Shakespeare's Hamlet (Cliffs Complete)

In the CliffsComplete guides, the novel's complete text and a glossary appear side-by-side with coordinating numbered lines to help you understand unusual words and phrasing. You'll also find all the commentary and resources of a standard CliffsNotes for Literature.CliffsComplete Hamlet covers details of the most widely produced and critiqued Shakespearean play. Written in poignant language, Hamlet contains all the elements necessary for a good tragedy, including a brave and daring hero who suffers a fatal flaw.Discover what happens to the complicated cast of characters — and save valuable studying time — all at once. Enhance your reading of Hamlet with these additional features:A summary and insightful commentary for each chapterBibliography and historical background on the author, William ShakespeareA look at Early Modern England historical, intellectual, religious, and social contextInsight into the play's classical elements and languageA character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the charactersReview questions, a quiz, discussion guide, and activity ideasA Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Web sitesStreamline your literature study with all-in-one help from CliffsComplete guides! In this quintessential Shakespeare tragedy, a young prince's halting pursuit of revenge for the murder of his father unfolds in a series of highly charged confrontations that have held audiences spellbound for nearly four centuries. Those fateful exchanges, and the anguished soliloquies that precede and follow them, probe depths of human feeling rarely sounded in any art. The title role of Hamlet, perhaps the most demanding in all of Western drama, has provided generations of leading actors their greatest challenge. Yet all the roles in this towering drama are superbly delineated, and each of the key scenes offers actors a rare opportunity to create theatrical magic. As if further evidence of Shakespeare's genius were needed, Hamlet is a unique pleasure to read as well as to see and hear performed. The full text of this extraordinary drama is reprinted here from an authoritative British edition complete with illuminating footnotes. (back cover) One of the most famous dramas of all time, Hamlet is the story of a young prince torn between his dual roles of ruler and son, between introspective moral questioning and swift action. The play is filled with action and provocative inquiry. The CliffsComplete Hamlet is a revised and expanded study edition. It contains Shakespeare's original play, a glossary, and expert commentary in a unique, 2-column format. To enhance your learning, notes and definitions appear directly opposite the line in which they occur, and a review section follows the play. This edition also introduces you to the life, works, and times of William Shakespeare. Presents summaries and commentaries, background on the author, essay topics, review questions, and other study tools for William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet." Commentary supplements the entire text of the play, and includes background information on William Shakespeare and his time, discussion questions, and review. William Shakespeare, or the "Bard" as people fondly call him, permeates almost all aspects of our society.