Hamlet: Arden Performance Editions - Softcover

A series that reboots the way Shakespeare's plays are printed ... I quickly came to love having notes at the same eye level as the text to which they relate. It's significantly quicker and easier to glance to the right to get a meaning, than to constantly look up and down between text and a dense pile of notes on the bottom of the page. With these books, even note-dependent reading can continue virtually uninterrupted, making them ideal for following a recorded performance or reading aloud ... Although the books in this series were created for actors and directors, their sheer vivacity and user-friendliness makes them ideal for students and teachers too. They add just enough information to bring the language to life without getting bogged down in details. * MidLifeLit * These editions are likely to help not only actors and drama students but also all amateur Shakespeareans including schools and colleges which stage the plays ... What genius to have Simon Russell Beale as a series editor along with two Shakespeare Institute academics, Michael Dobson and Abigail Rokison-Woodall. * Ink Pellet * The Arden Performance Editions so far represent a much-needed and important contribution. In such a crowded market, it is remarkable to see editions that feel so fresh, relevant, and necessary. * Studies in Theatre and Performance *

The young Prince Hamlet, returning from university, finds his Kingdom in disarray: `something is rotten in the state of Denmark'. With his father dead, and his uncle and mother marrying, Hamlet is confronted by an armored ghost, who, claiming to be the King, implores him to enact revenge upon the newlyweds and restore order to the realm. Yet, Hamlet's ability to act conflicts with his will to think: curing the rot and stabilising the kingdom will unleash a series of tragedies that threaten to ruin his entire family. Arden Performance Editions are ideal for anyone engaging with a Shakespeare play in performance. With clear facing-page notes giving definitions of words, easily accessible information about key textual variants, lineation, metrical ambiguities and pronunciation, each edition has been developed to open the play's possibilities and meanings to actors and students. Designed to be used and to be useful, each edition has plenty of space for personal annotations and the well-spaced text is easy to read and to navigate. Each edition offers: - Short, clear definitions of words - Information about key textual variants - Notes on pronunciation of difficult names and unfamiliar words - An easy to read layout with space to write your own notes - A short introduction to the play