Hamlet

Why it’s on the list: A prince told by his father’s ghost that his uncle murdered him spends four acts not acting on it. Shakespeare gives a revenge tragedy a protagonist who thinks, and four centuries of readers have argued about whether the delay is cowardice, conscience, or intelligence recognising that revenge is a bad idea.

Where I heard about it

• Founders Classical Academy — on the tenth-grade reading list at this classical school in Lewisville, Texas, posted by the Classic Learning Test in September 2026 as an example of what a classical curriculum assigns. The fourth Shakespeare on the list and its first tragedy of interiority, assigned at sixteen. Full sequence: Founders Classical Academy Reading List.

Connections

• Founders Classical Academy Reading List — the curriculum this came from; 56 unique titles across 5th through 12th grade.
• Classical Education — the movement whose canon this list is.
• William Shakespeare
• King Lear
• Literature