The following collection of thematically related readings is available in Hamlet and Related Readings in McDougal Littell's Literature Connections series.

Excerpt from "Introduction to Hamlet" by David Bevington
(from The Complete Works of Shakespeare, © 1992)
Summary: In this critical essay, 20th-century scholar David Bevington offers his interpretations of the characters and conflicts in Hamlet.

"Father and Son" by Stanley Kunitz
from The Poems of Stanley Kunitz 1928-1978, © 1944)
Summary: The speaker in this poem yearns for his long-dead father and searches for some living connection with him.

"Ophelia" by Arthur Rimbaud
(from Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters, © 1966)
Summary: This poem reflects both the beauty and tragedy of Ophelia's life.

"The Management of Grief" by Bharati Mukherjee
(from The Middleman and Other Stories, © 1988)
Summary: In this story, a Hindu woman living in Canada loses her entire family in a plane crash over Ireland. She and others who have lost family members struggle with intense grief and the finality of terrible loss.

"Tell Them Not to Kill Me!" by Juan Rulfo
(from The Burning Plain and Other Stories, © 1953)
Summary: When a murderer who has evaded capture for 40 years is finally caught, a son's revenge is revealed.

"Hamlet" by Yevgeny Vinokurov
(from 20th Century Russian Poetry, © 1993)
Summary: This poem describing an impromptu production of Hamlet in a Russian military camp gives a new perspective on both actor and audience.

"Japanese Hamlet" by Toshio Mori
(from The Chauvinist and Other Stories, © 1979)
Summary: In this story, the main character has no desire in life except to play the part of Hamlet.