Hamlet

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Peter Joyce

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hamlet was written between 1597 and 1600, just after the death of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, one of twins, who died aged 11 in 1596. Despite scholarly argument that this was mere coincidence, it is impossible to believe that a writer as sensitive as Shakespeare would not be questioning the reason for the life and death of his son during those years.

This production contends that Hamlet was to a large degree shaped by the answers to those questions. In the drama a lot of advice is given by fathers to sons; the significance of life and death and the nature of man is examined; the qualities needed to make a well-rounded man fit for his adult role in the world are formulated.

The play is full of lines such as ‘to thine own self be true,’ ‘conscience doth make cowards of us all,’ or ‘give me the man that is not passions slave,’ It is clear that Shakespeare was reflecting on his own moral code which he would have passed on to his son had he lived, teaching him that life has a purpose and he must be resolute in finding purpose in his own life.

Hamlet is a lesson in how to surmount the perils of adolescence, to navigate that rite of passage to maturity. Young people should study the play - it is an education which has a particular relevance for them. The adolescent Hamlet does indeed mature and achieve resolution, yet he is destroyed. In that lies the tragedy.

Public Domain (P)2014 Assembled Stories

Awful

Download if you want to hear Hamlet yell, whine and cry through play. This actor had no subtext -- everything is on the surface. It is awful.

Entertaining rendition of a classical text

I was recommended this by a friend who teaches English Literature. The idea that the entire play could be voiced by one actor appealed to her and subsequently impressed me! The underlying theme of the play as this production conceives is the emotional pain of growth from childhood to maturity and the actor, who makes the dialogue comprehensible, convinces-most of the time! It is a wonderfully dramatic rendition [sound effects and all] from which students would benefit greatly -given the single voice surprise -although following the actual text may be a help.