How much do I really know about Shakespeare and "Hamlet"?

1. All I really know about Hamlet, the Melancholy Dane, is that he comes in contact with the ghost of his father and somewhere down the line his sanity becomes just as questionable as his ability to be an active participant in the kingdom run by his uncle Claudius. I know it's not a lot, especially since I like to say I enjoy reading Shakespeare, but unfortunately I never got around to Hamlet. 
2. My knowledge of Shakespeare, thankfully, is a bit more extensive than my knowledge of Hamlet. Shakespeare was born in 1564 and is credited with creating modern English. His works have managed to transcend all the barriers of time due to their unique style and political controversy. Shakespeare, who was married to Anne Hathaway, created the Globe Theater and many of his works were played in that theater. Shakespeare wrote a variety of things, from sonnets to plays written entirely in iambic pentameter and many of them containing several political criticisms of either the queen or her court.
3. I think students frown because typically when teachers talk about Shakespeare they don't really allow too much free reign with interpretation. The best part about reading ANYTHING is that no two people would get the same interpretation. Yet when teachers bring Shakespeare up, that freedom to think and interpret the play is restricted until you can think of how the teacher would interpret it, which makes reading Shakespeare a chore rather than an experience.
4. I think the way we can read this play to make it a memorable experience is to have us read and act it out in class that way everyone is involved and we get a visual aid to help us understand the play a little better. I only recommend this because my seventh grade class did this when reading A Midsummer Night's Dream and I still remember the play and the experience as if it were yesterday.