Facts on Hamlet

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Facts on Hamlet

Title: Hamlet

Published: It was written in the late 1500s. It has been on national stages since 1589, and the earliest known publications date back to the years 1600 and 1601.

Biographical Information: Biographical Information: All though much is not known about Shakespeare the man, there is numerous speculations about Shakespeare the playwright. He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. At the age of eighteen he married Anne Hathaway and had three children, Susanna, Hamlet, and Judith. William Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays and over one hundred and fifty poems which are renowned for their wisdom, knowledge of human nature, and genius

Genre: Classical Drama

Characteristics of a Genre: This is a dramatic tragedy, highlighting the fall of a great leader/character.

Setting: The date in which the play took place is unknown, however it is believed to have been during the later parts of the 1500s during Shakespeare's life span. Although the exact date is unknown and to this day remains a mystery, the setting is revealed. The play underwent in Denmark and it's neighboring states.

Characters: King Hamlet - The original king of Denmark who is Hamlet's father, and the husband of Gertrude. He is betrayed and murdered by his jealous brother, and later appears throughout the play to guide his son Hamlet in the quest for revenge and answers. He was Hamlet's father, and that was his relation to Hamlet.

Hamlet - Son of Queen Gertrude, and King Hamlet, and later King Claudius (Who is his uncle). He is the main character who undergoes the most drastic changes of them all, psychologically. In the beginning he questioned all, but by the end after his journey had been cleared up he acted upon instinct and want, ultimately succeeding.

Claudius - Jealous brother of King Hamlet, who acts upon his jealousy and dumps poison in the King (his brother's) ear and takes his life so that he may become king. He is now the father of Hamlet and the husband of Queen Gertrude. His jealousy and all around evil causes him to lose his life in the finality. He was Hamlet's uncle and new father, who was responsible for his real father's death.

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