References to Hamlet
Encyclopedia
Numerous references to Hamlet
in popular culture
(in film, literature, arts, etc.) reflect the continued influence of this play, which is probably the most popular of Shakespeare's plays, judging by the number of productions.
It has been argued that there are, effectively, only thirty-some-odd unique plots in all of literature (Romeo and Juliet
has probably inspired more tragic love tales than any work in the history of literature). Hamlet is not as easy to copy as other plots, but it has been done.
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
(in film, literature, arts, etc.) reflect the continued influence of this play, which is probably the most popular of Shakespeare's plays, judging by the number of productions.
Plays
(Ordered alphabetically)It has been argued that there are, effectively, only thirty-some-odd unique plots in all of literature (Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
has probably inspired more tragic love tales than any work in the history of literature). Hamlet is not as easy to copy as other plots, but it has been done.
- In the Reduced Shakespeare CompanyReduced Shakespeare CompanyThe Reduced Shakespeare Company is an American acting troupe that writes and performs unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of huge topics.- Overview :...
version of The Complete Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), the entire second act is their folded, spindled, and mutilated version of Hamlet. For an encore, they perform the 45-second version of Hamlet, followed by the 3-second version, followed by the 45-second version backwards.*Paul Rudnick's 1991 play, I Hate HamletI Hate HamletI Hate Hamlet is a dramatic comedy written in 1991 by Paul Rudnick. Set in John Barrymore's old apartment in New York City - at the time, the author's real-life home - the play follows successful television actor Andrew Rally as he struggles with taking on the dream role of Hamlet, dealing with a...
, tells the story of a TV actor from L.A. who gets talked into doing Hamlet for Shakespeare in the parkShakespeare in the ParkShakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
in New York. He rents John Barrymore's old apartment, and is soon haunted by the ghost of Barrymore himself.*Richard Curtis's Skinhead HamletSkinhead HamletThe Skinhead Hamlet is a short parody of the play Hamlet by Richard Curtis, a co-author of Blackadder.According to the editor's note, the play is intended "to achieve something like the effect of the New English Bible"....
, a brief, very rudeRudeRude has many meanings:Behavior*Rudeness, disrespect for and failure to behave within the context of a society or a group of people's social laws or etiquettePeople*François Rude , a French sculptor...
, parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the play which, according to the editors, is meant to be:
-
- "Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. Our hope was to achieve something like the effect of the New English Bible. --Eds."
- Less Blessing's play, FortinbrasFortinbrasFortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and its subjects...
, covers the beginnings of Fortinbras' reign in Denmark immediately following the events of "Hamlet." Fortinbras is experiencing difficulty assuming the crown; Horatio attempts to get Fortinbras to tell Hamlet's story; the other characters (Hamlet, Polonius, Ophelia, etc.) all haunt Fortinbras as ghosts. - There is a one act play entitled Something's Rotten in the State of Denmark, which heavily spoofs Hamlet. It basically shows how bad Hamlet can get.
- Less Blessing's play, Fortinbras
- "Shakespeare's play translated into modern English. Our hope was to achieve something like the effect of the New English Bible. --Eds."
Film
(Ordered alphabetically)- In "24 Hour Party People", Tony Wilson quotes the T.S. Elliot poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" claiming, "I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be" when he discusses missing crucial information in his own semi-biographical film,
- Egyptian director Youssef ChahineYoussef ChahineYoussef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...
frequently cites from Hamlet in his films. His films Alexandria... Why? (1978) and Alexandria... New York(2004) feature performances of soliloquies. In Alexandria Again and Forever (1990) Hamlet appears as a film within the film.
- The 2006 Chinese film The Banquet (also known as Legend of the Black Scorpion)has a storyline closely based on the story of Hamlet.
- In the 2009 animated movie CoralineCoraline (film)Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion 3D fantasy/horror children's film based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 novel of the same name. It was produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features. Written and directed by Henry Selick, it was released widely in US theaters on February 6, 2009, after a world premiere at...
, two characters deliver part of Hamlet's: "What a piece of work is a man" speech while performing a trapeze act. - In The Empire Strikes Back, the fifth episode of the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
saga, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) tries to reassemble the droid C-3PO's body while imprisoned in Cloud City. At one point, Chewbacca holds C-3PO's head in much the same way that Hamlet is traditionally depicted as holding Yorick's skull. This reference was intentional on the part of the director. - In Ingmar BergmanIngmar BergmanErnst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's Fanny and AlexanderFanny and AlexanderFanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish fantasy drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes. A 188-minute version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the...
, the children's father is rehearsing the part of the Ghost for a production of the play when he dies, and then appears to Alexander later in the film as an actual ghost. The play's plot is also referenced in other ways, including Alexander's hatred for and confrontation with his new stepfather. A character even explicitly tells Alexander that he is not Hamlet.
- Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
has a short entitled, The Fifteen Minute Hamlet, which includes Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
in the cast. The fifteen minute version is followed by an even shorter version. - The play has been referenced in the 2003 remake of Freaky FridayFreaky Friday (2003 film)Freaky Friday is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. It stars Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman and Jamie Lee Curtis as her mother. In the film their bodies are switched due to an enchanted Chinese fortune cookie...
. In an English class, the play is discussed, and in the course of the scene, the quote from the 1948 film starring Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
is used as the answer to the question "Describe the character of Hamlet." The answer: "A man who couldn't make up his mind." - In Gettysburg, Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain recites Hammlet's speech "What a piece of work is man. How infinite in faculties and form, and movement... How express and admirable. In action how like an angel" while discussing slavery. To which Sergeant Kilrain responds "Well, if he's an angel, all right then... But he damn well must be a killer angel."
- The 1995 film Green Eggs and Hamlet retells the story of Hamlet entirely in rhyming couplets, mimicking the style of the book Green Eggs and HamGreen Eggs and HamGreen Eggs and Ham is a best-selling and critically acclaimed book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it was the fourth-best-selling English-language children's book of all time....
by Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
. - The 2008 film Hamlet 2Hamlet 2Hamlet 2 is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron Ryder. Hamlet 2 was filmed primarily at a high school in...
briefly mentions Hamlet merely as a device to be a companion with Jesus in a time machine. otherwise from that, there are very few similarities. - The plot of 2011 Indian Malayalam film KarmayogiKarmayogi (2011 film)Karmayogi is a Malayalam film directed by V. K. Prakash, and starring Indrajith, Nithya Menon, Padmini Kolhapure, Saiju Kurup, Ashokan, Thalaivasal Vijay and Manikuttan. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Indrajith plays the protagonist in the film. While R. D...
(English: The Warrior) is adapted from Hamlet. It is so far the only Indian adaptation of the tragedy. - Themes and plot elements from the Disney film The Lion KingThe Lion KingThe Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
are inspired by Hamlet. - The horror movie A Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
features a dream sequence where the teenage heroine is in class listening to another student recite dialogue from Hamlet, "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." - The movie Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
allused to Hamlet by quoting directly from the play: "Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move . . ." and "words, words, words." - The Ninth ConfigurationThe Ninth ConfigurationThe Ninth Configuration, is an American-made film, released in 1980, directed by William Peter Blatty...
featured mentally ill soldiers in an asylum, one of whom wants to stage an all-dog production of Hamlet — the title role, of course, going to a Great Dane.
- In both the musicalThe Producers (musical)The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
and 2005 film adaptationThe Producers (2005 film)# "Overture" - Orchestra# "Opening Night" - Opening Nighters# "We Can Do It" - Max and Leo# "I Wanna Be a Producer" - Leo, Accountants, Mr. Marks and Dancing Chorus Girls# "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" - Franz, Max, and Leo...
of The ProducersThe ProducersThe Producers commonly refers to Mel Brooks' series of comedic works about two con-men who attempt to cheat theater investors out of their money, only to have the scheme improbably backfire:...
, Max Bialystock's musical "Funny Boy" closes on opening night. It is supposedly a musical version of Hamlet. - Hamlet features strongly in the film Renaissance Man, in which Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
's character uses its plot and characters to introduce a group of under-achieving soldiers to critical thinking. - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are UndeadRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are UndeadRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead is a 2009 American independent film written and directed by Jordan Galland. The film's title refers to a fictitious play-within-the-movie, which is a comic reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and its aftermath and whose title is a reference to the play...
is a 2009 American independent film written and directed by Jordan GallandJordan GallandJordan Galland is an award-winning filmmaker, musician. He has also contributed his music to raise money and awareness of various charitable causes....
. The film's title refers to a fictitious play-within-the-movie, which is a comic reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and its aftermath. - In SoapdishSoapdishSoapdish is a 1991 comedy film which tells a backstage story of the cast and crew of a popular fictional television soap opera. It stars Sally Field as an aging soap star, joined by Kevin Kline, Robert Downey, Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg, Teri Hatcher, Cathy Moriarty, Garry Marshall, Kathy...
, Jeffrey Anderson (Kevin KlineKevin KlineKevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
) expresses his desire to perform a One-Man Hamlet, which he justifies by saying the whole thing is happening in Hamlet's head, so you only need one actor. - The Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(1991) character General Chang, a KlingonKlingonKlingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
officer, is a Shakespeare aficionado, and opines that Shakespearian works were best experienced in the "original" KlingonKlingon languageThe Klingon language is the constructed language spoken by the fictional Klingons in the Star Trek universe....
. Indeed, Klingonists Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader in 1996 published The Klingon HamletThe Klingon HamletThe Klingon Hamlet was a project to translate William Shakespeare's Hamlet into Klingon, a constructed language first appearing in the television series Star Trek....
— a Klingon translation of the play. The Klingon version of the famous quote "to be or not to be", which Chang recites at a number of points in the film, is taH pagh taHbe' . - The 1983 comedy, Strange BrewStrange BrewThe Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. Max von Sydow co-stars....
, is loosely based on Hamlet. However, the state of Denmark is replaced by the ownership of Elsinore Brewery and Hamlet is portrayed as a woman. - Both film versions of To Be or Not to Be (film) (Ernst Lubitsch's in 1942 and Mel Brook's in 1983) use Hamlet's soliloquy as a major plot device.
- The title and the concept of afterlife explored movie, "What Dreams May Come" in 1998, starring Robin Williams comes directly from Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech.
- In the cult British comedy film Withnail & I, Withnail's uncle Monty reminisces about giving up acting on realising that he would "never play the Dane" — how at that moment in a young man's life all ambition ceases. Withnail says it is a part he intends to play. The film finishes with Withnail in the rain making the speech from Hamlet "I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth" to some captive wolves.
Comedy and cartoon TV shows
- In a VeggieTales episode with a short called "Omlet". It is a clever "interpretation" of the story of Hamlet. For example: One clever line is when omlet and another person are playing battleship. 2b? nope Not 2b.
- The Brak ShowThe Brak ShowThe Brak Show is an animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The Brak Show is a spin-off of the animated television series, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and featured recurring characters from Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Cartoon Planet...
referenced the basic plot of Hamlet in the episode "Braklet, Prince of Spaceland". In the episode, Brak's father is killed by ZorakZorakZorak is a fictional character who first appeared in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Space Ghost. Zorak appeared as a 7 foot tall green mantis and is a foe of the show's titular superhero.-Space Ghost:...
, who also hypnotizes Brak's mother into believing that the two are married. Brak's father appears as a ghost, and informs BrakBrak (character)Brak is a supervillain on the 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Space Ghost, portrayed as a catlike alien space pirate trying to conquer the galaxy...
what has happened. Brak goes insane and makes a movie of the murder, which he shows to Zorak. - The sitcom, FrasierFrasierFrasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, features an episode entitled "Roz's Krantz And Gouldenstein Are Dead". - In a Gilligan's IslandGilligan's IslandGilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
episode entitled "The Producer," the castaways put on a musical production of Hamlet set to the music of CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. - Hamlet Goes Business (Hamlet liikemaailmassa) (1987), written and directed by Aki KaurismäkiAki Kaurismäki-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...
, is a comic reworking of the story as a power struggle in a rubber duck factory.
- Episode 43 of Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
(1974) is entitled "Hamlet". - In episode 10x9 of the final season of the Sci-Fi Channel TV show, "Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
", Mike and the Bots watched a version of Hamlet. The movie used was a version made in 1960 for West German TV. This was seen as a way for Best Brains, the show's studio, to do make films that they normally couldn't make since the last season of the show was almost done. While a good effort, this is generally seen among MSTies as one of the weaker episodes of the show, primarily due to the difficulty of riffing on Shakespeare's dialog. - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
offered a shortened version of Hamlet in the episode "Tales from the Public DomainTales from the Public Domain"Tales from the Public Domain" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 2002. It is the third trilogy episode of the series, which had become annual since the twelfth season's "Simpsons Tall Tales",...
". After this, HomerHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
claims that Hamlet was made into the film GhostbustersGhostbustersGhostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
. - There was an episodeTerrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow"Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 70th episode of the series overall. "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" originally aired on July 18, 2001 on Comedy Central. In the episode, the four boys learn...
of South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
in which Terrance and Philip's professional relationship failed, resulting in one of them becoming a Shakespearean actor, subsequently performing Hamlet with other Canadian actors, with the ending of the play being shown in the episode.
- In episode 3x05, "Freddie" of the e4 show "SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
", the characters read and study Hamlet in their English class. The character Naomi refers to Hamlet's soliloquizing as "wanking." The character Pandora also confuses the play with the book series Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
. - In a season 5 episode of Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
, Marco Del Rossi comes out as gay to his father while playing Hamlet in a school production of the play.
- In Series 5 Episode 4 of the British sitcom Peep ShowPeep Show (TV series)Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
, when Jeremy expresses his hatred for his mother's new boyfriend, Mark angrily retorts: "You're not Hamlet!", referencing Hamlet's anger at Claudius.
Drama
- In a season 8 episode of ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
entitled "Secrets and Lies," both Drs. John Carter (Noah WyleNoah WyleNoah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
) and Luka Kovac (Goran VisnjicGoran VišnjicGoran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
) reveal that they both performed Hamlet in college; They played Horatio and Hamlet, respectively. Carter began to recite the "to be or not to beTo Be or Not to BeTo Be or Not to Be can refer to:* To be, or not to be, the soliloquy from Hamlet* To Be or Not to Be , directed by Ernst Lubitsch* To Be or Not to Be , a remake produced by Mel Brooks...
" soliloquySoliloquyA soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
, but when he could not remember any more, Luka took over for him, beginning in English and finishing it in Croatian. - The play is mentioned in multiple episodes of Joan of ArcadiaJoan of ArcadiaJoan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...
. At first, Friedman is told he can go on a date with Judith if he memorizes the entire play. After Judith's death and Friedman's completion of his task, he quotes multiple lines of love in her memory. - In episode 3 of the first series of The Mighty BooshThe Mighty BooshThe Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
, Howard Moon quotes several lines from Hamlet on the subject of death. In the opening scene, Howard recites the lines from Hamlet’s third Soliloquy beginning "Death, the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns." - In the Canadian television series Slings and ArrowsSlings and ArrowsSlings and Arrows is a Canadian TV series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival...
, the famous actor Geoffrey Tennant returns to the New Burbage Theatre Festival, the site of his greatest triumph and most humiliating failure, to assume the Artistic Directorship after the sudden death of his mentor, Oliver Welles. When Geoffrey returns to the theatre, he finds that it is haunted by the ghost of the recently departed Oliver. Oliver and Geoffrey's interactions are comically reminiscent of the dialogue between Hamlet and the ghost of his father. With Oliver haunting him, Geoffrey directs a remarkable production of Hamlet. The cast includes Due SouthDue SouthDue South is a Canadian crime drama series with elements of comedy. The series was created by Paul Haggis, produced by Alliance Communications, and stars Paul Gross, David Marciano, and latterly Callum Keith Rennie...
's Paul GrossPaul GrossPaul Michael Gross is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the television series Due South as well as his 2008 war film Passchendaele, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in...
, Rachel McAdamsRachel McAdamsRachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
, and Mark McKinneyMark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
. - The Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
draws not only many character parallels to Hamlet, but much of its storyline also. It is, in fact, explicitly the story of Hamlet, written as if Denmark were a northern California small town and all its characters members of the motorcycle club. - Lopakhin, character of The Cherry OrchardCherry OrchardCherry Orchard may refer to:*The Cherry Orchard, a play by Anton Chekhov*Cherry Orchard F.C., an Irish association football club*Cherry Orchard, Sandwell, an area of Sandwell, West Midlands, England...
by Russian playwright Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
says "Get thee to a nunnery Ophelia-Ophoolia. (...) Nymph, in thy orisons, be all my sins dismembered!", parodying Act III scene 1 of Hamlet.
Horror
- In the Tales from the Crypt episode "Top Billing", a group of insane playwrights are attempting to stage a performance of Hamlet, and all they need is a skull.
Mystery and detective shows
- A recent successor to Inspector Morse, Inspector LewisInspector LewisRobert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a Detective Sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately...
, aired an episode called "Lewis and the Ghost of Inspector Morse" which has many direct and indirect references to the play, and indeed Inspector Lewis uses a clue from his dead mentor to solve the case, an eerie parallel - In the anime Kuroshitsuji, Black Butler, an OVA shows the characters putting on a production of Hamlet with a changed ending.
Science fiction
- Beast Wars: TransformersBeast WarsTransformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
mirrored Hamlet's death in the episode "Code of Hero" in which former PredaconPredacon (Transformers)The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
DinobotDinobotDinobot is a fictional character from the Beast Wars Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:Dinobot originally debuts in the series' premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. However, Dinobot challenges Megatron's leadership, and is shortly expelled from his crew. He...
takes on the entire PredaconPredaconThe Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
team without backup in order to save a group of protohumans, ultimately saving humanity before it evolved into today's current existence. With his MaximalMaximalMaximal may refer to:*Maximal element, a mathematical definition*Maximal , a faction of Transformers*Maximalism, an artistic style*Maximal set*Maxim , a men's magazine marketed as Maximal in several countriesSee also...
comrades crowded around his dying form, he quotes, "Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly; the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence.HamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
". Dinobot also references Hamlet in the episode "Victory" when he states "Ah Tarantulas, I knew him, Cheetor. This were the legs that stalked so many victims", and before his death began a monologue about whether he could choose his own destiny with the words, "To be or not to be".
- In an episode of the original Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
series entitled "The Conscience of the KingThe Conscience of the King (TOS episode)"The Conscience of the King" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #13, production #13, and aired on December 8, 1966...
" features a production of Hamlet. Some aspects of the episode (e.g., Kirk's hesitation to confront a murderer until he is sure of his guilt) echo themes in the play.
Video games
- In the video game Mass EffectMass EffectMass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, Hamlet is re-enacted by an alien race known as Elcors. Due to the Elcor's slow speech, the stage production is a 14 hour experience. - In the Onimusha video game series, many of the Genma bosses are named after some of the characters in Hamlet: FortinbrasFortinbrasFortinbras is the name of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and its subjects...
is the Genma King, Rosencrantz Guildenstern is the evil genma scientist, MarcellusMarcellus-In Christianity:* Marcellus of Ancyra , bishop* Pope Marcellus I, saint* Pope Marcellus II, Italian pope* Marcellus of Tangier , martyr* Pseudo-Marcellus, author of the Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli...
one of Guildenstern's greatest creations and a formidable foe for Samanosuke, OpheliaOpheliaOphelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
, GertrudeGertrude (Hamlet)In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her for marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the King...
is the Genma hound dog, Guildenstern, Osric, Reynaldo (Sent to spy on Laertes) is also one of the names of one of Guildenstern's creations and a smaller genma you battle throughout the series and Marcellus, the first of Guildenstern's creations and the first boss in Onimusha I. - In the Warcraft UniverseWarcraft UniverseWarcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media originally created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of Four core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and World of Warcraft...
, Illidan Stormrage's character appears to be loosely based on Hamlet. He is known to have gone mad (partly due to rejection from his love) and is depicted peering into a skull (a la Hamlet's soliloquy). - In LA Noire, Cole Phelps, the protagonist, recites "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio" after finding a shriveled plaster head at a crime scene.
- The MMORPG Mabinogi (video game) has Hamlet as the central theme to the thirteenth generation in the game, in which the player is called upon to the city of Avon, a place where Gods are banished, under the knowledge that "The Tragic Bard" (referring to Shakespeare himself) has escaped. You help Shakespeare complete his play, going against the wishes of the Goddess Morrighan, who wishes for Shakespeare's plays to remain unfinished.
Books
- The ninth chapter of James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's UlyssesUlysses (novel)Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, commonly referred to as Scylla and Charybdis, is almost entirely devoted to a rambling discourse by Stephen Daedalus on Shakespeare, centering around the character Hamlet. As a character predicts more or less accurately in the very first chapter, "[Daedalus] proves by algebra that Hamlet's grandson is Shakespeare's grandfather and that he himself is the ghost of his own father." - Gertrude and ClaudiusGertrude and ClaudiusGertrude and Claudius is a novel by John Updike. It uses the known sources of Shakespeare's Hamlet to tell a story that draws on a rather straightforward revenge tale in the medieval Denmark depicted by Saxo Grammaticus in his twelfth-century Historiae Danicae, but incorporates extra plot elements...
, a John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
novel, serves as a prequel to the events of the play. It follows Gertrude from her wedding to King Hamlet, through an affair with Claudius, and its murderous results, up until the very beginning of the play. - Dead Fathers Club, a novel by Matt HaigMatt HaigMatt Haig is a British novelist and journalist.-Biography:Haig was born in Sheffield. As a journalist, he collaborated with The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Face....
, uses intertextualityIntertextualityIntertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can include an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. The term “intertextuality” has, itself, been borrowed and transformed many times since it was coined...
to retell the story of Hamlet from the point of view of an 11-year-old boy in modern England. - Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
wrote a feuilletonFeuilletonFeuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
titled I am a Moscow Hamlet (1891), the mutterings of a gossip-mongering actor who contemplates suicide out of sheer boredom. - Jasper FfordeJasper FfordeJasper Fforde is a British novelist. Fforde's first novel, The Eyre Affair, was published in 2001. Fforde is mainly known for his Thursday Next novels, although he has written several books in the loosely connected Nursery Crime series and begun two more independent series: The Last Dragonslayer...
's novel Something RottenSomething RottenSomething Rotten is the fourthbook in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. It continues the story some two years after the point where The Well of Lost Plots leaves off.-Plot introduction:...
includes Hamlet - transplanted from the BookWorldBookWorldThe BookWorld is a fictitious and complex environment that acts as a "behind-the-scenes" area of books. The BookWorld was created by Jasper Fforde in his Thursday Next series...
into reality - as a major character. This version of Hamlet frets about how audiences perceive him, complains about the performances of actors who have portrayed him, and at one point resolves to go back and change the play by killing Claudius in the beginning and marrying Ophelia. - In Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's "God Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation, whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared...
" the protagonist, Eliot Rosewater, writes a letter to his wife while pretending to be Hamlet. - David Bergantino's novel "Hamlet II: Ophelia's Revenge", set in modern Denmark, portrays Ophelia rising from the dead to get revenge on Hamlet.
- Nick O'Donohoe's 1989 science fiction novel Too Too Solid Flesh portrays a troupe of android actors designed specifically to perform "Hamlet"; when the androids' designer is murdered, the Hamlet android decides to investigate.
- In Kyle BakerKyle BakerKyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man....
's 1996 graphic novel The Cowboy Wally Show, Cowboy Wally's masterpiece is the film "Cowboy Wally's HAMLET", a modernized version produced in secret while Wally was in prison. - David Foster WallaceDavid Foster WallaceDavid Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
's novel Infinite JestInfinite JestInfinite Jest is a 1996 novel by David Foster Wallace. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a semi-parodic future version of North America, and touches on tennis, substance addiction and recovery programs, depression, child abuse, family relationships, advertising and popular entertainment,...
takes its name from Hamlet's speech about Yorick, and features a main character struggling with his uncle's influence following the suspicious death of his father. - The plot of David Wroblewski's novel The Story of Edgar SawtelleThe Story of Edgar SawtelleThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel is the first book by American author David Wroblewski. It became a New York Times Best Seller on June 29, 2008, and Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club on September 19, 2008...
closely follows the story line of Hamlet, and several of the novel's main characters have names similar to their corresponding characters in the play. - John MarsdenJohn Marsden (writer)John Marsden is an Australian writer, teacher and school principal. Marsden has had his books translated into nine languages including Swedish, Norwegian, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian and Spanish....
's novel 'Hamlet' is a reinterpretation of the original for young adults. It is set in Denmark and the characters keep their names, their personalities and their functions in the story.
Poetry
- The line, "Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night," ends the second part of T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's "The Waste LandThe Waste LandThe Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
". - T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, commonly known as Prufrock, is a poem by T. S. Eliot, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915. Described as a "drama of literary anguish," it presents a stream of consciousness in the form of a dramatic monologue, and marked the beginning of...
", includes the line, "No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be".
Short stories
- In the short story, "Much Ado About (Censored)" by Connie WillisConnie WillisConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
, a pair of high school students volunteer to help their teacher edit the play in a satire on political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
. - "In The Halls Of Elsinore," a short story by Brad C. Hodson, takes place in an Elsinore occupied by Fortinbras. Told from Horatio's point of view, the story is about a malignant presence that resides in Elsinore - the same presence that appeared to young Hamlet as his father.
Opera
At least 26 operas have been written based on Hamlet, including:- Ambleto:
- by Francesco GaspariniFrancesco GaspariniFrancesco Gasparini was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England....
(1706) - by Domenico ScarlattiDomenico ScarlattiGiuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
(1715) - by Gaetano Andreozzi (1792)
- by Franco FaccioFranco FaccioFranco Faccio was an Italian composer and conductor.-Biography:Born in Verona, Faccio became known as a conductor of Verdi's music. He studied music at the Milan Conservatory where he was a pupil of Stefano Ronchetti-Monteviti...
(libretto by Arrigo BoitoArrigo BoitoArrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's operas Otello and Falstaff, and his own opera Mefistofele...
) (1865)
- by Francesco Gasparini
- HamletHamlet (opera)Hamlet is an opéra in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas, with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père and Paul Meurice of Shakespeare's play Hamlet.- Ophelia mania in Paris:...
- by Ambroise ThomasAmbroise ThomasCharles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
(1868) - by Humphrey SearleHumphrey SearleHumphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
(1968) - by Sándor SzokolaySándor SzokolaySándor Szokolay is a Hungarian composer and a professor of the Liszt Ferenc Academy, Budapest.-Life:Szokolay began his music studies in Békéstarhos. Then he attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. His teachers were Ferenc Szabó and Ferenc Farkas. Between 1957 and 1961 he worked at...
(1968)
- by Ambroise Thomas
Instrumental
Instrumental works based on Hamlet include:- Hector BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
- Funeral March for Hamlet (orchestra) and Mort d'Ophélie (chorus) - Frank BridgeFrank BridgeFrank Bridge was an English composer and violist.-Life:Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others...
- There is a willow, impression for orchestra - Frédéric ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
- NocturneNocturneA nocturne is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night...
in G minor, Op. 15, No. 3, said to have been inspired by Hamlet - Guillaume LekeuGuillaume LekeuGuillaume Lekeu was a Belgian composer of classical music.- Life :Lekeu, who was born in Verviers, Belgium, took his first lessons at the conservatoire in that city. In 1879, his parents moved to Poitiers, France. There, he finished school while he continued his music studies autodidactically...
- Hamlet symphonic study, Marche d'Ophélie - Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
- Hamlet (1858), symphonic poem (it later became Flash GordonFlash GordonFlash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
's theme tune.) - Edward MacDowellEdward MacDowellEdward Alexander MacDowell was an American composer and pianist of the Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites "Woodland Sketches", "Sea Pieces", and "New England Idylls". "Woodland Sketches" includes his most popular short piece, "To a Wild Rose"...
- Hamlet and Ophelia, symphonic poem - Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
- HamletHamlet (Tchaikovsky)Hamlet provided material for two works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his fantasy overture after Shakespeare Hamlet, Op. 67a, and the incidental music he composed for Shakespeare's Hamlet, Op. 67b.-Overture-Fantasia, Op. 67a:...
, Overture-Fantasy in F minor, Op. 67a (1888)
Contemporary
Contemporary popular music includes:- SteampunkSteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
band Abney ParkAbney Park (band)Abney Park is a band based in Seattle that mixes elements of industrial dance, world music, and steampunk influenced lyrics in their work. Their name comes from Abney Park Cemetery in London...
recorded a song entitled "Dear Ophelia", in which the vocalist sings as Prince Hamlet, and apologizes to Ophelia for all the things he had done, even telling the story of his father, who died when "his brother crept out, and poured poison in his ear" - The title track of the album Elsinore by Swedish musician Björn AfzeliusBjörn AfzeliusBjörn Svante Afzelius was a Swedish singer, song writer and guitar player. Politically he was a socialist. His songs are about love, politics and joys in life....
is about a prince locked up in the castle of Elsinore.
- The Birthday PartyThe Birthday Party (band)The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
recorded a song called "Hamlet (Pow Pow Pow)" on the JunkyardJunkyard (album)Junkyard is a 1982 album by Australian post-punk group The Birthday Party.The album was recorded with Tony Cohen at Armstrong's Audio Visual Studios in Melbourne in December 1981 and January 1982. Additional tracks were recorded in London's Matrix Studios with punk producer Richard Mazda in May...
album. - The Dream TheaterDream TheaterDream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
song "Pull Me UnderPull Me Under-Personnel:*James LaBrie - vocals*John Petrucci - guitar, backing vocals*Kevin Moore - keyboards*John Myung - bass, chapman stick*Mike Portnoy - drums, backing vocals-External links:* http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/dream_theater/pull_me_under/...
" is influenced by, and makes reference to, Hamlet.
- "Hey There Ophelia" is the thirteenth track off the album, This Gigantic Robot KillsThis Gigantic Robot KillsThis Gigantic Robot Kills is the sixth album by nerdcore musician MC Lars.Lars has stated that he worked with "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Rondo Brothers, Nick Rowe and Mike Kennedy of Bloodsimple, James Bourne of Busted, Daniel Dart of Time Again, Donal Finn of Flash Bastard, Pierre Bouvier of Simple...
by MC LarsMC LarsAndrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...
. It features lyrics about Ophelia, Claudius, and Hamlet's father's ghost from Hamlet's point of view.
- "Hamlet", a track on the album Terrible Purpose by Nostalgesia is based on the play; it mentions Hamlet's warnings from the ghost of his father and uses lines from the play for some of the lyrics.
- SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band, Riblja ČorbaRiblja CorbaRiblja Čorba is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Their presence on the scene has lasted from 1978 to today. They reached their peak of popularity in the 1980s, but it has declined in the 1990s, partly due to controversial political attitudes of the band's leader Bora Đorđević...
, released album entitled Ostalo je ćutanjeOstalo je cutanjeOstalo je ćutanje is the thirteenth studio album from Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba....
(trans. "The Rest Is Silence") in 1996. Album features a track entitled "Nešto je trulo u državi Danskoj" (trans. "Something's Rotten in the State of Denmark"), the song itself referring to Serbia. Album cover features band's frontman Bora Đorđević holding a skull.
- Richard Thompson, British singer/songwriter, sings a live version of The Story Of Hamlet on "The Life And Music Of - CD 4 - The Songs Pour Down Like Silver". The interpretation is not terribly serious ("Like a hole in the head, Denmark needed that prince").
- Mr. Crumple, American singer/songwriter, has recorded a 5-song EP titled "Project Hamlet" which sets Hamlet's words to music, as lyrics. It's scheduled for release in September 2011.
Comic strips and web comics
- In one Sunday 'Calvin and HobbesCalvin and HobbesCalvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
strip, Calvin is about to eat a plateful of green mush when suddenly, the mush comes to life and recites the To be, or not to beTo be, or not to be"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Act III, Scene 1. It is the best-known quotation from the play and probably the most famous in world literature but there is disagreement on its meaning, as there is of the whole speech.- Text :This...
soliloquy. The mush then begins singing a song and Calvin eats it up. He then says to his mother, "Let's not have this ever again." - Hamlet is currently being adapted as a web comic that uses stick figures.
Videos and digital media
- In the multiplayer RPG Mabinogi, a series of "theatre mission" quests sends the player into scenes from, or based on, Hamlet, frequently enhanced with monster encounters.
Other references
- The play (as well as the Shakespearean canon as a whole) is frequently given as an example of a text which would be reproduced under the conditions of the infinite monkey theoremInfinite monkey theoremThe infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare....
. - HamLeT is also the term for a ham, lettuce, and tomato sandwich — like a BLT only with (Danish?) ham instead of bacon — which has inspired the doubtful HamLeT's Sandwich Soliloquy.