Hamlet cover art

Hamlet

Shakespeare Appreciated (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Hamlet

By: William Shakespeare, Simon Potter, Phil Viner, Jools Viner
Narrated by: Joan Walker, Stephen Elder, Paul Clayton
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Experience Hamlet as a powerful full-cast drama with entertaining and enlightening commentary that explains what's what and who's who as the plot unfolds. To help you get the most out of Shakespeare, the narrator offers historical insights and background information, so you can enjoy the jokes, appreciate the references, and get a real sense of Shakespeare's world. The unabridged drama is also presented without commentary.

If school turned you off Shakespeare, find out what you've been missing all these years with this beautifully crafted audio presentation.

From the creators of SmartPass audio education study guides, voted third in a national poll to find the UK's favourite audibook (2008). Winners of three Spoken Word Awards for Best Drama (2004), Best Original Audio, and Best Publishing Initiative (2005).

©2009 SmartPass Ltd (P)2009 SmartPass Ltd Art Classics Drama & Plays Shakespeare Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Macbeth cover art
Othello cover art
King Lear cover art
Twelfth Night cover art
Julius Caesar cover art
Hamlet cover art
Romeo and Juliet cover art
Henry V cover art
The Tempest cover art
Macbeth cover art
Hamlet: Fully Dramatized Audio Edition cover art
Romeo and Juliet cover art
The Merchant of Venice cover art
Shakespeare: The Complete Works cover art
Romeo and Juliet cover art
Hamlet: The Arkangel Shakespeare cover art

Editor reviews

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is reimagined and brought back to life for the modern audience in the brilliant audiobook Hamlet: Shakespeare Appreciated, composed by Simon Potter, Phil and Jools Viner with a commendable narration by Joan Walker, Stephen Elder and Paul Clayton. Part of the Shakespeare Appreciated collection, this unabridged reading of Shakespeare’s famous play is gripping. Listeners have the option to download with or without commentary. The commentary is recommended as it gives a full historical background to the play and Shakespeare himself. This is truly a brilliant experience of one of the most notable plays ever written. Available now from Audible.
All stars
Most relevant  
This audiobook contains two versions. The first with explanation, including historical context, and the seconds without.
I found the version with the explanations really helpful and adds to the enjoyment. Then listening to the second version I was able to understand it better and was aware of the historical context.
As well as a great format and excellent performances, it is also clear to see why Hamlet has become a classic.

Great format and excellent performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Finally it’s possible for a non-native English speaker to read and understand Shakespeare thanks to the most interesting commentary in between the lines, interrupting the actors every now and then.
This audio book can be combined with reading the lines in an e-book or paper novel to enhance your understanding.
If I’ll read another Shakespeare play, I’ll definitely download an audiobook in these series.

Excellent method if English not your first language

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent audio play of Hamlet intersected with historical notes and explanations of the dialogue. I will certainly look out for more of these as I found to combination very attractive, of course if you don't want this option, you can simply listen to the play without the additional commentary.

Education and Entertainment

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you like most about Hamlet?

Being from India, where English is a second language, I found new appreciation for this Shakespeare classic via the excellent commentary.

What did you like best about this story?

Hamlet is a complex character and it was difficult for me to earlier understand his psychology. I found new ways to understand and appreciate the grey, uneven texture of the human condition.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I was born and brought up in a traditional Hindu household in India where I was exposed more to dramatisation of the Hindu myths and legends. So, it was exciting to feel like a fly on the wall in a time when Europe was ruled by monarchy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scene where Hamlet spurns Olivia to make her hate him was particularly moving. So is the emotional and philosophical charge of the grave digger's scene when they unearth a skull of an old courtier and Hamlet realises aloud the futility of vanity and desire for material things.

Learn to appreciate and understand this classic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a very interesting and useful commentary, which makes the play much more accessible. Highly recommended for students. I will definitely buy more in this series. However, while the performance of the play itself is good, the reading by Joan Walker is poor by comparison. She delivers the commentary in an overly emotional and affected fashion, much more overwrought than the play itself. The mixing also leaves something to be desired - the commentary is often much louder than the play. This is not a major problem on speakers, but it is very annoying on earphones; I kept fiddling with the volume controls. It was particularly annoying when a somber, quiet moment in the play was followed by Ms Walker all but yelling in my ear, often Emphasising Every Second Word. The play with commentary is about 7 hours, and the commentary-free version (about 4 hours) follows from Chapter 26.

Good commentary poorly delivered

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great production narration description , rivetting performance ,definately worth listening to. I'm off to see what other performances they have .....

excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this book is good one and worth reading it as it is one of the books which deals with all types of characters.

This book is good one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.