Introduction to the play
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most popular, and most puzzling, play. It follows the form of a “revenge tragedy,” in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father’s murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Much of its fascination, however, lies in its uncertainties.
Among them: What is the Ghost—Hamlet’s father demanding justice, a tempting demon, an angelic messenger? Does Hamlet go mad, or merely pretend to? Once he is sure that Claudius is a murderer, why does he not act? Was his mother, Gertrude, unfaithful to her husband or complicit in his murder?
The Folger Shakespeare
Our bestselling editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
—Marcellus
Act 1, scene 4, line 100
To be or not to be—that is the question
—Hamlet
Act 3, scene 1, line 64
From the audio edition of Hamlet
Full recording available from Simon & Schuster Audio on CD and for download.
Hamlet in our collection
A selection of Folger collection items related to Hamlet. Find more in our digital image collection
Essays and resources from The Folger Shakespeare
Hamlet
Learn more about the play, its language, and its history from the experts behind our edition.
About Shakespeare’s Hamlet
An introduction to the plot, themes, and characters in the play
Reading Shakespeare’s Language
A guide for understanding Shakespeare’s words, sentences, and wordplay
An Introduction to This Text
A description of the publishing history of the play and our editors’ approach to this edition
Textual Notes
A record of the variants in the early printings of this text
A Modern Perspective
An essay by Michael Neill
Further Reading
Suggestions from our experts on where to learn more
Shakespeare and his world
Learn more about Shakespeare, his theater, and his plays from the experts behind our editions.
Shakespeare’s Life
An essay about Shakespeare and the time in which he lived
Shakespeare’s Theater
An essay about what theaters were like during Shakespeare’s career
The Publication of Shakespeare’s Plays
An essay about how Shakespeare’s plays were published
Related blog posts and podcasts
The Hamlet variations
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is having a moment—actually two, with A Room in the Castle and The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel) exploring Shakespeare’s characters before, during, and after the events of his greatest tragedy.
Quiz: The women in Hamlet
Try our quiz about the women in Hamlet, from Gertrude to Ophelia… and more.
Order It: Ophelia's Soliloquy in Hamlet
Try our quiz and order the lines of Ophelia’s soliloquy after Hamlet has denied he loved her and told her “To the nunnery, go.”
Teaching Hamlet
Use the Folger Method to teach Hamlet. Become a Teacher Member to get exclusive access to lesson plans and professional development.
Early printed texts
The textual history of Hamlet is complicated. The play was first published in a quarto in 1603 (Q1) that differs in significant ways from subsequent editions: it is much shorter, the “To be or not to be” speech is in a different place, and many passages appear to be jumbled. Only two copies are known to have survived, now held at the British Library and the Huntington Library. Most modern editions of the play are based on the texts of the Second Quarto (Q2), published in 1604, and the First Folio (F1), published in 1623. Q2 and F1 differ both from Q1 and from each other: there are passages that appear in one and not the other, F1 is shorter and omits most of 5.5, and there are smaller alterations throughout. Editors often choose to present a text that combines all the text that appears in Q2 and F1. The Folger Edition also combines Q2 and F1, but it indicates those parts that appear in only one of the two early texts: F1-only language is marked off by pointed brackets, and Q2-only language is set off in square brackets.
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