Bethany Fisk
Cynthia Balcom, JD
English 101
30 October 2007

"Hamlet," A Story for the Ages
William Shakespeare's, "Hamlet," was based on the semi-histori

cal figure, Amleth. Amleth was introduced through a poem in the 800's by an Iceland poet named Snaebjorn. The tale of Amleth was made popular by Saxo Grammaticus, who accounted the life of a Danish prince in his history of Denmark, "Gesta Danorum," in 1185 (Burrow-Flak). It can not be denied that Shakespeare was greatly influenced by Grammaticus's work. The two tales share an almost identical plot and the characters are interchangeable. However, while Shakespeare reiterated Grammaticus's saga to the masses, he enriched the story with ideals that would interest his Elizabethan Era audience.
Shakespeare was believed to have wrote, "Hamlet," in 1601. During the late 1500s and 1600s revenge tragedies became very popular in England. The narrative of Amleth was not short on subject matter involving tragedy, revenge,......

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Title: Hamlet, A Story For The Ages
Approximate Word Count: 1044
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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