On the way toward penning perhaps the most well-known play in the English language, William Shakespeare coined handfuls of words and expressions in the pages of “Hamlet” that we still use today.

If there’s an image that could represent all of English-language theater, it would be Hamlet holding and peering at a skull, as he does toward the end of the play. Yet despite the work’s familiarity, it remains fertile ground for fresh interpretation.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival launched its 25th season last week with just its second production of “Hamlet” in Forest Park , after first performing it for the company’s 10th birthday.

Michael Sexton , an expert on Shakespeare’s text who has directed plays and run a public Shakespeare initiative at the Public Theater in New York, directs

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