Hamlet was completed in 160 1, which is the highest achievement of Shakespeare's drama creation and the biggest subject of Shakespeare's research. Because of the profundity of his tragedy, the complexity of Hamlet's character, the high generalization of human life, and the richness and perfection of tragic art and language art, it has been shocking the hearts of readers all over the world for nearly 400 years.
Belinsky called Hamlet "the king of dramatic poets" and "the most brilliant Jin Gangzuan" in the crown. According to the statistics of UNESCO, Hamlet is the most popular drama in the world today. During the period of 1979- 1985, its play was published in 92 editions.
The real classics will not be buried by the dust of time. On the contrary, just like old wine, the older it gets, the more intoxicating it becomes. Hamlet is such a work.
Reading focus
This book describes the irreconcilable contradiction between Danish prince Hamlet and reality, as well as his hesitation, sadness and frustration in the process of revenge and the result of his tragic failure, which profoundly reflects the strong desire of humanists to break through the shackles of feudal forces. The story is complicated and the language is lively, which is Shakespeare's masterpiece.
Brief introduction of the author
1born on April 26th, 564, unknown. 1665438+ He passed away on April 26th, 2006, which is famous all over the world. During his 52-year career, he left the world with 37 plays, a volume of sonnets and two narrative poems. His plays are still performed all over the world. Every year on his birthday, many countries will stage his plays to commemorate him. Marx called him "the greatest dramatic genius". He is william shakespeare, the most outstanding artist in the English Renaissance. He was the greatest playwright and representative of outstanding humanists in Britain during the European Renaissance. He gave a vivid and in-depth description of British society in the historical turning point of the decline of British feudal system and the primitive accumulation of capitalism.
1592, Henry VI, the first play of Shakespeare's plays, was published, which caused a sensation in Diana Francis Theatre, which had been depressed for many days, and the box office revenue reached the peak of the whole performance season. "Henry VI" was a blockbuster, and young Shakespeare finally found himself and saw a brilliant future. He constantly explores the journey of life and the new world of English literature. After Henry VI became famous at one fell swoop, famous works such as Richard III, Richard II, Henry V, Henry IV, Hamlet, Othello, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet were born one after another. Hegel once said: "Shakespeare is a master who illuminates everyone, not only in the field of tragedy, but also in the field of comedy." With his own creative practice, he broke the prevailing "three unifications" mode in the drama world and creatively developed drama. Shakespeare tells the world with his outstanding creative genius and brilliant achievements: he is a great pioneer unprecedented in the literary world!
Shakespeare's grave is now next to a small church in his hometown, where tens of millions of people visit like pilgrims every year. Seven years after his death, his friend published his first drama collection. Ben Jonson, a famous dramatist, wrote an inscription for this drama collection, saying that Shakespeare "does not belong to one era, but belongs to all centuries".
As a precious heritage of British culture, Shakespeare has spread all over the world like air, and he has great vitality and endurance. More than 400 years after Shakespeare's death, British BBC TV station awarded him the title of "man of the 20th century" for his supreme position in the media.
Shu Hai navigation
Writing background
Hamlet's story is based on a Danish history at the end of 12, written by a French writer in 1576. 16 In the mid-1980s, there were many plays adapted by Shakespeare's contemporary playwrights on the London stage. 160 1 year, Shakespeare adapted a feudal revenge story in the Middle Ages into a tragedy with a strong anti-feudal consciousness, and the image of Hamlet became one of the famous artistic models in world literature.
When Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Britain was "an upside-down chaotic era". At this time, the court was wasteful, the society was in turmoil, and the contradiction between the royal family and the bourgeoisie became more and more acute. Shakespeare deeply felt that there was an unsolvable contradiction between his humanistic ideal and the British reality. He began to reveal this contradiction in Hamlet. Through this ancient story of court vendetta, he mercilessly exposed the autocratic dynasty headed by Claudius, and gave warm appreciation and deep sympathy to the humanist Prince Hamlet's struggle against feudal tyranny. This outstanding tragedy still touches and inspires the world today.
Content essence
Hamlet embodies Shakespeare's ideological characteristics and creative achievements, and is regarded as his masterpiece. The play tells the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, taking revenge on his uncle who murdered his father, cheated his mother and usurped the throne. Hamlet is a typical image of the author's humanistic ideal. By describing the irreconcilable contradiction between Hamlet and reality, his hesitation, sadness and frustration in the process of revenge, and the tragic ending of his tragic failure, the play profoundly reflects the strong desire of humanists to break through the shackles of feudal forces, and also reveals the limitations of the early British bourgeoisie. Hamlet affirmed life, praised life, pursued sincere friendship, sought pure love and longed for equality and freedom. Moreover, he himself is "the eyes of courtiers, the arguments of scholars, the sword of soldiers, a wonderful flower expected by the country, a mirror of the times and a model of human relations", a man with perfect moral character and a newcomer with humanistic ideals. However, the ugliness of reality shattered his humanistic ideal, and he fell into hard thinking. He was at a loss, and finally he stabbed Claudius and the ugly reality. However, individual heroic behavior alone can not bear the responsibility of "rectifying Gan Kun", which leads to the inevitable tragic result.
