Classic to Modern English Literature

William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright, wrote "The Tragedy of Hamlet" in the early 17th century. This five-act tragedy, commonly known as "Hamlet," was first performed around 1600. It centers on a young Danish prince who seeks to avenge his father's death. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, revealing that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Claudius then married Hamlet's mother and claimed the throne. Written between 1599 and 1601, "Hamlet" was published in a quarto edition in 1603 and is widely regarded as one of the most influential literary works ever written. Although "Hamlet" is a fictional story, it was inspired by real oral accounts of Danish history. The story of Amleth, the last King of Jutland, can be found in the writings of Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. Prince Hamlet's character was derived from several sources, notably Books III and IV of Saxo Grammaticus’s 12th-century "

One of the William Shakespeare's Romantic comedies was "The Tempest" which was first published in the "First Folio" in 1623. In the course of the story, Prospero, a magician and the rightful Duke of Milan, who is shipwrecked on an island with his daughter Miranda. Using his magical abilities, Prospero manipulates the events on the island to seek revenge on his enemies. Ultimately, the play explores the power, forgiveness and illusion. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, European powers including England, were engaged in exploration and colonization around the world. In the Elizabethan age, an English publisher, Edward Blount entered The Tempest into the Stationers' Register on 8 November 1623. Regarding the matter at hand, William Strachey's A True Reportory of the Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, an eyewitness report of the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture in 1609 on the island of Bermuda while sailing toward Virginia, ma