Literary notes about Hamlet (AI summary)
In literature, the word "hamlet" assumes a dual role. It sometimes designates a modest rural settlement—as when it is used to describe a tiny, burned village or a scattered collection of cottages ([1], [2], [3])—and at other times it names one of the most iconic figures of dramatic tragedy, Shakespeare’s Prince of Denmark ([4], [5], [6]). Scholars assess his character, debating aspects like his age and inner conflict ([7], [8]), and modern writers often invoke his name to symbolize introspection or indecision ([9], [10]). This flexible use, spanning from place to persona, underlines the multifaceted power of the term in capturing both physical settings and complex human emotions.
- "A pity it is," said the king, "so beautiful a hamlet should be burnt."
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - In Willowdale, a hamlet just beyond Shephard's, was the residence of Mr. David Gibson, destroyed in 1837 by the Government forces.
— from Toronto of Old by Henry Scadding - No people, no trees, no shade were to be seen about the huts; it looked as though the hamlet had expired in the burning air and was dried up.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - The Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - Dramatis Personæ HAMLET, Prince of Denmark. CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare - Hamlet, according to the evidence of Act v. , Scene i., is thirty years of age; and that is a very late age for a university student.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - On the whole I agree with Prof. Dowden that, apart from the statements in v. i., one would naturally take Hamlet to be a man of about five and twenty.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - If Hamlet has something of the definiteness of a work of art, he has also all the obscurity that belongs to life.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde - “My indecision reminds me of Hamlet,” thought Laevsky on the way.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
