Act 5 Scene 2

In the beginning of the final scene of the play, Hamlet tell Horatio about how he managed to find a way to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. While on the ship for England, Hamlet searched R&G's room and found the letter from Claudius that ordered his execution by beheading. Hamlet then proceeded to forge a letter from Claudius that ordered for the execution of R & G instead. Upon Horatio's reaction (of horror or indifference, it would be left up to the actor) Hamlet dismisses R & G as nothing more than mere instruments of Claudius, and he seems to show no remorse for what he has done. Hamlet goes on to justify his (hopefully) soon to be killing of Claudius, and he compares himself to Laertes, seeming to regret the fact that he has to fight against a fellow avenger. This passage in particular suggests that Hamlet liked Laertes, and may have even been friends with him before the play started. Osric, a courtier who doesn't really seem to have much purpose aside from being mocked by Hamlet and delivering a message, enters the scene. He uses absurdly flamboyant and fancy language, even for Shakespeare, and Hamlet mocks him throughout the scene by responding in kind. Osric praises Laertes for being the epitome of a gentleman, and he tells Hamlet that Claudius bets that in a fencing match between Laertes and Hamlet, Hamlet would win. Osric exits (while Hamlet and Horatio make fun of him) and another Lord enters, asking Hamlet if he would like to go ahead and battle Laertes. Hamlet agrees, even though Horatio warns him that he will lose. Laertes and others (including Claudius and Gertrude) enter, and Hamlet apologizes, claiming that his madness was to blame for the death of Polonius. Laertes seems to accept Hamlet's apology, although not without reservations. The two prepare to fight, and Claudius claims that he will order a celebratory feast if Hamlet wins. The fight begins, and Hamlet makes two first hits against Laertes. Claudius offers him a drink from the poisoned cup, but Hamlet refuses. Hamlet scores another hit against Laertes, and Gertrude toasts to Hamlet, but drinks from the poisoned cup. Claudius and Hamlet try to stop her, but to no avail. Hamlet turns away from his mother and the two seem to begin to fight beyond the formalities of a royal fencing match, and Hamlet is injured with the poisoned sword. The two fall down, and swords are switched in the scuffle to get back up. This time, Laertes is wounded by the poisoned sword. Gertrude falls from the affect of the poison, cries out, and dies. Hamlet is enraged, and Laertes falls on the floor, telling Hamlet that the both of them have been stabbed by the poison sword, and he blames Claudius for the poisoning of Gertrude. Hamlet takes the poisoned sword and hurts Claudius. He then forces Claudius to drink from the poisoned cup, telling him to follow his mother (supposedly to hell). Claudius dies. Laertes forgives Hamlet for the death of Polonius, and then dies as well. Hamlet claims that he is already dead, and drinks from the poisoned cup as well, preventing Horatio from doing so himself and committing suicide. He asks Horatio to tell his story and declares that Fortinbras shall succeed him as king. And with that, Hamlet dies. Horatio mourns his friend's death, and he hears the army of Fortinbras entering. The army enters with the news that R&G are dead, and Horatio asks for the bodies of the dead nobility to be put on display so that their story could be told. Fortinbras claims the throne of Denmark, but speaks highly of Hamlet and commands that his body be preserved with great ceremony. And thus, the play ends.

Hamlet, why do you agree to have a sword fight with Laertes? You know that Claudius must be on to you, so why to you agree to a sword fight that was his idea? Also, you seem to know that the cup that Claudius offers you is poison, because you tell your mother no to drink it. Are you just acting off of your suspicions or have you somehow found out about what's going on? Also, why do you decide to name Fortinbras as your heir? Is it because you realized his potential for great leadership back in Act 4?

I enjoy how Horatio is the only character left standing at the end of the play. He has a purpose at the end, so unlike Hamlet, he does not die. Horatio is responsible for telling the story of how all of the royal deaths occurred, and he seems determined to make sure that everyone knows. It makes sense that he is the only one left standing, but I was surprised that he wanted to commit suicide. It was funny to me that Hamlet, a character who has acted purely on emotion from the beginning of the play, prevents Horatio from killing himself. To me, Horatio's survival is another one of Shakespeare's omage to storytelling and the message that great stories should live on for ages after they occur. 

