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Three cheers for 'Hamlet,' the greatest Shakespeare play of all time

Congratulations, you wonderfully complicated Danish Prince.

MJ Franklin

on April 23, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

No more questions of "To be or not to be," Hamlet -- you ARE Shakespeare's greatest play ever written.

This week, we've been hosting a This Be Madness Shakespeare bracket to search for Shakespeare's greatest play. We selected 32 of Shakespeare's most iconic works and had them battle head-to-head for the title of "The Best Shakespeare Play Ever Written." The plays were organized into four quadrants based on the four genres of plays Shakespeare commonly wrote: comedies, histories, tragedies and weird magic stuff. (We might have made up this fourth category but you know the type: witches, ghosts, gods, etc.)

Then, each day from April 18 - April 22, we posted Twitter polls with rounds of matchups for you to vote on until we found our champion.

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The people have spoken and now we can say, on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, that Shakespeare's Best Play Ever Written is...Hamlet!

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"Hamlet is Shakespeare’s greatest play because, while the play showcases the struggles of Danish royals, what Shakespeare has really written about are the core elements that drive all of us: grief, betrayal, love (or the lack thereof) and family.

In 5 acts, Shakespeare brilliantly portrays just what happens when it feels like the entire world has turned against us. And that’s a feeling we can all relate to. That’s why it’s been endlessly adapted and retold. From children’s movies like Lion King to cult hits like Strange Brews to more traditional retellings, the world just can't get enough of Hamlet.

Then there is the soliloquy! “To be or not to be” is all of our existential anthem.

And finally, the reason why Hamlet is Shakespeare's greatest play is well -- Hamlet himself. The Danish prince is simply the greatest, most complicated character Shakespeare has ever written. While other characters flatly want one thing -- love, revenge, the throne (actually a whole lot of characters want the throne) -- Hamlet is grappling with all of those desires, all while dealing with grave existential despair. It's this mixture that makes Hamlet so wonderfully nuanced. He is an incredible character study by Shakespare, one that elevates any actor that plays him and any reader that reads him.

In short, Hamlet was destined to be our This Be Madness winner because with iconic characters, an incredible plot about betrayal and madness, and truly great prose, Shakespeare has written a moving play about all of us."

-MJ

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Check out the final bracket below. And you can find polls with the results of the previous rounds here.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

And though Hamlet may be our bracket winner, if there is anything that This Be Madness has taught us its that all of Shakespeare's characters are incredible. Here's to you, Willy Shakes.