Episode 192:

And so, we come to perhaps the biggest challenge in all of Shakespeare's work, ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark’.  Over the next two episodes and a special guest episode I hope I can get close to doing this monumental play justice.

The dating of the play and the complication of the ‘ur-Hamlet’

The early print history of the play and the three versions

The possible sources for the play

The opening of the play

The character and significance of Fortinbras

The character of Polonius

The ghost of Hamlet’s father and the responsibility of revenge

The position and character of Ophelia

Ophelia and the meaning of flowers

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – appearances and honesty

The players and their play as an insight to acting genres and techniques of the time

The success of ‘The Murger of Gonzago’

The centrality and irony of Claudius at prayer

Hamlet, Gertrude and the ghost

Part two of this review of ‘Hamlet’ will follow as episode 194 (season 6 episode 81) 

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