Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

Key Events in Act 5, Scene 1

Gravediggers prepare Ophelia’s grave for burial. Hamlet and Horatio enter. They don't know of Ophelia’s death and muse on the transience of life. Ophelia’s burial is marred by a fight between Hamlet and Laertes.

Ophelia's death - suicide

We learn that Ophelia’s death is believed to be a suicide.
- In Elizabethan England, suicide was considered a mortal sin against God. Those found to have taken their own life were denied Christian burial by the Church, which forbade them from being buried in consecrated (blessed) ground or having their grave marked by a Christian monument.

Gravediggers on Ophelia's burial

Second Gravedigger: “If this had not been a gentlewoman she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial”.
- Gravediggers debate the legitimacy of Ophelia’s burial. The second gravedigger argues that, as a suicide, Ophelia should rightfully be denied “Christian burial” and that it is only Ophelia’s status as daughter of the King’s most senior counsellor which has guaranteed her some, albeit limited, form of Christian service.

Death was part accident/suicide

Shakespeare does not resolve this ambiguity.
However, Hamlet’s later reference to “maimed” funeral rites and the Priest’s disquiet about a “requiem” being sung suggest that Ophelia’s death was considered part accident/part suicide, and that after falling into the brook, she allowed the weight of the water in her clothes to pull her under.

More Key Events in Act 5, Scene 1

The gravedigger tells Hamlet that he holds the skull of Yorick, a jester at the court of Hamlet’s father. Hamlet and Laertes then fight each other at Ophelia’s graveside.

Hamlet holds the skull of Yorick

Hamlet holding the skull of Yorick is the most iconic image in all of Shakespearean drama, perhaps in all drama.
Hamlet recalls his childhood games with Yorick (some critics have suggested Yorick may have acted as an alternative father-figure for the young prince) and reflects on the brevity (shortness) of life.

Hamlet's reflections on death

Hamlet (to Yorick's skull): “Now get you to my lady’s table and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come.”
- Hamlet reflects on the inevitability of death and creates dark comedy from his realisation that no amount of “paint” (cosmetics) can protect women from the ravages of time.

Is Hamlet misogynistic?

Some critics have noted a touch of misogyny (hostility towards women) in Hamlet’s repeated use of the motif of cosmetics being used to hide the truth e.g. his accusations towards Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1 that “God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another”.
Dramatic irony is created by Hamlet’s unawareness that Ophelia is about to be buried in this grave.

The fight at Ophelia's graveside

Hamlet is riled by the “emphasis” (exaggerated behaviour) with which Laertes demonstrates his grief and cannot contain his anger.
Hamlet (when challenging Laertes): "This is I, / Hamlet the Dane.”
- Hamlet asserts his identity powerfully. He no longer seems to be racked by the doubts and insecurities that have plagued him since he was given his revenge mission.

Significance of "the Dane"

In pronouncing himself as “the Dane”, Hamlet proclaims himself as the one true rightful heir to the throne of Denmark. An audience may also sense also that Hamlet may be ‘unmasking’ himself in front of Claudius: the time for pretences or play-acting (Hamlet’s “antic disposition”) is over and both men must finally confront each other in the open.

Key Ideas in Act 5, Scene 1 - Death

The inevitability of death is a key idea in Act 5, Scene 1.

Comic relief: the gravediggers

The comic interlude with the gravediggers provides the audience with some light relief. It is an opportunity for the clowns in Shakespeare’s theatre company to create laughter through the gravediggers’ use of playful banter, riddles and songs. All of these elements create black humour as both men make light of the tragic root of their occupation – death.

No one can escape death

The gravediggers sound a theme which will be amplified by Hamlet later in the scene: that no-one (man or woman, rich or poor, powerful or weak) can escape death.
Hamlet reasons that even the most famous and powerful men in history, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, have met the same fate and that their “noble dust” may now be found “stopping a bung-hole”.

The significance of the skull

Hamlet holding the skull of Yorick is the single most iconic image in all of Shakespearean drama, perhaps in all drama.
At least part of its power lies in the suggestion that this image marks the key moment of revelation for Hamlet: the next time we see him, Hamlet has accepted his fate.

1Introduction

1.1Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2Act 2, Scene 2

2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5Act 3, Scene 4

2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7Act 4, Scene 7

2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3Character Profiles

3.1Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime

3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2Gertrude's Character

3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia

3.5Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits

4Key Themes

4.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.2Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet

4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet

4.4Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3Play-Acting Motif

5.2Form

5.2.1Soliloquy

5.2.2Comedy

5.3Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions

6Context

6.1Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4Regicide

6.1.5The Reformation

6.2Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy

6.3Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet

7Critical Debates

7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia

7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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