Hamlet Help: The Play's Greatness?

[Shotta]

I have a literary essay to do for an English class dealing with Hamlet.

The questions is, Why is Hamlet considered to be one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) plays ever written in the English language?

While i have some ideas, i thought that perhaps people on this board, who seem to know Shakespeare really well, might be able to help me get some more ideas.

Thanks

Shotta

[MacBeth]

One particular literary quality that Hamlet has which no modern novel would dare project is a dodge at every turn. I.e., Is Ohpelia Hamlet's lover, or does she merely take pity on him, or is it Hamlet that's imposing love upon her solely? That leads us to the age old question regarding Hamlet's sanity: is he in his right mind, and merely a bit eccentric, or a lunatic, or unable to deal with the the combined pressure of his father's death and duty to kill Claudius, or is he playing a complex game that will eventually lead to murder? There is an endless discussion within each of these, nevermind the overall greatness of the play.

as I lack motive to give you any answers, I thought I'd simply give you a bit of insight: that's always better than answers.

MacBeth.