Hamlet 4.7-5.1 Blog Post

In Act 4 Scene 7, Claudius's manipulation is shown as he tells Laertes that Hamlet killed Polonius and urges him to take revenge. Although he mentions Hamlet kills Polonius, he doesn’t mention that he believes Hamlet to be mad, purposefully convincing Laertes even more to kill Hamlet. It is discovered that Claudius’s plan to kill Hamlet has failed, and Hamlet is returning to Denmark instead. Using Laertes’s newfound anger, he urges him to take revenge and kill Hamlet. Claudius’s plans for Hamlet to die in a way that seems like an accident, not to make Gertude mad and to still appeal likeable to the people. Claudius suggests poisoning Hamlet’s drink which is like how Claudius killed King Hamlet, by pouring poison in his ear. Claudius constantly plays on Laertes recent emotions of his father’s death and the discovery that Ophelia’s mad to urge him to take revenge. Laertes tells Claudius, “To cut his throat the church” (4.7.125). This shows Laertes willingness to act. Laertes is not worried in a spiritual and religious sense about murdering Hamlet, claiming that he would murder Hamlet in church. Whereas for Hamlet, religion is a constant reason for Hamlet’s inaction to murder Claudius.

 

In Act 5 Scene 1, the question arises whether Ophelia death of drowning was by suicide or on accident. The gravediggers discuss her death and whether they believe it to be suicide. The gravediggers offer an outside perspective from ordinary people. They say, “If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial” (5.1.20-21). The gravediggers believe that she did commit suicide but is still being given a Christian funeral because of her high rank. Continuing they say, "and the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even-Christen" (5.1.22-24). The gravediggers criticize society, claiming that the rich and noble are hypocritical because Ophelia is given a proper Christian burial even though she broke religious rules.

 

When Hamlet walks into the graveyard, he begins to speculate about who the skulls on the ground belonged to. Being face to face with the remains of humans affects Hamlet’s perspective. Throughout the novel, Hamlet’s thoughts have been surrounding death, whether that be his own, his father’s cruel death, or how he will murder Claudius. However, only now is he truly reflecting on death. When he discovers that one of the skulls was Yorick, the King's jester whom he used to be friends with, he falls into a deeper spiral about death. Hamlet realizes that all that is left of Yorick is his skull, not any of his defining characteristics. Hamlet asks Horatio: "Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion the earth? (5.1.167). Hamlet begins to realize that all humans end up the same after death, even someone as great and powerful as Alexander the Great. This confirms Hamlet’s view of life as meaningless.