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Regarding this movie, Roger Ebert, from the Chicago Sun-Times, said that "at the end of this ``Hamlet,'' I felt at last as if I was getting a handle on the play". He accredits this to Branagh's skill in enriching the roles of characters beyond Hamlet; his ability to stage familiar scenes in new ways, his portrayal of Hamlet as an active participant in royal politics which makes "him less a subject for pity"; and his inclusion of scenes that are often left out in movie productions. One of the ways he enriches the roles of other characters is seen in his depiction of Claudius, played by Derek Jacobi. As Ebert notes, "in shorter versions, he is the scowling usurper who functions only as villain. Here, with lines and scenes restored, he seems more balanced and powerful". This rendition seems more like Shakespeare's productions would have been because the complexity of the characters is honored. Additionally, this version shows the importance of the play within the play that many other versions leave out. Here, "we listen to the actual lines of his play (which shorter versions often relegate to dumb-show at the back of the stage). We see how ingeniously and cleverly they tweak the conscience of the king, and we see Claudius' pained reactions". Branagh's gives credit to the intricacies of plot, like the play, the intricacies of character in his version of "Hamlet".

This bibliography briefly discusses each of Shakespeare's plays. In the section on Hamlet, the article questions his reasonability. They suggest that the play within a play used to prove Claudius sin and the ghost's honesty does not adequately answer prove either side. This is because, "enough evidence remains in the play to suggest that the Ghost may yet be a "devil" intent on "abusing" the melancholic Hamlet by exhorting him to the kind of vengeance that Elizabethan Christians believed to belong only to God or to his deputed magistrates". In regards to his rationality, they suggest that if he wanted to prove the ghost's character he would have done so upon greeting the ghost. Because he does not it is "one of many indications in the text that he fails to put to proper use what he elsewhere describes as "godlike reason." A close examination of many of Hamlet's reflective speeches, including his celebrated. Additionally, in his famous speech "to be or not to be" shows us his irrationality and emotional trauma. With such a mentality, his actions could-and do-bring about tragedy that could have been avoided. As the article notes, "there is no doubt that Hamlet uncovers and 'sets right' much that is 'rotten in the state of Denmark'. The only question is whether the play invites us to consider a set of 'might have beens' that would have permitted us to approve of the protagonist even more unreservedly than we do".

This is a short news article which explores the similarities between Ophelia and the mermaid archetype. Cohen essentially says that she resembles the mermaid archetype in the fact that she is a woman rejected on the threshold of sexual experience.

A critical view of how film adaptations change the discourse, reflexivity and meta-theatrical aspects of Shakespeare's plays. Sarah Hatchuel discusses the use of cutting and framing in Branagh's film versions and how his choices may lead the audience; but that this process, though often problematic, can still be true to the play's discourse.

"The role of Hamlet has been called the hoop through which every actor must jump, a rite of passage that confers a special kudos on the thespian who can master this most complex and subtle of Shakespeare's characters. From John Gielgud's lifelong association with the play, both as star and director, via David Warner's student prince to Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh's involvement with television and cinematic treatments, this collection examines the challenges and rewards that some of the giants of the theatre have faced when exploring the enigma of 'Hamlet'."

This is a German review of a new biography, published by the renowened Insel publishing house in Frankfurt. The author of the review is a professor for english renaissance literature at Munich university. He critizises this book which in his opinion lacks any historical evidence. The biography tries to prove once more the hypothesis that William Shakespeare was in fact Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. The author of the review calls it a "history of literature written for the 'Dan Brown Generation'": In his view it presents a highly romantic, but basically wrong reconstruction of William Shakespeare's life and works. He believes that this book must be part of a marketing strategy. This strategy aims to attract a crowd of uninformed readers who willingly rely on 'conspiracy theories'. Cp. Werner von Koopenfels, Rev. of: Kurt Kreiler, Der Mann, der Shakespeare erfand. Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford.-Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009. For another Review of "this exciting new biography", also in German, see: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-67768129.html

This is part of a back-and-forth conversation between the author and Professor Jack about whether Nash's reference to "whole Hamlets" is a reference to an earlier play; or whether it is simply a bit of imagery used by Nash in reference to the retold stories used by the playwrights of his day.

The author claims that another archetype of Hamlet is the Ovidian hero Orpheus, most obviously by both heroes' loss of their lover at the mouth of hell--literally for Orpheus, figuratively for Hamlet, whose domestic situation has become a living hell.

Michelle Lee introduces the reader to recent critics of Hamlet and what historical influences those critics believe guided Shakespeare in his writing. Among many, she references critics who read Hamlet maintaing it is guided by the Renaissance idea of skepticism to critics who have more religious readings of the play.

Archaeologists are preparing to excavate the site of Shakespeare's final home to find out more about the history of the building. The New Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was built in 1483 and is thought to be where the playwright died in 1616.

See productions at the Globe theatre in London all over the globe

This deals, obviously, with the significance of the flowers Ophelia mentions in her madness, but with a special emphasis on their significance for a contemporary Elizabethan audience.

A discussion of the variability of how Hamlet can be played, focusing on several recent (ie 2002) productions in New York City. I figure this article could be used if one were wanting to compare and contrast ultra-modern stagings of Hamlet with others from the past.

This article discusses the idea of an elective monarchy in Denmark, which obviously impacts the play's overall power struggle, in terms of how the monarchy was established in each of the play's sources.

An article that appears to catalougue and describe some of the textual sources Shakespeare used when writing Hamlet (and Romeo and Juliet.) The library wouldn't let me access it from an off-campus computer though!

"By ANTHONY TOMMASINI. Published: March 17, 2010. The Metropolitan Opera under general manager Peter Gelb is defining itself through the choice and quality, however debatable, of its ambitious new productions. Yet bringing successful existing productions of overlooked works to the Met is just as important to the company's artistic mission, not to mention a safer bet. And few operas have been as overlooked as Ambroise Thomas's 'Hamlet'."

"306 toy theatre prints portraying plays and actors in character, from the early- to mid-19th century; these prints comprise the visual materials in the William Appleton collection of theatrical correspondence and ephemera, 1697-1930."