Act 5

Act 5 begins in a graveyard and hones in on a discussion between two gravediggers. The “clowns” accuse Ophelia of committing suicide. They believe that because she decided to take her own life, Ophelia does not deserve a proper burial. One of them even points out that no one can drown themselves in self-defence, making it clear that suicide is Ophilia’s only possible cause of death. Due to Ophelia’s high rank in society, she is given a proper and honorable Christain burial.

After returning home, Hamlet walks in the graveyard the same day of Ophelia’s funeral. He is startled by a skull and a gravedigger singing in the graveyard. We learn that the gravedigger does not realize who Hamlet is, as he begins to gossip about royal happenings with Hamlet. The gravedigger also mentions that the skull belongs to King Hamlet’s jester, Yorick. Hamlet, having known Yorik, begins to feel sick. After seeing Yorik lifeless, he realizes that all men decompose, revert back to the earth, and become unimportant objects.

Soon, Hamlet stumbles upon Ophelia’s funeral. Hamlet confesses his love for Ophelia and claims that his love for her was greater than Laertes’s love for her. Hamlet continues to compare himself to others, but this time he compared himself publicly. After fighting with Laertes in the graveyard, tensions rise.

Hamlet argues that because Claudius “hath killed my king, and whored my mother,” Hamlet is justified in murdering Claudius. While Hamlet sees Laertes as a fellow avenger, Hamlet’s hotheadedness encourages him to accept the duel posed by Laertes. Hamlet feels as though his character is in question because of the duel and believes he can win despite heavy protests from Horatio.

Before entering the duel where the true Shakespearen tragedy shows, Hamlet attempts to blame his madness for Polonius’s death. During the duel, Claudius prepares to poison Hamlet, but instead kills Gertrude. While Hamlet was already poisoned by Laertes's sword during the intense jousting, he still avenges both King Hamlet’s and Gertrudes’s deaths by forcing Claudius to drink from the poisoned cup. Laertes forgives Hamlet before dying as well. Horatio, surrounded by dead and dying people confesses his desire to commit suicide. Hamlet tells Horatio to live on and “draw thy breath in pain / To tell my story.”

When Fortinbras, Hamlet’s choice for King of Denmark, enters the room, he is shocked by the death in the room. The English ambassador shares the news that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were executed, which followed Hamlet’s plan. Truly, the most Shakespearean tragedy ending I have ever read.

Hamlet Act 4 scenes 5-7

At the beginning of scene five, we learn that Ophelia has gone mad because of Polonius's death and Hamlet's actions toward her. She sings songs to Claudius and Gertrude about losing love and virginity and expresses that she feels betrayed by Hamlet. After she leaves, Claudius talks about how so many bad things have happened at once an now Laertes is going to return to Denmark to figure out who killed his father. I was surprised that especially Gertrude was not more understanding and comforting of Ophelia's situation considering the loss of her husband and her concern for Hamlet. When Laertes comes and confronts Claudius about Polonius's death, Claudius denies he had anything to do with it. Laertes is seeking revenge and seems to want to do whatever it takes to get it. This made me compare him to Hamlet, who was much more hesitant to assign the blame to Claudius for his father's death without proof. Laertes gets even angrier when he sees that Ophelia is crazy. Claudius does his best to empathize with Laertes and suggests that if he was the killer, Laertes can be king, but if he is not, then Claudius will help him kill the real murderer.

In scene six, Hamlet returns to Denmark, having escaped pirates at sea. He sends letters to the King and Horatio and wants to meet with Horatio. Meanwhile, in scene seven, Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet killed Polonius and tried to kill him too. He makes up an excuse about not killing Hamlet before by saying that he did not want to see Gertrude suffer from the death of her son because he loved her too much and that the citizens like Hamlet too much to kill him without an obvious reason. Laertes is glad to hear that Hamlet is returned so he can take revenge. Cladius encourages Laertes to act quickly because his motivation might fade since love lessens over time. I thought this was really ironic because the only reason Claudius is still alive is that Hamlet had procrastinated killing him. Claudius and Laertes then make their plan to kill him including a not blunted sword with a poisonous tip and and cup of poison. Gertrude comes in and tells them that Ophelia has drowned, which fuels Laertes sadness and anger even more. At the end of the scene, Claudius lies to Gertrude and says that he tried to calm Laertes down.

