Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act III, Scene 1 is the best-known monologue in all of William Shakespeare’s work, if not all of Western literature. In order to familiarize yourselves with it, and consider as many interpretations as possible, please find below a selection of several memorable performances on screen and on stage.

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Lawrence Olivier (1948)

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Richard Burton (Broadway, dir. John Gielgud, 1964)

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Mel Gibson (dir. F. Zeffirelli, 1990)

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Kenneth Branagh (1996)

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Ethan Hawke (dir. Michael Almereyda, 2000)

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Adrian Lester (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, dir. Peter Brook, 2002)

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To end on a lighter note, though, please enjoy Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie’s slightly facetious deconstruction of the soliloquy:

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