Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Hamlet  By  cover art

Hamlet

By: William Shakespeare
Narrated by: Peter Joyce
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $10.10

Buy for $10.10

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

What listeners say about Hamlet

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!