How many times have we seen the case of a man who is too quick to believe his wife or girlfriend has been unfaithful, and – after the cataclysmic fallout – he then discovers that it was never true in the first place. Shakespeare’s works are full of tragedy resulting from rash conclusions that – in turn - result in ill-considered actions. While it’s certainly not the most action-packed of Shakespeare’s plays, that is actually part of what makes it unique and makes its lead character relatable. “Methinks she doth protest too much,” “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” “Brevity is the soul of wit,” and “Sweets to the sweet” all derive from this play.īut quotability isn’t the sole basis for the play’s popularity. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”), to Hamlet’s soliloquized attempts to think through a course of action (“To be, or not to be: That is the question:”), to Hamlet’s wisdom in moments of lucidity (”There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” or “There is more in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than is dreamt of in your philosophy.”) to the many other quotes from various characters that appear across pop culture and everyday speech. From Polonius’s warnings to his son (e.g. There’s probably a higher density of widely-quoted lines, and phrases that are part of common speech, in this play than in any other work of literature. One reason for its popularity relates to language. If it’s not, it has to be in the top three.

This is probably Shakespeare’s most popular work.

Hamlet book