Act 5 Scene 1

The scene opens upon two graves diggers, assigned with the task of digging Ophelia's grave. One of them mentions that he believes that Ophelia committed suicide, however, she gets a Christian burial because she is part of the nobility. Hamlet and Horatio enter and watch as the gravediggers make room for the new casket by throwing out old skulls. Hamlet reflects on mortality, and he mentions that no matter what happens in life, it always ends with death. Hamlet converses with one of the clowns (who doesn't seem to recognize Hamlet) and mentions how peasants have grown too comfortable in talking to nobility in recent years. The gravedigger unearths another skull and mentions that it belongs to Yorick, King Hamlet's old jester and one of Hamlet's childhood friends. Hamlet picks up the skull and comments on how Yorick is unable to make jokes and play around as he used to. Hamlet then comments that death reduces great Kings to nothing more than dust. Suddenly, Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, a Priest, and other courtiers enter carrying Ophelia's coffin. Hamlet and Horatio are not seen by them. The Priest mentions that Claudius ordered that Ophelia have a Christian burial, even though her death was suspected to be a suicide. Laertes is convinced that his pure sister will be an angel in heaven, and Gertrude reveals that she wishes that Ophelia had grown to be Hamlet's wife. We see Hamlet realize Ophelia has died, and he seems distraught. Laertes, stricken with grief, leaps into Ophelia's grave in order to hold Ophelia one last time, but Hamlet reveals himself and claims that his grief is grater than that of Laertes. Laertes attempts to strangle Hamlet, but Claudius orders the guards to pull the two apart. Horatio holds Hamlet back as Hamlet claims that he loved Ophelia greatly, and that "forty thousand brothers/Could not with all their quantity of love/Make up [his] sum" (5.1.236-238). He claims that he will be able to match anything that Laertes will do out of grief, and he leaves. Claudius orders Horatio to look after Hamlet, and he tells Laertes that they must hurry and kill Hamlet.



My favorite character in this scene has to be the first Clown, and I would love the opportunity to perform the role one day. There are so many ways to interpret the character, but I would love to see a comedic clown in contrast with the dreary graveyard. I wouldn't play it as a slapstick role, but there are so many opportunities to exhibit dark humor and play off of Hamlet's confusion and the other clown's inquiries. The Clown is obviously very comfortable around death, whether it be because of his humorous disposition or his daily job, and he has to have a certain charisma that fascinates Hamlet. The familiarity that the Clown has with death allows for Hamlet to finally reach a calming conclusion about it before he faces his own death in the following scene, and this is what amazes me about him. Hamlet was searching for complicated answers about the nature of death throughout the show, yet in order to discover the truth, all he had to do was stop and talk to another person. The audience gets the chance to see commoners and nobility having a conversation that concerns all humans - and that really communicates the fact that we're all human and will have to face death eventually, no matter what social class. Everyone is equal in death. In my opinion, the Clown is probably the most truthful character in the entire play.

I absolutely LOVE the dialogue in this scene, but I particularly enjoyed Hamlet's line: "Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel (5.1.176-179)? This line stood out to me mostly because it reminds me alot of the phrase "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again." I'm not extremely religious, but the phrase is familiar to me, therefore I found that I warmed up immediately to this line. This feeling made me really listen to the words, and I understood what Hamlet was saying. I'm not sure if Shakespeare wrote that intentionally to resemble the common Christian phrase, but if he did, it would definitely be a way of getting his point across to the audience. Maybe, by modeling the line after a familiar phrase, Shakespeare knew that he would get the audience to listen to (if anything), a line that he believed was very important.

Act 4 Scene 7 (Analyzing Claudius)

1) In this scene, we see Claudius learn that Hamlet has not made it to England, and that his plot to kill him abroad has failed. He immediately acts on his toes and realizes that he can capitalize on Laertes's desire for revenge and have him kill Hamlet instead. That way, Claudius's hands will be clean and Hamlet will no longer be a threat. The actor portraying Claudius will have to portray his first reaction upon hearing of Hamlet's survival, but then work quickly to cover it up and decide to use Laertes's thirst for vengeance to his advantage. This scene really shows off Claudius's ability to think on his feet, and the actor can use this quality to portray Claudius as a cool, clear-headed villain.

2) Claudius's primary motivation in this scene is to convince Laertes to focus his revenge upon Hamlet. Claudius wants Laertes to kill Hamlet so that he doesn't have to, and he uses his skill of manipulation in order to achieve this goal. In the end, Claudius just wants to restore order and ensure that no one discovers that he killed his brother.

3) Claudius doesn't care about the demise of any other characters in Act 4, rather, he only considers what affects those people could have on him. For example, he only cares about Laertes because he knows that he can use him to get rid of Hamlet. Claudius doesn't act upset upon hearing that his first plan to kill Hamlet has failed, but he probably is freaking out about it on the inside. At this point, Claudius just wants Hamlet dead.

4) Laertes respects Claudius, and constantly addresses him as "My Lord." After Claudius's manipulation, Laertes is hell-bent on killing Hamlet, and doesn't really seem to give any thought about why Claudius isn't against his murder of Hamlet. If Claudius cares for Hamlet as he says he does, then he should be against Hamlet's death, but Laertes doesn't realize this seeing as though revenge is all he can think about at the moment.

5) This scene is driven mostly by Claudius's manipulation of Laertes. He manages to compliment Laertes and praise his swordsmanship, but he only does so in order to convince Laertes to kill Hamlet in a duel later on. This is the first scene where we Claudius forming a plan to kill Hamlet (we didn't see this development previously, only the plan that was a result of it), and we see that he is intent on making sure that he won't have Hamlet's blood directly on his hands.

6) Claudius is like Hamlet in the fact that he can't bring himself to personally kill Hamlet. He wants Laertes or strangers in England to kill him. Hamlet is similar in the fact that he can't bring himself to kill Claudius. However, the two are different in the fact that Claudius doesn't want to kill Hamlet personally due to political reasons, but Hamlet can't kill Claudius due to moral reasons. Claudius is driven more by political consequences whereas Hamlet is driven more by morals and personal vendettas. Plot wise, we learn that there is going to be a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, and it seems as if it is going to be the final showdown. The end is near.

7) Does Claudius really know the soldier named Lamord, or does he just use him as a way to manipulate Laertes? Also, is he afraid to kill Hamlet personally because of the possible political ramifications, or is he simply too chicken to do it himself?

8) I'm curious to see how Claudius's plan to kill Hmalet using Laertes is going to work out. Seeing as though I know that everyone is going to die at the end, I'm interested to see (more specifically) how the plan fails.

Act 4 Scene 5 (Analyzing Claudius)

1) We learn in this scene that Claudius believes that Ophelia's madness has sprung from the death of her father. He doesn't connect her death in any way with Hamlet, and his maltreatment of her may have in fact been the reason why she went crazy. This would help the actor play a Claudius that does not believe that Hamlet and Ophelia had a relationship. This could indicate that Claudius is unable to recognize love, therefore he may have no idea what it really is. Additionally, he is not really in love with Gertrude, rather, he sees her merely as a tool for political power and sexual gratification. We also learn that Claudius had Polonius's body buried in secret, however, it was in vain, for rumors of Polonius's death run rampant amongst the people. At one point, Claudius calls for his "Swissers" (guards), proving that he has become increasingly worried about his protection. This would give an actor the chance to demonstrate this. However, Claudius seems unafraid of Laertes. This could be because he never thought much of him in the first place, but he sees him as a potential tool in his plan to regain control and settle down Elsinore.

2) Claudius's objective does not become evident until Laertes enters. We discover that he intends to manipulate Laertes in order to have a ally that also wants to kill Hamlet. Laertes suspects that Claudius had something to do with his father's death, and Claudius promises Laertes that he will give him his kingdom if he is proven guilty or will help him get revenge on the person who did. Claudius knows that he is not at risk of losing his kingdom to Laertes, and it comforts him to know that there will be at least one other person who wishes to see the death of Hamlet. Granted, he doesn't yet know that Hamlet didn't make it to England, but he's bound to be grateful for Laertes's quest for revenge later on.

3) Claudius seems upset at Ophelia's madness, but only in context of that fact its another item to add to a growing list of events that could have bad political consequences. Claudius does not seem to fear Laertes at all, for he must know that Laertes is easy to manipulate. At this point, Claudius is sure that Hamlet is off to his certain death, however, he is still wary of his own personal safety.

4) Laertes enters the scene, convinced by the rumor that Claudius killed Polonius, and calls Claudius a "vile" king. His ill will toward the King calms down, however, as Claudius begins to question him about what he will do to avenge the death of his father. Laertes becomes convinced that the King will help him, demonstrating Claudius's power of persuasion. Claudius doesn't seem to care much for the personal well being of Ophelia, and he doesn't see Laertes as any sort of a threat, but as a potential tool to be used.

