Overview
SHAKESPEARE INTERACTIVE General Editor: Mickey Bond, President, Santa Fe New Media Advisory Editors: James L. Harner, Professor of English, Texas A & M University, Editor of World Shakespeare Bibliography and William Ingram, Professor of English, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor A unique multimedia introduction to Shakespeare s most often studied plays William Shakespeare s drama has captivated audiences for centuries. Now for the first time, users can experience the plays with all the vividness and immediacy of a live performance, combined with instantly accessible text, glossary and reference features. Each title in the Shakespeare Interactive series contains the full text of a classic Shakespeare play, complete with pop-up definitions, side-by-side commentary and detailed character profiles. Users can read the text at their own pace, taking advantage of the abundant hypertext lines over 3,000 per play then press the Play button and the text literally comes to life! An all new stereo digital recording features a professional cast, authentic period music and sound effects. Designed for use in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and public libraries that serve students. Shakespeare Interactive allows users to experience the playwright s work as never before. Finding Aids Numerous finding aids allow users to master the text quickly and easily: * The Contents page contains brief descriptions of each scene, allowing users to locate easily any event in the play. * The Characters page allows rapid access to detailed character profiles. * A Scene Index is provided for each character, detailing the play from the character s perspective while providing an inventory of every scene in which the character appears. * The Dramatic Time outline correlates the play s action with the passage of objective time. And a handy Index button appears on the screen at all times, providing instant access to every piece of information in the entire database. * The Themes page catalogs the play s principal themes, and also allows users to locate easily instances of poetic, dramatic and literary devices, e.g. sonnets, soliloquies, oxymorons, dramatic irony, etc. Summary of Features * An authoritative text based on the Cambridge edition. * Side-by-side running commentary. * Pop-up definitions of unusual words. * Comprehensive plot summaries for each scene. * Character profiles complete with Scene Index. * Unabridged narration in a radio theater-style production. * Gallery of over 100 images of actors, costumes, Shakespeare portraits, etc. (images can be printed). * Powerful Boolean full-text searching. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows: IBM-compatible computer, Windows 3.1 or higher, 4 Mb RAM, CD-ROM drive, and mouse. Color VGA Monitor with 8-bit (256 color) graphics card is recommended. A 16-bit sound card (with speakers or headphones) is required to hear audio.His father is dead. Has his mother married the killer? A ghost cries out for vengeance, but has the Prince who hears the cry gone mad? A kingdom hangs in the balance, but who can be trusted? Family, politics, blood lust, betrayal, mystery, friendship and love--each plays a role in Shakespeare's great tragedy, Hamlet. (Digest)
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Many consider the tragedy of "Hamlet" to be Shakespeare's masterpiece and one of the greatest plays of all time. It has entertained audiences for centuries and the role of Hamlet is one of the most sought after by actors. It is the story of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet's father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet's widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father's murder. "Hamlet" is a work of great complexity and as such has drawn many different critical interpretations. Hamlet has been seen as a victim of circumstance, as an impractical idealist, as the sufferer of an Oedipus complex, as an opportunist wishing to kill his Uncle not for revenge but to ascend to the throne, as the sufferer of a great melancholy, and as a man blinded by his desire for revenge. The true motivations of Hamlet are complex and enigmatic and have been debated for centuries. Read this classic tragedy and decide for yourself where Hamlet's true motivations lie and how they influence his ultimate demise.Dallas Morning News
It serves up all the tragedy, pathos, intrigue, humor and emotional impact of the original in a contemporary, but not gimmicky package.Christian Science Monitor
HAMLET ESP is not a distortion of Hamlet, but an echo that reverberates in the audience long after the curtain has fallen.San Antonio News
It's boldness, logic of interpretation, consummate theatricality and insightfulness will surely qualify the staging as unforgettable in the years to come.VOYA -
If your library's clientele is like mine, decent books of literary criticism on Shakespeare's works are always welcome. These three collections of essays written by leading authors and literary critics are designed to aid readers in forging their own evaluations of the literary works discussed. Essays in these Literary Companion Series titles date from as early as 1806 in "The Story of the Star-Crossed Lovers" (Romeo and Juliet) to the latest essay from 1997, "An Uncut Film Version of Hamlet."Each essay is preceded by a succinct summary of what will be presented, and falls into broader sections that discuss themes, plot and structure, historical context, characters, and staging and film interpretation. The same foreword appears in each title, followed by an introduction geared to the specific play, then a biographical overview of Shakespeare. The books listed in "For Further Reading" include general critical Shakespeare studies, books on Elizabethan theater, and sources about the specific play. Readings on Macbeth even lists and describes several Shakespeare societies that have information or publications that may be of interest to the reader. These titles will be welcome additions for students doing research on Shakespeare and these plays in particular. Index. Map. Source Notes. Further Reading. Chronology.
Note: this review was written and published to address three titles-Readings on Hamlet, Readings on MacBeth, and Readings on Romeo and Juliet. VOYA Codes: 3Q 1P J S (Readable without serious defects, No YA will read unless forced to for assignments, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).
Library Journal
This Hamlet struts and frets his role through moody, watercolor paintings that effectively convey both action and emotion using the classic period setting and dress. Panel boundaries and narrative flow vary on each page, manga style, which allows a striking depiction of the entire "To be or not to be" soliloquy with Hamlet striding through a vaulted, shadowed gallery. Much has been cut in the adaptation, and the continuity sometimes suffers, but what's left is all muscular and artful Shakespeare. No character cameos precede, but a brief profile of Shakespeare ends the work. This fine adaptation is suitable for teens and up and first appeared in 1990 from First Publishing/Berkley Publishing. Consider also Neil Babra's more complete Hamlet in the "No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels" series (Spark Notes), with evocative, modern black-and-white art suggesting Craig Thompson's Blankets.
—Martha Cornog