The story of Hamlet is actually much older than Shakespeare’s play. The earliest presentation of the story in a still existing literary form was in the 12th century, by Dane Saxo Grammaticus. This version was expanded by Francois de BeIleforest in ‘Histories Tragique’, in 1582. It is generally believed that this book is the source of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet was played in 1600 or 1601, and it was printed first in 1603.
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