A distinguishing and frequently mystifying feature of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet is the presence of dark humor: constant wordplay, irony, riddles, clowning, and bawdy repartee. The language of Hamlet is cleverly and specifically designed in the guise of Shakespeare’s dark humor. In regards to all uses of comedy and wit, the language of this play is meant to be pleasing to the audience but not to the characters. This concept is essential in …showed first 75 words of 3524 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3524 total…in Hamlet. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Fisch, Harold. Hamlet and the Word. New York: Frederick Ungar Pubishing Company, Inc., 1971. Florescu, Radu, and McNally, Raymond T. In Search of Dracula. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Nardo, Don, ed. Readings on Hamlet. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. Thomson, Peter. Shakespeare’s Theatre. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1992. Watts, Cedric. Hamlet. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988. Weitz, Morris. Hamlet and the Philosophy of Literary Criticism. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1964.