William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (c.1600-1601) has achieved iconic status as one of the most exciting and enigmatic of plays. It has been in almost constant production in Britain and throughout the world since it was first performed, fascinating generations of audiences and critics alike. Its place is assured on highly popular undergraduate courses on Shakespeare or Renaissance Drama, at AS/A2 level and on the International Baccalaureate. Our sourcebook is an invaluable resource for the very many students of this play. Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Shakespeare’s notoriously problematic play offers: - extensive introductory comment on the contexts, critical history and performance of the text, from publication to the present - annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself - cross-references between documents and sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism - suggestions for further reading.