5) Claudius installs a sense of order in this scene, especially when Laertes enters with the mob of people. He calms Laertes down and makes some agreements with him, eventually satisfying him and promising to help him avenge the death of his father. It seems as thought Claudius resumes his sense of kingly power in this scene, and he again demonstrates his ability to solve an impending crisis.

6) Claudius is important in this scene because we see how Laertes will be intent on killing Hamlet once he finds out that is was the prince who killed his father. We also get the chance to see Claudius's crisis-handling skills in action, and they seem to be pretty effective. Claudius is a master manipulator. I didn't gain any insights on Hamlet.

7) I wonder how many people Claudius is going to try and set against Hamlet. Also, how is he going to tell Laertes that it was Hamlet who killed Polonius?

8) I know now that Claudius will manipulate people in order to ensure that he has allies against Hamlet. Claudius is unable to face threats on his own. He must have other people on his side if he wants to win.

Act 4 Scene 3 (Analyzing Claudius)

1) In Claudius's first set of lines, we learn that he cares about the general public's opinion of nobility, especially Hamlet. He knows that if anything violent were to happen toward Hamlet in Denmark, then the people would be extremely upset and there would be an impending riot. Because Claudius wants to smooth over Polonius's death as quickly as possible, Claudius would be tense and curt when talking to Hamlet about the location of the dead body. The actor playing Claudius would be impatient with Hamlet, and in this scene, Claudius may start to get the feeling that Hamlet is playing with him and is not acting himself.

2) Claudius's main objective in this scene is to find the body of Polonius. He seems to want to dispose of it properly and make sure that the people of Denmark don't think too much of it. Claudius wants everything to be under control again, and he wants Hamlet out of the picture. He doesn't need anymore of Hamlet's crazy antics.

3) Claudius seems frustrated that Hamlet won't reveal the location of Polonius's body, and he sees Hamlet as a threat to the order of the castle as well as his secret.

4) In this scene, Hamlet seems to tell Claudius to go to hell, claiming that he may run into Polonius while he is there. It can also be inferred that Claudius may end up there sooner than he thinks. Also, when Claudius refers to himself as Hamlet's loving father, Hamlet refuses to recognize this. Claudius tries to rectify this, but Hamlet again rebukes him. It seems as if Claudius has had enough with Hamlet.

5) Claudius adds an air of tension to his scenes with Hamlet. We don't know if he will ever find out for certain that Hamlet is on to him, but we know he knows that something is not right. Claudius is relieved to see Hamlet leave his presence for (supposedly) the last time, for we find out that Claudius has ordered for his execution in England.

6) Claudius is extremely important to this scene once we find out that he has ordered for Hamlet's execution in England. Here, we find out for certain that he sees Hamlet as a threat and will go to violent measures to ensure that Hamlet doesn't mess around anymore. I didn't really gain any insights about Hamlet in this scene, except for that fact that he doesn't think highly of Claudius at all (which we already knew). Claudius cares about upholding his reputation while trying to kill Hamlet at the same time. This is an interesting point in contrast to the fact that Hamlet is quite the opposite. He has the goal of killing Claudius, however, he doesn't seem to care about what people think of him along the way. He acts crazy and doesn't think (or seem to care) about what effect his actions may have on peoples' thoughts of him.

7) I'm interested to see how Claudius will react whee he finds out that Hamlet is returning to Denmark and will not be killed inEngland as planned.

8) I know now that Claudius does not love Hamlet and sees him as a huge threat to his control over Gertrude, Denmark, and its people. Else he would not go to such great lengths to ensure that he is killed.

Act 4 Scene 1 (Analyzing Claudius)

1) At the beginning of Act 4, we see Claudius's reaction to the death of Polonius. He doesn't care that Polonius is dead, rather, he immediately thinks of how easily he could have killed by Hamlet if he had been in Polonius's place. This demonstrates how Claudius thinks of his own personal safety first. After the play, Claudius is on red alert and has become paranoid that he will be discovered as a murderer. As an actor, I would capitalize on Claudius's growing paranoia and show the gradual deterioration of his cool demeanor. He may act authoritative in the presence of others, but in actuality, he is extremely on edge. It is in this scene that Claudius's guilt begins to weigh down on him and cause him to suspect everything, especially Hamlet's odd behavior. He doesn't want to lose Gertrude or control of Denmark, and Hamlet's behavior has too many risks involved with it. It would be safer if Hamlet would just leave.