I am curious to see how Claudius's and Laertes's plan will turn out and what Gertrude's reaction will be. I am also interested in seeing Hamlet's reaction to Ophelia's death.

act 3 scene 2 and 3

Act three scene two begins when hamlet tells the players of the play to act as rehearse the way he wishes them to rehearse. Soon after this Horatio arrives and Hamlet discusses his admiration of Horatio and his qualities. I found this to be interesting especially since we know he is the one person who does not betray hamlet at the end of the play. Because hamlet had told Horatio about what the ghost told him, hamlet asks Horatio to observe Polonius to see whether or not his reaction is telling of his murder, and Horatio agrees. This once again is important as it contributed to the motif and theme of surveillance in which all members of the play are spying on the others. Additionally, the theme of madness and insanity in hamlet reappears when he is in front of Polonius and Claudius before the start of what is called the dumb show where the king and the queen act out what has happened to hamlet in real life, in which the queen leaves the king who is then murdered by another, and that person tries to seduce the queen. This is soon acted out in full and it is very telling according to hamlet and Horatio that Claudius is guilty.

In the next scene, Claudius believing hamlet is mad talks to Hamlet's two friends and asks them to take him on a trip to England immediately. Polonius enters and then reminds Claudius that he intends to hide and overhear the conversation between hamlet and Gertrude, letting Claudius know he will make him aware of all that he has heard. Polonius then leaves and Claudius admits to his guilt and sin which hamlet overhears as he is about to kill Claudius and revenge his father's death. Hamlet realizes however that if he kills Claudius while he is asking for forgiveness he will go to heaven and therefore decides not to kill him at that moment. I think that the second scene was more intense than the first however throughout both I think it is evident that two main themes are surveillance and madness which have appeared several times recently. Both of these combined however cause much confusion and that end up having a negative end result.

Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 1-2

Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 1-2

In Act 2, Scene 1 and 2 Hamlet seems to be in a manic state. In scene 1, many are wondering why Hamlet seems to have gone mad. Ophelia is visited by Hamlet and he has an intense display of affection. This leads Ophelia, and eventually Polonius, to believe that she is the root of Hamlet’s madness. In this scene, Polonius’ meddling becomes evident not only in his actions with Ophelia but also with his son Laertes. Polonius seems to have many ulterior motives behind all of his actions, one of which is brownnosing the King and Queen when he brings news of Hamlet and hatches the plot of Ophelia and Hamlet’s meeting.

Hamlet also reveals that he is just as mad as everyone says he is. When he speaks of Denmark as a prison and how grey and dark his life is, we can see more and more why Hamlet seems to struggle with thoughts of suicide. We can also see how deeply he is being effected by his father’s ghost. However, Hamlet seems sane enough to hatch a plan and have the players act “The Murder of Gonzago” where Hamlet plans to add some lines.

I think it is really interesting that after a ghost has spoken to Hamlet and told him the truth behind the murder, Hamlet still feels the need to prove it was his uncle. I think that Hamlet at this point in the play, although he is suffering greatly, he is still conflicted with his morals. He is still deciding if he should act with his head or his heart. I am very intrigued to find out what happens with Hamlet’s added lines in the play and how his uncle reacts.

Hamlet: Act 1, Scenes 3,4,and 5

In Act 1 scenes 3,4, and 5, the plot starts to unravel more as the character’s true colors show. At the beginning of Act 3, we learn that Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, does not like the idea of his sister being with Hamlet. He says that he has other priorities, such as the well-being of his state, which in return takes away from the time he could devote to Ophelia. Polonius, Ophelia’s father, later enters the scene cautioning her to not get further involved with Hamlet. Polonius tells Ophelia to, “not believe his vows, for they are brokers, Not of that dye which by their investments show, but mere implorators of unholy suits” (Act 1, Scene 3, 127-130). Ophelia then responds to her father saying she will obey his wishes not to see Hamlet anymore.

I think that both Laertes and Polonius had a right to caution Ophelia about Hamlet’s intentions, like any concerned father and brother would do. However, the effect of gender roles in this society shows in this scene. Laertes gives his sister a long speech on how Hamlet does not have her intentions at heart. Right after, Ophelia calls out his hypocrisy (lines 45-51), stating that Laertes doesn’t even follow the advice he just gave her in his own relationships. Gender inequality also shows in the discussion between Polonius and Ophelia. After trying to reason with her father about Hamlet’s love, she gives in to Polonius and says, “I shall obey, my lord” (Act 1, Scene 3, 136). With this, Ophelia surrenders to her father and does not stand up for the love she truly thinks is real.

In Scenes 4 and 5, Hamlet finally comes face to face with the rumored Ghost. When the ghost tells Hamlet to follow him alone, both Horatio and Marcellus warn him not to go. Here, we see a brave side of Hamlet as he orders the two to stop holding him back and to not follow him. It is with the ghost that he learns how his father died and who killed him. At the end of the scene, Hamlet is left confused while contemplating what he will do with this information. I am very intrigued to find out what if Hamlet will pursue revenge on his uncle/stepdad.