Hamlet Studies

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.

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.

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.

Some great, specific strategies for decoding Shakespeare's language (applied to Hamlet)

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.

This article attempts to prove that passages from Euripedes and Aeshcylus influenced specific scenes in 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".

Search engine for editions and adaptations of Shakespeare's works (access through subscription only)

The classic look at Hamlet through an anthropological lens -- and the Tiv tribe of West Africa

A principal academic journal for the study of Shakespeare (subscription access only)

Key bibliography database for Shakespeare studies

Those interested in connections between language, religion, and performance in Shakespeare would find this article of interest.

I particularly like this concept: "Hamlet's utilization of theatre as a medium through which to reveal truth, despite his distrust of the medium and its perpetrators, makes for an interesting connection between performance and religion"

This article is a nice follow up to the material we read in the Jordan edition of Hamlet

The text of Hamlet online in a simple, accessible format.

A valuable starting point for general resources to Shakespeare from BYU's library

An excellent way to search particular words and topics within Shakespeare's plays

A well-established portal for Renaissance studies

This looks like a great site for close readings of Hamlet line by line. A good portal to other resources, too.