An edition of Shakespeare's tragedy about King Leontes, who, after wrongly accusing his wife of infidelity, sets in motion a terrible chain of events with unexpected results.

This Norton Critical Edition includes: • The Second Quarto text, edited by Robert S. Miola and accompanied by his footnotes, headnotes, and introductory materials. • Eighteen illustrations from 1604 to 2008, three of them new to the Second Edition. • The Actors’ Gallery, presenting actors―from Sarah Bernhardt and Ellen Terry to Kenneth Branagh and David Tennant, two of them new to the Second Edition―reflecting on their roles in major productions...

Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece...