(Regained)

(I'm updating the playtext and the notes at this time. The reader may notice both "hw" and "EH" used for the Note line numbers. Those both refer to Enfolded Hamlet line numbers, and mean the same thing. Eventually, only "EH" will be used. Also, the playtext quotes in the Notes may not always exactly match the playtext, until the update is completed.)

The links in the column to the right will display Hamlet in the Original Language, modernized. The presentation of the playtext is set up as a two-column table: the left-hand column will show the Original Language, and the right-hand column will show the "simplified modern English" (smE) translation which serves as a full-text gloss. The O.L. and smE versions will appear side-by-side on the same page.

Since the playtext uses a two-column format, your browser window will need to be fairly wide to show the page correctly. The display of the average desktop or laptop computer should be large enough. If you usually use a narrow browser window, you may need to widen it, or adjust the font size, to render the page correctly.

When the page is displayed correctly, the Original Language playtext, and the smE playtext, are identical in total length. That means the "End of Scene..." statement for both playtexts should be on the same line. The text can still be read in a narrower window, it's only that the O.L. and smE texts won't match up as intended.

If you choose a frames link, the Scene Notes will be displayed in the lower frame in the same browser window as the Scene playtext. So, if you can use frames, you will have the Original Language version at the left, the smE gloss at the right, and the Notes below, all in the same browser window.

The separate links for the Text, and the Notes, for each Scene, will allow you to open the playtext and the notes in two different browser windows, if you wish to do so, instead of using frames. I have not made the links so that they will open a new window automatically, because some people don't like that. So, for two windows, I suggest using your keyboard or mouse controls to open the Notes in a new window first, then return to this window and click the "Text" link to open the Text in this window. You may also open the files in tabs, if your browser has that feature.

The links on this page, in the column to the right, will show Hamlet in its Original Language, as the author wrote it, except for the changes described below. No glossary is needed because the Original Language version is shown side-by-side, on the same page, with a "simplified modern English" (smE) translation which serves as a full-text gloss. You may occasionally need an ordinary dictionary, for a few words, but you won't have to constantly check a separate glossary just to read the play.

The smE translation into modern English is called "simplified" because the meaning is simplified in comparison with the original. Many words and lines in Hamlet are used in an ambiguous way, with more than one meaning. Only the simpler meaning can be given in the line-by-line translation that the smE provides. The additional meanings of many words and phrases are explained in the Notes.

The Hamlet (Regained) playtext is supplemented with extensive commentary Notes, the most thorough and detailed commentary that has ever been done for Hamlet, as far as I know. The playtext and the Notes can be viewed in the same browser window using frames, or they can be displayed in different windows, as you please, by clicking the links of your choice.

The Original Language playtext spelling is modernized. I have used United States spellings, because I am not familiar enough with British spellings to be confident in trying to use them consistently. (Admittedly, British spellings would be more faithful to the original play, because of its English origin.) So, the playtext will show favor instead of "favour," color instead of "colour," and so on. Also, I have retained the original spellings of some words, because in some cases the author intentionally used a particular spelling to convey an idea beyond the word, itself. That has made it necessary to preserve the original spelling in those instances, to preserve the meaning, even though the spelling does not conform to the modern standard. The Notes will explain the additional meaning to be found where a non-standard spelling is preserved.

I do not generally respect non-standard spellings that only indicate pronunciation, except where pronunciation is vital for poetic meter. Trying to convey Elizabethan pronunciation through unusual spellings would be a hopeless task, for the modern reader. A modern reader would have to undertake a serious linguistic study to know Elizabethan pronunciations, and the retention of occasional odd spellings in the Hamlet playtext would not help, but would only hinder the typical reader.

Punctuation is updated to bring it more into conformance with modern usage. However, I have generally avoided using periods within a single speech by a character, and have used semicolons to separate the character's statements, instead. In my opinion, semicolons are more appropriate, where a character's speech is continuous, and are more respectful of the author's habitual use of commas, while bringing the punctuation closer to modern practice. I generally use a period only at the end of a character's speech, with a few exceptions. Be aware that the style of punctuation I adopt is a personal judgment call, as to the use of semicolons versus periods. The author used some phrases in more than one way, which sometimes makes it impossible to punctuate while respecting the multiple meanings. For such phrases, I have punctuated according to the simpler meaning, the "plain reading," and the additional meaning is explained in the Notes.

Stage directions have been made more detailed and explicit, and all stage directions have been placed at the left, in line with the dialogue. Where a stage direction interrupts a character's speech, I have used a "continues" speech heading in parentheses, such as "(Hamlet continues)." I have added some stage directions where they can safely be inferred from the playtext. I have exercised great care, however, in adding stage directions, because some of the stage directions that have traditionally been added to the play, and that can be found in other publications, are wrong and misleading.

The setting is identified for each Scene. Since most settings are not explicit in the original Hamlet, inference has been necessary, but the dialogue provides enough information to reasonably identify the setting of each Scene.

The time of day is given for each Scene, as part of the setting. In some cases, the time of day is explicit in the original playtext. For other Scenes, the time of day is deduced from the flow of events.

Character names are standardized, and are used consistently for the character's speeches, throughout. For example, Queen Gertrude's speeches are always identified by "Gertrude," or by the abbreviation "Gert" (and not "Queen.")

I do not divide the play into Acts. The author did not use Acts when he wrote the play, and there is no valid reason to use Act divisions for Hamlet. The play was written as a series of Scenes, and I have returned to that original format, the way Shakespeare composed it, and intended it to be. The dialogue is the same whether Act divisions are used or not, of course. The Act divisions that are found in modern publications were imposed many years after the author died, and they have no legitimate authority. Acts were added pedantically, on the simplistic notion that since it's a play, well, it ought to have Acts - which is nonsense. In one particular instance, the traditional Act IV, the Act division was done by an editor who did not understand the play, and who made a blunder that is egregiously misleading for the events. It is to be hoped that all future publications of Hamlet will dispense with the artificial and misleading Act divisions, and present the play, correctly, as a series of Scenes. (I do, however, provide the traditional Act divisions parenthetically, since they have unfortunately become so widespread that such a reference is necessary.)

I have numbered the Scenes in order. For each Scene, after the Scene number, I have added a keyword or phrase related to a significant event or passage within the Scene. For some Scenes I use a well-known term, such as "Closet Scene," and for others I have made up a keyword. The keyword, or key phrase, is merely an aid in identifying the Scene, and is not intended to be taken as part of the play.

The Hamlet (Regained) playtext is based on the Second Quarto of Hamlet, published in A.D. 1604 and 1605 as a closet drama, and which is the version closest to the author's own hand, and most authentic for the author's words. I have included some passages from the First Folio, published in A.D. 1623, where those passages are missing from the Second Quarto for one reason or another, but are credibly authorial. I have also consulted the First Quarto, 1603, for a few words and phrases. The Folio version is different from the Second Quarto in some ways, but is quite similar, overall. I generally provide an explanation where the playtext, as I offer it, is different from the Second Quarto wording, but I generally don't try to account for the Folio differences that I don't use.

In the notes, the term "Q2" means the Second Quarto of Hamlet, "Folio" means the First Folio version, and "Q1" means the First Quarto.

The relevant playtext line, or passage, for each note, or series of notes, is quoted at the top. This makes the Notes pages free standing, that is, you can read a Notes page, by itself, and still have the relevant text at hand on the same page, via the quotes. This should be convenient if you're primarily interested in reading the notes. However, the playtext quotes, on the Notes pages, do not have the regular playtext formatting, and will not be as easy to read as the playtext, itself. The quotes are given without extra line breaks, to save space, and do not have the character speeches indented. It may still be desirable to have the regular playtext at hand, in either frames or a separate window, while reading the notes.

I do not use line numbers in the Hamlet (Regained) playtext. Line numbers would only add complexity, to no real purpose.

However, the notes are headed with "EH" numbers, such as "EH 164, to EH 174." The "EH" refers to the line numbers that are used for the Enfolded Hamlet on the Hamlet Works website. (The Enfolded Hamlet is by Bernice W. Kliman and is copyrighted by her.) The "EH" numbers can be ignored by the casual reader on this website.

Serious students and scholars can use the "EH" numbers to find historical commentary, and other information on the play, at Hamlet Works, line by line. So, my use of "EH" numbers provides a reference for those who wish to delve deeper into Hamlet. See the Hamlet Works website for further information about what they offer. I am not associated with the Enfolded Hamlet, or with the Hamlet Works website, but I find them useful and interesting, and I applaud the efforts of those involved.

In the notes, I make occasional reference to historical commentary, such as "Wilson (1934,)" which refers to an author name and a date of publication. The sources I mention are listed on the Hamlet Works website. The casual reader can safely ignore these mentions of sources.

The notes provide some gloss for the play, although the notes are no substitute for the full-text gloss of the smE version. Many words and phrases are explained in the notes, however, often in considerable detail.

The notes focus mainly on the meanings in the play. This includes the events, characterizations, and motivations of the characters. It also includes hundreds - thousands - of instances where words and phrases have multiple meanings. A plain reading of the playtext is only the tip of the iceberg, and a great bulk of allusions, undertones, and associations dwells beneath. I believe it likely that Hamlet is the most complex writing in all of literature, since almost every speech, by every character, is intentionally ambiguous, or contains allusion to something else in the play. Hamlet is a fantastic work of sheer verbal genius, and there's nothing else quite like it, to my knowledge. I've attempted to explore the depths of Hamlet in an informative way which will be worth your time to read, and I've used straightforward language in the notes to explain the play.

I do hope you enjoy Hamlet (Regained)!