Hamlet

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

5.0

Word count: 180K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hamlet by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 1, 1999

Editor's review

Hamlet needs little introduction, but what deserves note about this edition is its format: a public-domain English e-text provided by Project Gutenberg, first released in 1999, with a record still listed in 2019. Its strengths are that it is free, searchable, and easy to copy and quote, making it suitable for close reading, comparing speeches, or preparing classroom materials; its weakness is the absence of the annotations, introduction, and textual collation of a modern scholarly edition. It is therefore more a clean source text than a one-stop reading solution. For readers new to Shakespeare, going straight into this unannotated original poses a certain barrier; reading it alongside a guide or annotated edition is advisable. For readers already familiar with the plot, this edition instead offers the convenience of returning to the language itself: you can repeatedly search the context around “To be, or not to be” and observe the soliloquy's place in the whole play without being led by an editor's views. It is meant to be used, not collected.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and researchers who need a public-domain English source text for close reading and quotation
Shakespeare enthusiasts already familiar with the plot who want to return to the language itself
Teachers preparing classroom materials who need a searchable e-text
Readers with a basic knowledge of the Danish prince's revenge story who are willing to tackle the original

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no Shakespeare reading experience who need detailed annotations
Readers who want a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition
Advanced researchers seeking scholarly introductions, textual collation, and background chronologies

Reading tips

Read a plot summary or watch an adaptation first, then read the original; this greatly reduces the pressure to understand.
Extract famous soliloquies such as “To be, or not to be” and read them repeatedly against the surrounding plot.
Keep pen and paper to record character relationships and key images; Hamlet's delay is a thread worth tracing as you read.
If time is limited, read the core scene of Act III first, then go back and fill in the groundwork of the first two acts.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this edition include annotations and an introduction?

From the available information, this is a public-domain English e-text released by Project Gutenberg that mainly provides the original text; no annotations, introduction, or textual collation from a modern scholarly edition are indicated. It is advisable to use it alongside an annotated edition or introductory materials.

Can I read this edition if my English is not good?

The original is in early modern English, and reading it directly poses certain difficulties. If your English is average, first read a Chinese translation or plot summary to establish the framework, then attempt the original; you may also read alongside a page-by-page annotated edition to avoid giving up midway.

Why do you recommend extracting the soliloquies and reading them separately?

The soliloquies in Hamlet concentrate the character's reflection and emotional turning points. Extracting them and reading them against the surrounding plot makes it easier to observe the relationship between his psychological shifts and the play's structure, and also facilitates quotation and memorization.

Comments

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.