Peter Davies surveys the critical fortunes of Hamlet the play and Hamlet the man through the ages. He takes issue with the notion that Hamlet's tragedy is merely a matter of personal inadequacy in the face of the task set him by the Ghost, and demonstrates that the play is something much larger - a complex exploration of the depths of human corruption and evil as they are here exhibited in the world of the Danish court. In so doing he also convincingly demonstrates that the character of Ophelia has been consistently misinterpreted, underestimated and underplayed by commentators, directors and actors.