Perspectives

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet can be put into perspective in many ways. On the following pages, we go into the various literary sources which Shakspeare most likely used for his play; the play’s historical context of the Renaissance; and the reception which the play got, as well as the adaptations it has sparked over time.  

Here you can read an extract from our study guide:

Currently, Hamlet is one of the most frequently performed plays in the theater. Sometimes the textual basis is followed extremely closely, sometimes an experimental and modern production is put on stage.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the play has also conquered television. In 1921, the drama was first filmed by directors Sven Gade and Heinz Schall. The leading role was played by actress Asta Nielsen. The fact that Hamlet is played by a woman is not a purely an artistic choice: The film was based on the thesis of the Shakespeare scholar Edward P. Vining, which claimed that Hamlet was actually born a girl but had to pretend to be a boy for political reasons. While the thesis has little persuasive power, it shows how many myths and approaches circulate in Hamlet studies.

The first film adaptation has been followed by more than fifty others up to the present. The most famous among them is certainly that of the British director Kenneth Branagh from 1996, who took Shakespeare's original dialogues unabridged, but moved the action to the 19th century. Moving Hamlet to another time setting is a recurring device in its reception. For example, an American film adaptation by Michael Almereyda had the action moved to the year of its release, 2000, and the story was set in New York.

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