Listen&Learn: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies.

Pre-listening vocabulary

investigate: to try to find out the truth about something
avenge: to punish someone for hurting someone else
suspicious: believing that someone is doing something they shouldn’t
obsessed: constantly thinking about something
insanity: having an unstable state of mind
adaptation: a movie, show, or play that is based on an existing work

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13 — 1.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20522″]

Discussion/essay questions

Some people think that Hamlet really loses his mind throughout the play. Others believe that Hamlet simply puts on such a good performance that he fools the audience as well. Which idea do you like better? Why do you think people can have such different interpretations of the same play?

Transcript

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a play by the famous English playwright William Shakespeare. The story is about a young prince named Hamlet whose father has recently died. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, has declared himself the new king of Denmark. One day, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and tells Hamlet that Claudius has murdered him. He asks his son to investigate Claudius and avenge his death. While investigating, Hamlet pretends to lose his mind so that Claudius doesn’t get suspicious. However, as the play goes on, Hamlet slowly becomes obsessed with revenge. Eventually, his fake insanity starts to seem real. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, and it has inspired many modern adaptations.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

Search for more Listen&Learn stories:

Subscribe to this podcast

RSS feed

14 comments

abdolmonem says:

1. I like second idea. Yes they can do.
English Club Indonesia says:

To satisfy people’s desire for a good play, of course, they will choose the second one. As a matter of fact, this insanity can’t be real, or maybe Hamlet has been an insane person since a long time ago before the play.
Adilea nursara says:

I think I like the idea where others believe that Hamlet simply puts on such a good performance because sometimes his performance is so convincing that it is difficult to tell whether he really loses his mind or not. I think people can have such different interpretation of the same play because some may believe that acting can be as real, or realer than real-life emotion.
Kate says:

interesting, very good. Thanks
Khánh Ly says:

Tôi thấy nó hơi khó đối với tôi
Norma says:

I enjoyed the practice, it is very clear
Muhammad Arsalan says:

words pronunciations are not neat and clear
Sofiane says:

very interesting course
Rahool says:

Thanks
Lamo says:

Thanks
Reza says:

Thanks, I learned summery of Hamlet’s play by this story. It is very good.
The King Of Love From IRAN says:

Thank you for sharing,
nahdi says:

thanks
Christine PENNEC says:

interesting