I’ve seen many references to Kronborg Castle in Denmark as the inspiration for Hamlet. The usual questions about – if Shakespeare visited Denmark, how could he have had a specific location in mind? Didn’t he just make it up?
This article walks through the play and the castle like some sort of detective story, looking for the details that prove Shakespeare must have meant this particular castle. Will Kempe, for instance, played here before he became one of Shakespeare’s best men. Could Will have told…ummm…Will about the castle?
I love the walk through the castle. “Here could be the platform where they stood to watch the custom more honoured in the breach than the observance….and here’s a spot where Hamlet could have hidden and looked down to watch Claudius at prayer….” and so on. Sounds like great fun!
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