In Hamlet, three revenge plots are intertwined, with Hamlet as the main line and Laertes and Fortinbras as the secondary lines. The three lines are interrelated and set off against each other. In addition to the plot of revenge, the play also wrote the unfortunate love between Hamlet and Mr. Phil Jia; Write the sincere friendship between Hamlet and Horatio and the betrayal of Hamlet's friendship by Rosen Glanz and Gierden Stern; He also wrote about the relationship between the father, son and brother of the Polonius family, the commander. All these have played a role in enriching and promoting the main plot.
Hamlet describes a wide range of life, from the palace to the family, from the boudoir to the cemetery, from the guards of the sergeant to the resistance of the people. When describing life, Shakespeare often breaks through the discipline of classical drama and combines comedy factors with tragedy factors, such as the tragic scene of filia drowning, followed by the scene of the grave digger being silenced. This "wonderful mixture of sublime and humble, terrible and ridiculous, hero and clown" is one of the characteristics of Shakespeare's tragedies praised by Marx and Engels.
Shakespeare is a master of language. There are both elegant poetic language and vulgar prose language in the script, which can meet both profound philosophical arguments and humorous words in the market. His language is often vivid metaphors and metaphors. In Hamlet, Shakespeare also makes full use of the traditional technique of "monologue" to reveal the inner activities of the hero, which makes his character more profound and rich. There are six important monologues of the protagonist in the whole play, some of which are dramatic and some are full of philosophy, but they all help to reveal the character. Shakespeare uses different languages according to the identity and situation of the characters, either elegant or vulgar, or philosophical or lyrical, in order to help express the characters better. Claudius and Polonius, Laertes and osric, Quinn and Mr. filia, Hamlet and Horatio all used the correct language. The same Hamlet, when playing the fool, spoke a different language in peacetime. In addition, Shakespeare's dramatic language is rich in variety and vocabulary, and the characters' language is very personalized. He is good at using metaphor and figurative language, and his plays mainly use poetic style, which is also a clever combination of poetry and prose.
Status influence
Hamlet is a very successful artistic image and is known as the "melancholy prince". In Hamlet, Shakespeare closely combines colorful characters, lively language and dramatic plot, which is natural, vivid and fascinating. Marx and Engels are both lovers of Shakespeare's plays, and they both spoke highly of Hamlet. According to Paul Laffargue's memory, Marx called Aeschylus and Shakespeare, the ancient Greek tragic poets, the two greatest dramatic geniuses of mankind.
Selected Chinese
■ gold! Yellow, shiny, precious gold! It can turn black into white, ugly into beauty, humble into noble, old people into teenagers, cowards into warriors.
To be or not to be, this is a question worth thinking about; Which is more noble, silently enduring the cruel and sharp arrow of fate or standing up against the endless suffering of the world and sweeping it away through struggle?
■ What a great masterpiece human beings are! What a noble reason! What a great power! What a beautiful instrument! What an elegant move! How like an angel in behavior and how like a god in wisdom! The essence of the universe! The spirit of all things!
Famous tour guide
Such a work cannot be read only once; You should read it before reading it. Unlike best-selling novels, it is an inexhaustible treasure. Shakespeare is not composed of 37 plays; It consists of more than 370 scripts, because Hamlet will become another Hamlet with your age and rich life experience.
-"Lifelong Reading Program"
In Hamlet, the grievances of ghosts, the delay of the protagonist's revenge, the scenes in the play and the ending of bloodshed all belong to the traditional tragic means of revenge, but the work has made great achievements in characterization and ideological content exploration. Hamlet has lofty ideals and profound thoughts, and he is determined to reorganize Gan Kun in an era of "broken festivals". But he was addicted to meditation, remorse, self-doubt, depression and loneliness, so he postponed his revenge plan again and again. He embodies the advantages and disadvantages of humanists in the Renaissance, their confusion, contradiction and pain, and reflects the crisis of humanism at the beginning of16-17th century. Hamlet's depression is of significance beyond time and space, and he has become an immortal typical image in world literature.
-China Encyclopedia.
Hamlet is as real as every one of us. But greater than us. He is a giant, but he is also a real person. Because Hamlet is not you or me, but all of us. Hamlet is not a man, but a man.
Hugo
Hamlet is one of us. We may cross the road every day. The thought of torturing him tortures us every day, and the choices he faces are what we have to face every day. To be or not to be is a philosophical proposition, and it is also every specific event and trivial matter in life.
-the famous director Lin Zhaohua.
think
There is a famous saying in the west: "For a thousand spectators, there are a thousand Hamlets." Hamlet is a mystery. In order to solve this mystery, Chinese and foreign scholars have made different text understanding and meaning interpretation from the perspectives of literature, psychology, history, personality and image. The significance of Hamlet is that different people can cut in from different angles and do unique research. Today, we are facing Hamlet, not a prince of revenge and justice, nor a hero of humanism, but ourselves. After reading Hamlet, try to think about the meaning of your existence and how to face yourself.
Extended reading
Othello (one of Shakespeare's four tragedies)
Mcpace
King Lear (especially recommended)