Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
¶ … Ophelia's burial and funeral. At the beginning of the scene, two clowns (gravediggers) make jokes about death and also wonder whether Ophelia was a good Christian woman and worthy of burial in a Christian cemetery. Finally, the two gravediggers make a joke about the "houses" they build lasting "till doomsday," referring to the eternity and finality of death. This message about mortality continues as Hamlet enters the scene and speaks with the gravediggers. Until this point, Hamlet has no idea that it is Ophelia who is about to be buried. When he figures it out, Hamlet goes crazy and professes his undying love for Ophelia. In the final scene of the play, Hamlet confesses to having Rosencranz and Guildenstern killed. Hamlet also tells Horatio that he sympathizes with Laertes, because both Hamlet and Laertes seek revenge for the death of their fathers. Claudius has arranged for Laertes and Hamlet to fight in a duel and plans to poison Hamlet if Hamlet should win. However, Gertrude ends up drinking from the poisoned cup and Hamlet ends up killing Laertes with the poisoned sword. In their final moments, both Gertrude and Laertes realize the truth of Claudius's treachery and forgive Hamlet. Hamlet has been wounded too, and as he dies, he proclaims Fortinbras as the new King of Denmark.
2. Quotes:
Scene 1: "I lov'd Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?" (V.1.214). Spoken...
Spoken by Laertes, this line reveals that Laertes was essentially a good-natured person who did not want to kill anyone. Because much of this scene shows how Hamlet sympathizes with Laertes, Shakespeare may also be trying to show that like Laertes, Hamlet is also a good person at heart who was briefly consumed by the desire for revenge.
3.a. There are no genuinely confusing points in this reading, because Shakespeare wraps up all elements of the play neatly. However, the audience does not know Fortinbras enough to know whether Hamlet's choice for the throne is a good one.
b. Hamlet decided that his own life was worth more than Rosencranz and Guildenstern's together. By tricking the messenger into having them instead of Hamlet murdered, Hamlet commits a more cold-blooded murder than the one against Polonius, which was a murder committed out of desire to avenge his father. The murder of Rosencranz and Guildenstern was more selfish in nature.
4. Questions
Higher-level 1: Why do you think Shakespeare devotes an entire scene (Act V, scene i) to Ophelia's funeral, when Ophelia is a minor character?
Higher-level 2: The grave-diggers briefly mention the fact that suicide is considered a Christian sin and therefore if Ophelia committed suicide, she would not…
"It is true that Hamlet dies because he postpones too long the killing of the king. But it is equally true significant that Claudius dies because he postpones too long the killing of Hamlet" (Elliott, 1951). 4. Conclusions Great Britain has produced ones of the greatest writers of all times, with William Shakespeare being the most relevant example to sustain this statement. His Hamlet has been played for years within theaters
He questions whether he should try to clear the court of corruption or just give up and end his life now. It is this emotional doubt that drives Hamlet to act deranged at times, but he overcomes it, and almost manages to answer the difficult questions posed in his life. In Act V, when calm returns, Hamlet repents his behavior (V, ii, 75-78) (Lidz, 164). In Lidz's book Freud is
" This madness likely leads to Ophelia's suicide but, consistent with the entire theme of this play, the exact nature of Ophelia's demise is left to speculation. The fascination with Hamlet is uncanny. What provides this fascination is the fact that there is always more to what is going on in the play than what actually appears to be. Observers of the play are left with an overwhelming feeling that they
"(Summary and Analysis: Act V) CONCLUSION It is clear that Hamlet undergoes a personal transformation as he holds the skull of the court jester of his childhood and as he has lost all of those he loves so dear. Whether his mind clears or he simply is able to step back from that which bound him from action and had him hiding behind a mask of insanity it is clear that Hamlet
Shakespeare Final Opportunity for Reflection and Writing Identifications: "Stand and unfold yourself" This quote comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Francisco and Bernardo are two guards standing watch in the middle of the night at the castle Elsinore. This is the second line of the play, spoken by Francisco in response to Bernardo's question of who goes there. It is an important part because it sets the tone for the rest of the play. Much of
To act in a murderous, vengeful way that is contrary to his true nature, and to assume madness creates madness. At first, Hamlet suggests that vengefulness in a corrupt court is a kind of sanity, when he vows to put on an antic disposition, but he acts in a way that is more and more contrary to his moral nature as the play goes on, rebuking his mother against