"In this useful guide, Paul Cantor provides a structured introduction to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. Cantor examines Hamlet's status as tragic hero and the central enigma of his delayed revenge in light of the play's Renaissance context. He offers students a discussion of the dramatic and poetic techniques used in the play. In the final chapter he deals with the varied reception of Hamlet on the stage and in literature generally from the seventeenth century to the present day."--BOOK JACKET.