2) Claudius's motivation in this scene springs from his desire to keep everything in order. He wants to keep Gertrude as well as control of Denmark, and he doesn't want anything to upset the delicate balance. By addressing the court about Polonius's death and sending Hamlet to England, Claudius wants to try and stop the negative repercussions of the death and Hamlet's behavior from spreading and upsetting his reign. At the root of it all, Claudius will do whatever it takes to keep people from finding out that he killed his brother, and in order to ensure that this doesn't happen, everything must be kept in order.

3) Claudius is upset by the fact that he could have been killed by Hamlet just as easily as Polonius was. He doesn't think about Polonius's cruel fate, rather, he worries about himself and what the death could mean for him. He sees Hamlet's freedom mainly as a threat to himself, but to Gertrude and the stability of the kingdom as well.

4) No character says anything about Claudius in this scene. It's mainly composed of Gertrude's tale of Polonius's death and Claudius's reaction to it and decision to send Hamlet to England. Gertrude seems to be treating Claudius as she would have before her encounter with Hamlet in her private chamber, but we can't be sure that she feels the same way about him as she did before.

5) Claudius doesn't affect the scene as much as the scene effects him. This scene frightens Claudius and makes him realize that his hold on Denmark as well as Gertrude could be in danger. This puts him on the defense and implies that he will be a bit paranoid and extremely analytical of the behavior of others.

6) How is Claudius going to treat Hamlet now that he sees him as a potential threat to his position as king? Will he still treat Hamlet cordially, or will he start getting a bit more violent? What will Claudius do if Hamlet doesn't end up going to England? Is Claudius going to get increasingly paranoid? Dis Claudius ever intend on being loving toward Hamlet?

7) None of my questions about Claudius have really been answered in this scene. In fact, I'm not sure I've had many questions for him so far. He's been pretty static up to this point, but this scene ensures that he will be a bit more interesting to me from now on.

Act 3 Scene 4

The scene begins in Gertrude's private room as Polonius tells Gertrude that she should criticize Hamlet's behavior. He then hides behind a curtain as Hamlet enters the room. Hamlet begins to criticize Gertrude so much that she fears for her life and causes Polonius to call for help. In an impulsive move, Hamlet stabs the curtain behind which Polonius is hiding (Oh, I am slain!). Gertrude calls Hamlet's deed a rash and bloody one, but Hamlet says that its almost as bad as killing a king and marrying his brother. He then proceeds to call Polonius a meddling fool and does not lament his death. Hamlet resumes criticizing his mother and questions how she could ever marry Claudius after being the wife of his father. He again compares his father to Claudius, good against bad. He criticizes Gertrude for not seeing the obvious differences between the two, as well as her inability to control her sexual impulses. Gertrude begs Hamlet to stop, but Hamlet is distracted as the Ghost reappears. Hamlet can see the Ghost, but Gertrude can not. The Ghost reminds Hamlet of his mission to kill Claudius and not hurt his mother, and he urges Hamlet to comfort her. Hamlet obeys, and wonders why Gertrude can not see the Ghost. He tries to show it to her, but she can't see it, and before long, the Ghost is gone. As Gertrude claims that Hamlet is mad, he counters that he is not so, and he urges her to repent for her sin of marrying Claudius. He wants her to be abstinent. He warns her not to tell Claudius that he is faking his madness, and he seems to threaten her. Hamlet has figured out that R&G are supposed to take him away to England, but he promises to kill them both before they can.

We get to see some more of Gertrude in this scene, and it seems as if she knows that she has committed a sin by marrying and sleeping with Claudius, but she hates hearing her son remind her of that. She is unwilling to admit her wrongs, and she can't believe that her son would berate her so. Her unwillingness to admit her sins may be tied to her inability to see the Ghost. Because she will not admit that she was wrong, the Ghost refuses to show itself to her. It must be able to appear to only those it chooses, because both the guards and Horatio could see it at the beginning of the play.

I get a little creeped out by Hamlet's obsession with his mother's sexuality in this scene. He seems fixated on the fact that Gertrude has been sleeping with Claudius, and he keeps imploring that she be abstinent. If a director wanted to really take advantage of Hamlet's Oedipal complex - this would be the scene to do it.