Hamlet Act 5

Why are people surprised Ophelias getting a Christian burial?

Because she committed suicide which is a sin

How have they determined Ophelias committed suicide?

drowning in self defense

The first gravedigger claims that if you drown yourself on purpose it's what?

An act

What is an act according to the first gravedigger?

An act has 3 sides: to act, to do, to perform. Therefore she must've known she was drowning herself

Why was Ophelia given a Christian burial?

She is a noble

Who are the most ancient nobles in the world?

ditch diggers, gardeners, and gravediggers because they keep up Adams profession.

According to the first gravedigger, who was Adam?

Adam as in Adam and Eve who is the first man meaning the first person to ever bore arms like literal arms but referring to coat of arms of nobles therefore he is a noble

According to the second gravedigger, who builds stronger things than a stonemason, a shipbuilder, and a carpenter?

The one who builds the gallows where people are hung because the gallows outlive a thousand years

Why is this answer wrong?

Gallows do well to those who do bad but the second gravedigger does bad to say that the gallows are stronger than a church

What is the right answer according to the first gravedigger?

A gravedigger because they make houses that last till Judgement Day

What is the first gravedigger doing that Hamlet thinks is ridiculous?

singing while digging a grave

What does Hamlet think when he watches the gravedigger throw around skulls carelessly?

He thinks about how the skull used to be an actual person who could talk and sing. Maybe they were a powerful politician who was really good at manipulating people and getting what they wanted. Maybe it belonged to a courtier which is someone who hung around wealthy and powerful people. They would flatter important people to get things from them. He imagines the skull being a lawyer and the gravedigger is hitting the lawyers skull but they cant sue him for assault. He imagines the dead man might be a wealthy landowner with tons of contracts, property deeds, legal documents and land and spent all his life making sure he legally owned all this property.

What does Hamlet joke about when thinking about a courtier?

They might compliment someones horse only because they secretly wanted to borrow or receive it

What does Hamlet realize when looking at these skulls?

Death strips away everything society uses to separate people. Power, social status, career, and money/property are all gone. Death makes it all meaningless and insignificant. He realizes that intelligence, careers, and professional power cant protect someone from death. Death is inevitable and the things people obsess over while alive can look meaningless when death comes.

What are legal documents made of?

Sheepskin and calfskin

According to Hamlet, anyone who looks for assurance in legal documents are what?

a sheep or a calf

Who's grave does the gravedigger claim the grave is for?

Him because he is the one digging i. He is trying to mess with hamlet and act clever

What does Hamlet say about ordinary people after the gravedigger messes with him?

They are getting so clever and bold that they can compete with people from the upper class

When did the gravedigger start grave digging?

The day King Hamlet defeated Fortinbras aka the day Hamlet was born. Says 30 years

What does the gravedigger say about Hamlet getting sent to England?

Says he was sent there because he was insane and may or may not recover his sanity there but it doesn't matter because no one will notice in England since they are as crazy as he is. Says he went crazy by losing his mind in Denmark

How long will a corpse last in a grave before it rots?

Eight or nine years

How long will a man who makes leather last?

Nine years because his skin is so leathery from the work he does that he keeps the water out for a long time and water is the main cause of decay in humans.

How long has Yorick, the kings jesters skull been lying there?

23 years

Who was Yorick?

The kings jester who poured wine on the gravediggers head once. Hamlet knew him. He had endless humor and great wit. Gave Hamlet piggy back rides and kissed him. Hamlet reminisces over his past with Yorick and how fun it was to be around him.

What does Hamlet wonder about Alexander the Great?

If he looked like those skulls when he was buried, and the answer is yes and he realizes that everyone ends up the same and gross when dead. Removes hierarchy and power

What does Hamlet realize about dirt and powerful leaders, especially Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.

Everyone dies and eventually becomes dirt/clay. Therefore, a man who once had enormous power over the world could eventually become nothing more than material used to fix someone's wall or to plug a hole in a barrel.

How does Hamlet know that there was a suicide?

The ceremony is super plain

How does the priest respond when Laertes asks him what other rites will be performed in honor of Ophelia?

He says no others because she committed suicide. If the king had not given a command that overruled the normal Christian customs she would have been buried in the unholy ground outside the church graveyard till Judgement Day. Instead of prayers she would have rocks and broken pottery thrown on her body. Instead she's dressed like a pure virgin with flowers on her grave

Why would it be disrespectful for more to be done for Ophelias funeral?

It would disrespect the dead if they sang the same requiem for her that they did for the others who died peacefully

What happens when Laertes starts crying and grieving for his sister?

Hamlet becomes jealous and emotional and feels a need to prove that his love and grief for ophelia are just as powerful or even greater than Laertes grief. He jumps in the grave and fights and threatens Laertes.

What does Hamlet say about his love for Ophelia?

Even if you combined the love of 40,000 brothers, it still wouldn't equal how much I loved Ophelia. You think that proves how much you love her? Tell me what you'll do, because I'll do even more. Are you going to cry? Fight? Stop eating? Hurt yourself? Whatever you're willing to do, I'll do it too. Would you drink something disgusting? Would you eat a crocodile? I'll do it. here is NOTHING you could do to prove your love for Ophelia that I wouldn't also do. Says to bury him with Ophelia

How does Hamlet interpret Laertes jumping and grieving over Ophelia?

As a challenge to prove that he loved her more than he did

What does Hamlet say shapes what happens to us?

A higher power or fate shapes what happens to us, even though we try to control our own lives

What did Hamlet steal from Rosencrantz and Guildenstorm?

A packet of papers containing the letter from the King to the English king ordering him to kill Hamlet

What did Hamlet do about this situation?

