Many consider this to be Shakespeare's greatest work, we claim it depends on who performs it as nobody should read Shakespeare—unless reading is the only option. If Shakespeare intended for his plays to be read he would have included more stage directions.

Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and contains perhaps the most difficult vocabulary of his entire repertoire, so if you can understand the words used in Hamlet other Shakespeare performances will come easier as the core vocabulary in all Elizabethan plays is very similar. Additionally it is an important play to know as it is frequently referenced in literature and pop culture; it is “performed” in The Young Lions, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Great Expectations; discussed at length in Ulysses and mentioned in War and Peace, Middlemarch and In Search of Lost Time. There is even a Hamlet reference in the BBC's Blackadder.

Although it is unlikely that your local Shakespeare in the Park theater troupe will perform Hamlet due to its length, several DVD versions are available. Keep in mind that plays are written to be be performed on a stage in an intimate setting, so if you decide to watch Hamlet on DVD we highly recommend the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2009 version (likely available in your local library) while absolutely avoiding the 1996 Branagh version.