‘If thou didst ever thy dear father love … Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder'—this cry by his father's ghost sets the melancholic Prince of Denmark on a bloody course of revenge against Claudius, now both his uncle and stepfather. One of the most analyzed characters in literature, Hamlet—determined and vacillating, impulsive but cautious, eloquent yet enigmatic—is the embodiment of irony and contradiction. Hamlet's delay in avenging his father's murder, the affectation or reality of his madness, the characters' psychological depth, and the prominence of theatricality are just a few of the many issues that have engaged critics and audiences alike.