enormous. Books upon books have been written about this great play. About an equal

amount of books, however, have been written about one character; Hamlet. A critic of

Hamlet once said, "a man set out to read all the books about Hamlet would have time to

read nothing else, not even Hamlet."

What is the great fascination with Hamlet and the characters contained

within. The great intrigue comes from the ambiguity of the play and it's characters.

"Hamlet is the tragedy of reflection. The cause of the hero's delay is irresolution; and the

cause of this is excess of the reflexive and speculative habit of the mind." (Halliday. 217)

The reason that there are so many critics is that there are just as many theories and

speculations. Even in the twentieth century on could create or "discover" a new theory or

criticism based on the play or it's characters.

The character Hamlet, alone, has over two dozen critics from Quinn to

Coleridge. Some critics come up with sane interpretations of Hamlet while others use

wild and crazy themes. Some conclude that the problem with Hamlet, and a classic thesis

used by many students, is insanity versus s

single his character down to one thesis or report would be impossible.

information loaded upon information. Where does a pupil begin? In this vast mound of

The background of Hamlet may help to bring some insight onto his

Hamlet's thought , "Be bloody or be nothing worth."

A man who is a mere "prince of philosophical speculators," as F.E. Halliday puts it,

Hamlet still begins to question why he, unlike others, have a problem

A best, no more. Sure he that mad us with such large discourse, gave us not that

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2737
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)