Hamlet

Hamlet, one of world’s most appraised tragedies, was written in 1601 by William Shakespeare, an English playwright and poet, considered to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Hamlet is a brilliant play that explores the highly complex personality of the title character, the crown prince of Denmark, and demonstrates themes of honour and revenge. Although Hamlet prominently displays the main characteristics of a tragedy – the eminent death of the leading characters - Shakespeare also incorporates a number of comic elements. He does this for variety of reasons. First of all, the occasional use of humour allows the audience to take a brief pause from the monotony of a depressing storyline. Secondly, via humour and riddles, the prince, Hamlet, is able to mock other people, in their presence. Finally, the comical scenes provide a valuable insight into some of the characters’ personalities.
William Shakespeare, as a clever dramatist, knew that if a play is completely filled with mel...