a word from our sponsors
See the new shakespeare.com. This feature, while it still provides useful information, is no longer maintained.
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 3.15.97: Top | Help
Shakespeare probably based much of his story on an older version of the play, commonly known as the Ur-Hamlet. The original story, however, is taken from from an icelandic saga about a prince named Amlethus which probably existed for years as oral poetry until it was written down in Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes some time between the 9th and 12th century.Given that oral tradition begins with reality and embellishes it, I would guess that Hamlet and all of the bard folk in the play did exist - but that Shakespeare's characters are composites of any different people in many different stories having little in common with "the original".
Posted by Lillith on March 24, 1997 at 16:48:14
In Reply to "Is there a historical Hamlet?" posted by Lewis Crow on March 23, 1997 at 04:45:06
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries & Replies From Everyone Else 3.15.97: Top | Help