Hamlet, prince of Denmark, IS the hero of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. The story is founded on an old tradition, related, amongst others, by Saxo-Grammaticus, of a Danish prince, Hamlet, who lived about 500 BC, but essentially altered in details and conclusion.
The Hamlet Case of 1850 was the first recorded action under the American Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Hamlet, a free negro (Black man) with a family, was arrested in New York by a Deputy US Marshal as a fugitive slave of Mary Brown, of Baltimore, and after a hasty examination surrendered in accordance with the law. Indignation was aroused and he was finally redeemed. Research Hamlet Case
An objective correlative is a concept in drama suggested by T S Eliot in a discussion of Shakespeare' s Hamlet. Recognising that the hero's emotion in the play was excessive and inexplicable, Eliot suggested that dramatists must find an exact, sensuous equivalent, or 'objective correlative', for any emotion they wish to express. He gave an example from Macbeth where Lady Macbeth's state of mind in the sleepwalking scene is communicated to the audience by a skilful building-up of images and actions. Research Objective Correlative
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop was an English composer. He was born in 1780 at London and died in 1855. He trained under Bianchi, composer to the London Opera House. From 1809, when his first opera, the Circassian Bride, was produced at Drury Lane, until his masque The Fortunate Isles, written to celebrate Queen Victoria's marriage, he composed about a hundred works for the stage - among others the music of Guy Mannering, The Slave, The Miller and his Men, Maid Marian, The Virgin of the Sun, Aladdin, Hamlet, versions of operas by Rossini, Meyerbeer and others, Waverley, Manfred, etc and the ditty home sweet home. From 1810 to 1824 he acted as musical composer and director to Govent Garden Theatre. He also arranged several volumes of the National Melodies, and completed the arrangement of the music for Moore's Irish Melodies, commenced by Stevenson. Shortly after the accession of Queen Victoria he was knighted. He was elected Reid professor of music in Edinburgh University in 1841, and in 1848 professor of music in the University of Oxford. Research Henry Bishop
Barry Sullivan was an Irish tragedy actor. He was born in 1821 at Birmingham and died in 1891. He made his debut at Cork in 1837 and in 1852 made his London debut playing Hamlet at the Haymarket, London. Research Barry Sullivan
Charles Albert Fechter was a French actor and dramatist. He was born in 1824 at Paris and died in 1879. His first appearance on the stage was at the SalleMoliere, after which he made a short tour of Italy with a travelling French company. Returning to Paris, he appeared between 1844 and 1856 at different Parisian theatres, and in 1857 he was joint-director of the Odeon. In 1860 he came to London, and at once achieved great success as Ruy Bias and Hamlet at the Princess' Theatre, characters in which he departed widely from stage traditions. He subsequently leased the Lyceum, and afterwards the Adelphi, acting youthful and melodramatic parts with striking power. From 1870 to 1878 he lived in the United States, but his experiences as a manager in New York were not successful. He was regarded in Paris as the finest living exponent of romantic drama. Research Charles Fechter
Colin Firth is an English actor. He was born in 1960 at Grayshott, Hampshire. He was discovered while playing Hamlet during his final term at the Drama Centre in Chalk Farm. Research Colin Firth
Edwin Thomas Booth was an American actor. He was born in 1833 and died in 1893. The son of the distinguished English actor, Junius Brutus Booth, he made his debut at the Boston Museum in 1849 and went on to become successful across the USA and in England and Germany for his portrayal of characters in Shakespeare's plays, particularly in Hamlet, and was the leading American tragedian. In 1882 he made a tour in Europe, and was well received. His brother was the infamous John Wilkes Booth. Research Edwin Booth
John Henderson was an English actor. He was born in 1747 at Cheapside, London and died in 1785. His first appearance was at Bath as Hamlet in 1772 and in 1777 he acted Shylock at the Haymaket Theatre, London. Research John Henderson
Richard Burbage was an English actor and contemporary of William Shakespeare. He was born about 1567 and died in 1619. The son of James Burbage (died 1597), also an actor, and the first builder of a theatre in England, he was a member of the same company as William Shakespeare, Fletcher, Hemming, Condell, and others, and filled all the greatest parts of the contemporary stage in turn. He was the original Hamlet, Lear, Othello, and Richard III, and played the leading parts in the plays of Beaumont and Eletcher, Ben Jonson, Webster, Marston, etc. Besides being an eminent actor, he seems to have been also a successful painter in oil colours. Research Richard Burbage
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Abbreviations
Research Hamlet Case 
