Hamlet
Audible trial: new members only. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
Widely assigned — 3 curriculum lists
Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is assigned in US schools at grades 11–12. It appears across 3 curriculum references, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Hamlet is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 11–12
- Age range
- Ages 16–18
- Pages
- 384
- Reading time
- about 7 hours (est.)
- First published
- 1603
- Genre
- Tragedy
- ISBN-13
- 9780743477123
New to these terms? Reading levels by grade
More formats & details
Audiobook on Amazon: Audiobook
As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you. Pricing, Prime, and trial terms shown on Amazon.
About this book
Prince Hamlet of Denmark is visited by the ghost of his murdered father and charged with avenging his death on his uncle Claudius, the new king. Shakespeare's longest and most philosophically complex play — a cornerstone of 11th-12th grade English and AP Literature curricula.
Similar grade-level books
The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L
Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck · 630L
Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding · 770L
The Catcher in the RyeJ.D. Salinger · 790L
See all books like Hamlet→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Tragedy title, typically at grades 11–12. Written in the 1600s; pairs with curriculum units on revenge and madness; cited across 3 curriculum frameworks.
Content notes
murder · suicide · violence · mental illness
Common Sense Media recommends age 14+.
Where this book is assigned
Was this page helpful?
Common questions
- What grade level is Hamlet?
- Hamlet is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 11–12. It appears on 3 school reading lists. Exact placement varies by school and district.
- How long does it take to read Hamlet?
- It takes about 7 hours to read Hamlet (384 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 420 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Hamlet?
- Hamlet appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, Common Core State Standards (ELA), IB Diploma Programme — English A: Literature. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Hamlet banned in schools?
- Hamlet has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (TX) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.
- What themes does Hamlet explore?
- Central themes in Hamlet include revenge, madness, mortality, deception, indecision.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 11–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 3 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.