Hamlet is Shakespeare's most popular, and most puzzling, play. It follows the form of a revenge tragedy, in which the hero, Hamlet, seeks vengeance against his father's murderer, his uncle Claudius, now the king of Denmark. Hamlet is a tragedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare about 1599–1601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603 from an unauthorized text. Often considered the greatest drama of all time, the play tells the story of the troubled titular prince of Denmark. A short summary of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Hamlet. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Shakespeare homepage | Hamlet | Entire play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet (/ ˈhæmlɪt /), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. A morbid tragedy about mortality, madness, and murder, Hamlet follows the eponymous Prince of Denmark as he plots to avenge his father’s murder at the hands of Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the current king, who married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Synopsis Events before the start of Hamlet set the stage for tragedy. When the king of Denmark, Prince Hamlet’s father, suddenly dies, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, marries his uncle Claudius, who becomes the new king. The story of Hamlet is based on a Danish revenge story first recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in the 1100s. In these stories, a Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince's father and married his mother. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, usually shortened to just Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599-1602. It is arguably one of his most famous tragedies. Hamlet by William Shakespeare was first published in 1603. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play follows Prince Hamlet as he grapples with grief, betrayal, and the pursuit of justice after the sudden death of his father, the King.