Shakespeare's Hamlet
Introduction
Hamlet was written around the year 1600 in the final years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who had been the monarch of England for more than forty years and was then in her late sixties. William Shakespeare began writing as a playwright during the 17th and 18th centuries and was considered a pioneer for what is now known as "Middle English," Some of his greatest works were his plays; one in general is the tragedy Hamlet. The play is home to many of Shakespeare's quotable quotes. In Act I, Scene II (129-158), the reader is introduced to Hamlet's first important soliloquy. Hamlet speaks these lines after enduring the unpleasant scene at the court of Claudius and Gertrude, then being asked by his mother and stepfather not to return to his studies at Wittenberg but to remain in Denmark, presumably against his wishes. Here, Hamlet thinks for the first time about suicide (desiring his flesh to "melt", and wishing that God had not made......
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Approximate Word Count: 713
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |