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hetauuu's review
4.0
I'm not gonna be writing really in-depth reviews for books I'm reading for class, but I do intend on writing a little bit down on all my uni reads as well. I really enjoyed reading Hamlet. Who wouldn't love reading about a grown man who has the introspective skills and emotional control of an emo teen from the MySpace era? I say that with love, of course, as Hamlet is one of the best characters I've ever read about. Oh, the melodrama, boo hoo, my mother is a whore and the female sex is wretched, my uncle is a narcissistic pig and my father's ghost is my only comfort. I rolled my eyes so much every time I saw the words "enter Hamlet", but I did it lovingly so. Then there is a villain like Claudius, so cunning and evil you can hear him tapping his fingers against each other while coming up with yet another plan to mess with his poor nephew. I was sitting out here lapping up his pure evil that was practically seeping through his skin. We've got Gertrude out here pretending to be a good and caring mom when she actually just wants validation and power. Not to mention Laertes who doesn't want Hamlet to have his sister because his creepy ass wants to have her instead. Poor Ophelia. I'd drown myself too.
I'm surprised at how quickly I managed to get the gist of reading this, considering I don't really read texts that aren't in modern English, let alone plays, which I don't enjoy reading at all. But once you get sucked into this fantastic story, you barely even notice those things. This is my first time reading Shakespeare, though I have seen adaptations of two of his plays, and it was a great experience.
I'm surprised at how quickly I managed to get the gist of reading this, considering I don't really read texts that aren't in modern English, let alone plays, which I don't enjoy reading at all. But once you get sucked into this fantastic story, you barely even notice those things. This is my first time reading Shakespeare, though I have seen adaptations of two of his plays, and it was a great experience.
marince's review
5.0
reminder for myself to read this more thoroughly in the future, totally worth it.
Hamlet may be one of my fav book characters.
Hamlet may be one of my fav book characters.
ashkitty93's review
5.0
June 2019: Saw a local production. Fantastic. Deep and yet still amusing in the right places.
yarixyari's review
5.0
{Actual Rating: 4.5}
I really enjoyed it and I'm glad that I got the chance to read it cause I'm
Not a big fan of tragedies, so I normally wouldn't have picked it up :)
I really enjoyed it and I'm glad that I got the chance to read it cause I'm
Not a big fan of tragedies, so I normally wouldn't have picked it up :)
gsanta1's review
4.0
Spoiler alert:
The play doesn’t have an answer to any of the things Hamlet obsesses and ruminates on.
Shakespeare’s final answer is:
Let it be.
I think we all agree that the fun part of Hamlet is the ambiguity.
I will suggest that if this was a Sherlock Holmes story and we found proof that the King was murdered by his brother then the play would not be as good.
Hamlet escaping the pirates is what happens when an author writes himself in a corner.
Also Laertes pointing fingers at Claudius before he dies seems pointless except for it’s usefulness to the author.
After years of hearing Ophelia killed herself it was refreshing to read the ambiguity of the text.
I was disappointed to learn this play wasn’t entirely original, and is based on the Legend of Amleth.
I think it’s funny at the end Horatio cries and call on angels to sing to him. Fortinbras calls him lo loyal and bears him away on the shoulder of his shoulders.
Nobody cares about Polonius.
Nobody cares Ophelia is still burried in unsanctified grounds.
Hamlet stabbed the King but nobody else knows about Hamlets reasons.
I also think it’s funny that in a murder scene there are still so many puns.
But hey.
It’s a great play.
It’s poignant.
It’s succinct.
It’s rich in conflict.
It’s got jokes.
It’s got puns and wordplay.
It’s culturally important as you’ll see it referenced in most of English literature there after.
Edit:
Also, I wish in High School we were told there were many versions of this play.
Q1 is bad funny.
“To die, to sleep, is that all? Aye all: / No, to sleep, to dream, aye marry there it goes.”
Edit:
I listened to the podcast, Medieval Death Trip, and read a little of Symeon of Durham's History of the Church of Durham. There was a belief in the Middle Ages that ghosts could be corporeal or demon possession. This brought to mind the hesitancy of Hamlet to believe the ghost.
Edit: 8/21/21
My therapist just quoted Polonius talking to Laertes:
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
The play doesn’t have an answer to any of the things Hamlet obsesses and ruminates on.
Shakespeare’s final answer is:
Let it be.
I think we all agree that the fun part of Hamlet is the ambiguity.
I will suggest that if this was a Sherlock Holmes story and we found proof that the King was murdered by his brother then the play would not be as good.
Hamlet escaping the pirates is what happens when an author writes himself in a corner.
Also Laertes pointing fingers at Claudius before he dies seems pointless except for it’s usefulness to the author.
After years of hearing Ophelia killed herself it was refreshing to read the ambiguity of the text.
I was disappointed to learn this play wasn’t entirely original, and is based on the Legend of Amleth.
I think it’s funny at the end Horatio cries and call on angels to sing to him. Fortinbras calls him lo loyal and bears him away on the shoulder of his shoulders.
Nobody cares about Polonius.
Nobody cares Ophelia is still burried in unsanctified grounds.
Hamlet stabbed the King but nobody else knows about Hamlets reasons.
I also think it’s funny that in a murder scene there are still so many puns.
But hey.
It’s a great play.
It’s poignant.
It’s succinct.
It’s rich in conflict.
It’s got jokes.
It’s got puns and wordplay.
It’s culturally important as you’ll see it referenced in most of English literature there after.
Edit:
Also, I wish in High School we were told there were many versions of this play.
Q1 is bad funny.
“To die, to sleep, is that all? Aye all: / No, to sleep, to dream, aye marry there it goes.”
Edit:
I listened to the podcast, Medieval Death Trip, and read a little of Symeon of Durham's History of the Church of Durham. There was a belief in the Middle Ages that ghosts could be corporeal or demon possession. This brought to mind the hesitancy of Hamlet to believe the ghost.
Edit: 8/21/21
My therapist just quoted Polonius talking to Laertes:
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
viaswift's review
3.0
Read this for school.. not my favourite Shakespeare play but it was pretty good.
kaitlynp57's review
5.0
i’m pretty sure this is my favorite play by shakespeare, it’s so unforgettable. when people say that classics aren’t relatable i must disagree, because hamlet is one of the most timeless characters to exist; i love all of his sassy remarks. plus, ophelia is an amazing character and has such a tragic storyline. overall, it’s a great story with many twists and turns, and it’s quite funny as well. if you’re one of the few people that haven’t read it yet, i highly recommend you do so
readbycandlelit's review
1.0
Again, I hate Shakespeare. But we read this one in class so I kinda had to put up with the ridiculous that is Sir Hamlet. I'm not even going to write a full review.
thiscunt_likes_bo0ks's review
4.0
Writing an essay actually made me enjoy this more; it’s probably the best of Shakespeare’s plays I’ve had to study (not that I’ve particularly enjoyed them a great deal).
——
Who is she? Rating Shakespeare 4 stars? Absolutely unheard of.
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Who is she? Rating Shakespeare 4 stars? Absolutely unheard of.