Hamlet’scombinationofviolenceandintrospectionisunusualamongShakespeare’stragedies.Itisalsofullofcuriousriddlesandfascinatingparadoxes,makingitoneofhismostwidelydiscussedplays.ProfessorHibbard’silluminatingandoriginalintroductionexplainstheprocessbywhichvarianttextswerefusedintheeighteenthcenturytocreatethemostcommonlyusedtextoftoday.Drawingonbothcriticalandtheatricalhistory,heshowshowthisgusionmakesHamletseemamuchmore’problematic’playthanitwaswhenitoriginallyappearedintheFirstFolioof1623.TheOxfordShakespeareeditionpresentsaradicallynewtext,basedonthatFirstFolio,whichprintedShakespeare’sownrevisionofanearlierversion.Theresultisa’theatrical’andhighlypracticaleditionforstudentsandactorsalike.
