The full play, original text on one side, plain modern English on the other — every scene, free.
The ghost of the king of Denmark orders his son 'Hamlet' to avenge his death by killing the new king - his uncle. And his uncle also devises plot to kill Hamlet in order to save his own life.
The ghost of the king of Denmark orders his son 'Hamlet' to avenge his death by killing the new king - his uncle.
Everything we have for Hamlet, all on one page.
The full play, scene by scene, original beside modern English.
Who's who — and what each one wants.
What the play is about, beneath the plot.
Patterns Shakespeare keeps returning to.
The lines you know, paraphrased and explained.
What happens in each scene, and why it matters.
Fifteen questions. No login.
Year, setting, length, why people read it.
Tap any scene below to start reading.
The ones you've heard. The ones you almost remember. Now in plain English.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…"
"To live, or to die — that's what I'm asking myself. Is it nobler to put up with all the bad things life throws at me…"
Hamlet · Act 3, Scene 1
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
"There's more in this world, Horatio, than your philosophy ever imagined."
Hamlet · Act 1, Scene 5
Yes — every line is matched to its original. Our translations preserve meaning over cleverness: where Shakespeare uses a metaphor, we keep it; where the wordplay turns on a sound that no longer exists, we explain rather than fake it. This is a translation, not a summary.
About 3 hours at a steady pace. With synced narration in the app, the runtime is roughly 3h 12m — and you can pause anywhere without losing your place.
Yes. We use the full public-domain First Folio text, with no cuts. The simplified column runs in parallel — every line of original Shakespeare has its modern English match.
Synced read-along narration is in the Fluid Shakespeare app on iOS and Android. Tap a line; press play; the words highlight as they're read. Get the app →