Hamlet exists in three early texts that disagree with each other on thousands of points — which is why the editor on the spine matters more here than for any other play. Every edition below solves the problem differently. One seat, kept for decades: buy the one you’ll actually reread.
The short version of the problem: the First Quarto of 1603 is a garbled, fascinating pirate copy; the Second Quarto of 1604 is long and literary; the 1623 Folio is the theatre’s cut. “To be or not to be” sits in a different scene depending on which you trust. An editor’s choices here aren’t housekeeping — they decide which play you read.
1Arden Shakespeare, Third SeriesOur pick
Ed. Ann Thompson & Neil Taylor · Bloomsbury, 2016
The scholarly standard, and the only edition to print all three early texts in full. The notes answer every question you’ll ever have mid-scene — and a few you won’t think to ask for another decade.
2The New Cambridge Shakespeare
Ed. Philip Edwards · Cambridge University Press
Edwards’s introduction remains the single best short essay on the play — worth the cover price on its own. A clean, Folio-leaning text with theatre history woven through the commentary.
3Oxford World’s Classics
Ed. G. R. Hibbard · Oxford University Press
Hibbard’s bold, Folio-based text with the liveliest editorial voice of the five. The best value here, and the edition most likely to change your mind about scenes you thought you knew.
4Folger Shakespeare LibraryFirst read? Start here
Ed. Barbara Mowat & Paul Werstine · Simon & Schuster
The friendliest first read: glosses on the facing page, nothing between you and the verse. If this is your first Hamlet, start here and trade up later — the play will still be there.
5Norton Critical Edition
Ed. Robert S. Miola · W. W. Norton
The play plus two hundred pages of sources and criticism, Bradley to the present. For the reader whose marginalia has started answering back.
New to the play? Start with our Hamlet page — the orientation essay, and every screen version worth your evening.
Reading Hamlet this year?
Mark it in your record when you finish — one seat, kept for decades.