He wrote a new letter to the king in a bureaucrats neat handwriting. It said that he hopes that Denmark and England can be friends and instructed the king of England to immediately kill the men who delivered the letter without giving them time to confess to a priest

Who did Hamlet think nice handwriting was for?

Servants

How did Hamlet get an official seal on the letter?

He had his father's signet ring in his pocket which had a small version of the Danish royal seal on it. He sealed the letter and put it back without anyone noticing

Why doesn't Hamlet feel bad for killing Rosencrantz and Guildenstorm?

They willingly chose to help Claudius

What does Hamlet refer to Claudius as?

Cancer

What does Hamlet ask Horatio?

If nows the right time to kill Claudius

How does Hamlet feel about Laertes?

He feels sorry that he lost control of himself and wants to win him over

Who was sent to talk to Hamlet?

Osric a young courtier was sent by the King to tell Hamlet about a wager involving Hamlet which leads into the fencing match

What does Hamlet make fun of Osric for?

Being a rich fool who agrees with whatever powerful people say. Says hes only respected because he owns a lot of land. Says he has to praise himself because nobody else will praise him. Compares him to a baby bird that has just hatched. Says people like hm know the trendy world, manners, and behaviors that make them appear sophisticated but underneath they dont have much intelligence

How does Hamlet test Osric?

He says its cold and Osric immediately agrees them Hamlet says its hot and Osric immediately agrees again

What does Osric say about Laertes?

He says he's a perfect gentlemen and Hamlet agrees

What bet has Claudius and Laertes made?

Claudius is betting six valuable Barbary horses and Lartes is betting six French swords and daggers with their accessories

What are carriages?

hangers that hold the swords

What are the rules of the fencing match?

It will have 12 rounds. The king is betting that Laertes will not beat Hamlet by more than 3 hits

Why does Hamlet think he's gonna win the match?

He's been practicing

What does Hamlet say when Horatio tells him he can cancel the match if hes feeling unwell?

Hamlet says he accepts that he cant control when he dies and believes God/fate will decide what happens so he just needs to be ready to accept it and fight now

What does Hamlet tell Laertes when asking for his forgiveness?

He says that he acted out of madness and insanity and that Hamlet didn't insult Laertes, Hamlets madness did because if Hamlet wasn't himself then it wasn't Hamlet who did it. He says Hamlet is the victim and his madness is the enemy. Says hes innocent

How does Laertes respond to his apology?

Says he cant accept the apology because it might hurt his reputation but accepts the love he offers

What did they do to make the match fair?

Claudius gave Laertes a "handicap"

How will Claudius respond if Hamlet scores the first or second hit?

Celebrate by drinking to Hamlet, have cannons fired in celebration, drop an extremely valuable pearl into Hamlets wine, have trumpets and cannons announce the toast.

What is the "valuable pearl?"

poison

Who drinks the poisonous cup?

Gertrude

How does Laertes die?

The own sword he planned to use to kill Hamlet has poisoned him instead

How does Claudius die?

Hamlet forces him to drink the poison

What does Horatio do when Hamlet is about to die?

Takes the poison and is about to drink it but Hamlet stops him

Who marches into Denmark?

Fortinbras triumphant from Poland on his way to greet the English ambassadors

What does Hamlet say about Fortinbras?

He wont live to hear the news from England but he predicts that Fortinbras will take the Danish crown and gives him his vote

What does the ambassador say?

Rosencrantz and guildenstorm are dead

What does Horatio tell Fortinbras and the ambassador?

The bodies should be placed where everyone can see them and he will explain the truth about everything that happened

Who is becoming the new king of Denmark?

Fortinbras

What does Fortinbras order four captains to do?

Carry Hamlets body with the honor of a soldier. Says he wouldve been. good king

"Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?"

First gravedigger

"The more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even-Christian."

Second gravedigger

"What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?"

First gravedigger

"Has this fellow no feeling of his business? He sings at grave-making."

Hamlet

"That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once."

Hamlet

"To what base uses we may return, Horatio!"

"To what base uses we may return, Horatio!"

"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio."

Hamlet

"Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment...?"

Hamlet

"Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust..."

Hamlet

"Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, / Might stop a hole to keep the wind away."

Hamlet

"Her death was doubtful."

Priest

"What ceremony else?"

Laertes

"Lay her i' th' earth, / And from her fair and unpolluted flesh / May violets spring!"

Laertes

"I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum."

Hamlet

"Woo't weep? Woo't fight? Woo't fast? Woo't tear thyself?"

Hamlet

"Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting / That would not let me sleep."

Hamlet

"Rashly— / And praised be rashness for it..."

Hamlet

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will."

Hamlet

"They are not near my conscience."

Hamlet

"Their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow."

Hamlet

"'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes / Between the pass and fell incensèd points / Of mighty opposites."

Hamlet

"Thy state is the more gracious, for 'tis a vice to know him."

Hamlet

"Let a beast be lord of beasts and his crib shall stand at the king's mess."

Hamlet

"No, believe me, 'tis very cold. The wind is northerly." / "But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot..."

Hamlet

"This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head."

Hamlet

"Only got the tune of the time / And outward habit of encounter..."

Hamlet

"The bubbles are out."

Hamlet

"The king, sir, hath laid that in a dozen passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed you three hits."

Osric

"You will lose this wager, my lord."

Horatio

"Thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my heart."

Hamlet

"Not a whit. We defy augury."

Hamlet

"There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow."

Hamlet

"If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all."

Hamlet

"Let be."

Hamlet

"Give me your pardon, sir. I've done you wrong."

Hamlet