It’s not so long since we last did a work by William Shakespeare (we did Shakespeare’s Sonnets back at the beginning of the year), but you can never have enough Shakespeare, right?

We’re back at him, and this time it’s Hamlet, one of his best known works for the theatre and the single most highly discussed work in literary history.

As there’s so much to study and talk about in the play (Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest drama, at 4,024 lines), we’re looking at just one other work, a comedy which describes the action of Hamlet from the point of view of two minor characters:

• Hamlet – William Shakespeare (play)
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – Tom Stoppard (play)

I have to say I can’t wait to study Hamlet in detail. It’s probably my favourite Shakespeare play (along with Othello, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest – alright, one of my favourite Shakespeare plays).

I will contribute my thoughts here on the Culture Club blog, although it’s daunting putting forward ideas on a work that has received so much attention from literary critics.

I would love to read your insights on either Hamlet or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, so please leave ideas, thoughts and discussion points in the comments below.