Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the most famous works written in the history of English literature. This is partly because its central characters and thematic concerns are still able to resonate with readers today. Due to the polysemous nature of the work, its ideas can be interpreted in myriad ways and there is no single correct meaning. Readers bring their personal experiences, cultures, and beliefs into reading the work. I will explore the notion of privacy in Hamlet and its scarcity. There were also some cinematic interpretations that influenced my opinion of the work. Additionally, I will examine the extent to which Hamlet is relevant to me personally and to the 21st century, 400 years after the play was originally written. I felt I could identify with Ophelia in the scene where her brother and father both intrude on her. love and therefore private life. In this scene, Ophelia is not only stripped of her privacy, but also of her assertive girl power. This is demonstrated by the way in which Laertes lovingly reminds Ophelia to guard her “chaste treasure” (I, III, 34), a topic that is embarrassing for a brother to discuss with his sister. Polonius, however, insults his daughter and calls her “a green girl” (I, III, 106), meaning that she is naive and immature. He further asserts his paternal power by "commanding" her "not [to] believe his vows" (I, III, 128 ff) and forbidding her to see Hamlet again. In Kenneth Branagh's film version, Polonius is portrayed as an aggressive father, who pushes Ophelia against a wall and demands that she reveal what she is hiding, which is truly an invasion of her privacy. Ophelia's lack of privacy in the sense that others control how she approaches her love life,...the focus of the card...not only on what they do in public, but also in private. In summary, privacy is an important theme throughout the work. From Hamlet I learned that true privacy is not only very rare, but also something you can never be sure you have. This becomes evident in several instances in the play where Hamlet and Ophelia's privacy is abused. My reading was influenced not only by film interpretations, but also by my personal experiences and attitudes. The continued interest and relevance of the work, which surprisingly still exists today, is partly due to the numerous ways in which the work can be read, giving it personal meaning to each reader each time they read it. Through this brilliant play, modern audiences are reminded of the inevitability of the loss of privacy, which is becoming increasingly pronounced with the rapid advances in technology worldwide..