Hamlet
Hamlet by William Shakespeareby William Shakespeare
Ranked 2 of 5 plays by recommenders
Recommended as an excellent play that many find confusing on the page but clear when performed. The most common caveat is that reading it alone can feel confusing and lifeless.
Recommended as an excellent play that many find confusing on the page but clear when performed. The most common caveat is that reading it alone can feel confusing and lifeless.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Excellent play worth the effort
“they also take some getting used to but are worth it in the end”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “I think it's an excellent play.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Meta reuses old RAM in new servers with custom bridge chip”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Confusing and lifeless when read alone
“reading it alone just felt so confusing and lifeless... But then later on I saw a play version of it and suddenly it all made sense!”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “I like 'em thick OR: an apology to my English teachers” Recurring ears motif seems arbitrary
“the recurring theme of ears in Hamlet means something or it's just something Shakespeare felt like adding”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “I like 'em thick OR: an apology to my English teachers”
Other plays people recommend
The four most recommended other plays, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcadiaby Tom Stoppard | 7 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Hamletby William ShakespeareThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Shakespeare's playsby William Shakespeare | 4 | 4 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Macbethby William Shakespeare | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Faustby Goethe | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the famous great plays - Richard III (especially topical), King Lear, Hamlet, etc. - are monuments to humanity's genius.”
“the recurring theme of ears in Hamlet means something or it's just something Shakespeare felt like adding”
“reading it alone just felt so confusing and lifeless... But then later on I saw a play version of it and suddenly it all made sense!”
“I think it's an excellent play.”
“they also take some getting used to but are worth it in the end”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.