. I first became engrossed by it when I watched various film adaptations of the play. My favorite film version of the play is by Kenneth Branagh, in which he brings out the full text version of the play on an epic scale. “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy, and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” Branagh says. While there are other good adaptations of the play, this one boosted my interest in the play and has made me revisit it more often as well as other Shakespeare plays.

“Hamlet” should be kept in memory for future generations to come because it provides a great example of Shakespeare’s writing and how the English language has evolved through the 17<sup>th</sup> century to the present. It provides a complex story of simple revenge story about madness and setting things straight in a corrupted imperative. Whether you might agree or disagree with Hamlet’s motives, some probably cannot help but be intrigued the words and the pure poetry the iambic perimeter handles. With this tragedy and his other works shown as prototypes, Shakespeare proves that he is, and always has been, the greatest writer.

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<p align="center"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Bibliography</span></p>

<ol>
	<li>Ed Friedlander, M.D. “Enjoying ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare<em>.”</em></li>
</ol>
<em> The Pathology Guy</em>. Brown University, Department of English. Web. 30 January 2005.

http://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm
<ol>
	<li><strong>2.      </strong>Vickers, Brian, ed. 1974a. <em>Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage</em>. <strong></strong></li>
</ol>
Volume one (1623 -1692). New ed. London: Routledge, 1995
<ol>
	<li>“Hamlet, Prince of Demark: A Study Guide.”</li>
</ol>
Cumming Study Guides. <a href="http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes">http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xHamlet.html#Endnotes</a>
<ol>
	<li><a href="http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341">http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/discuss/historical-context-hamlet-4341</a></li>
	<li>Branagh, Kenneth. <em>Hamlet </em>(1996). DVD.</li>
</ol>