The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.

"A little more than kin, and less than kind" is Prince Hamlet's withering assessment of his relationship to the new king of Denmark, his uncle Claudius. Claudius—who has secretly poisoned Hamlet's father—sleazily ingratiates himself to the mourning prince with rhetorical appellatives like "my cousin Hamlet, and my son." ("Cousin" in Renaissance English could refer to an aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.) Hamlet mutters that Claudius is more than "kin" (more than a "cousin" because now a stepfather), but definitely less than "kind."

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