Hamlet 5:1 Flashcards
what is the importance of the gravedigger scene?
- the new location is a grim symbol of the massacre to come
- tone is lightened by the comic gravediggers (referred to as 1 Clown and 2 Clown), providing relief after the news of Ophelia’s death/suicide
- also allow Shakespeare to explore controversial themes like suicide, death, class divides, etc. with a light touch
‘Is she to be buried in…’
‘Is she to be buried in Christian burial, when she wilfully seeks her own salvation?’ - 1 Clown
- ‘1 Clown’ - comic relief at a heavy moment, like the porter scene in Macbeth
- first mention that Ophelia may have committed suicide, Gertrude avoided the idea
‘I tell thee she is…’
‘I tell thee she is; therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her, and finds it Christian burial.’ - 2 Clown
- coroner’s verdict is final
‘How can that be, unless she…’
‘How can that be, unless she drown’d herself in her own defence?’ - 1 Clown
- (killing someone in self defence was acceptable)
‘It must be ‘see offendendo’ it cannot…’
‘It must be ‘see offendendo’ it cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act; and an act hath three branches - it is to act, to do, to perform; argal, she drown’d herself wittingly.’ - 1 Clown
- the mispronunciated/used latin words convey a lack of understanding or education but also these lower-class characters making fun of the lawyers, philosophers, and judges of their world
‘If the man go to…’
‘If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he, he goes - mark you that; but if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself.’ - 1 Clown
- the two gravediggers are almost setting up a ridiculous logic of discussion
‘If this had not been a…’
‘If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out a Christian burial.’ - 2 Clown
- move on to discuss class and privilege, if Ophelia had not been of noble birth, she wouldn’t have been given such burial if suicide was suspected
‘the more pity that great folk should have…’
‘the more pity that great folk should have count’nance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christen.’ - 1 Clown
- why do powerful/noble folk have more freedom/permission to commit suicide than their fellow Christians
‘There is not ancient…’
‘There is not ancient gentlemen but gard’ners, ditchers, and grave-makers; they hold up Adam’s profession.’ - 1 Clown
- would have been a popular line for the groundlings
- no social distinction in Eden
‘Was he a…’
‘‘A was the first that…’
‘Was [Adam] a gentleman?’ - 2 Clown
‘‘A was the first that ever bore arms.’ - 1 Clown
What does 1 Clown respond to the suggestion that Adam did not bear arms (and so was not a gentleman)?
‘The Scripture says Adam digg’d. Could he dig without arms?’ - 1 Clown
- creates a connection between Adam and the gravediggers/clowns
‘If thou answerest me not…’
‘If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself -‘ - 1 Clown
- reference to the proverb ‘confess thyself and be hanged’
‘What is he that builds…’
‘The… for that…’
‘What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?’ - 1 Clown
‘The gallows-maker; for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.’ - 2 Clown
‘Cudgel thy brains no…’
‘Cudgel thy brains no more about t, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating; and when you are ask’d this question next, say ‘a grave-maker’: the houses he makes lasts till doomsday.’ - 1 clown
- telling him not to beat his brains over it as beating a stupid mule doesn’t make it go faster
‘Has this fellow no…’
‘Has this fellow no feeling of his business, that ‘a sings in grave-making?’ - Hamlet
‘Custom hath made it…’
‘Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.’ - Horatio
- long practice has made the gravedigger unaffected by his work, hence his ability to sing while he works
- shows a rationality and awareness (perhaps depicting the difference between him and Hamlet)
'’Tis e’en so; the hand…’
'’Tis e’en so; the hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.’ - Hamlet
either:
- the idle rich are not used to such tasks
- the hand of the unemployed is sensitive
‘[Thrown up…]’
‘That skull had…’
‘[Thrown up a skull.]’ - SD, 1 Clown
‘That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it ‘twere Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder!’ - Hamlet
- biblical allusion suggesting that Cain - like Claudius - deserves no pity for the crime of fratricide
- medieval tradition that believed Cain bludgeoned Abel with the jawbone of an ass
what does the skull and the way 1 Clown treats it trigger in Hamlet?
- he talks about how the skull could be that of anyone: ‘a politician’ ‘courtier’ ‘Lord Such-a-one’ ‘a lawyer’
- returns to his ideas of death as an equalizer from 4:3 (‘two dishes but to one table’ ‘the worm that hath eaten of a king’)
‘and now my Lady…’
‘and now my Lady Worm’s chapless, and knock’d about the mazard with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution, an we had the trick to see’t.’ - Hamlet
- ‘chapless’ - body has been eaten by worms
- recalls his earlier points about how the king and peasant are equal in death
‘Why may not that be the skull…’
‘Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks?’ - Hamlet
‘Why does he suffer this…’
‘Why does [the lawyer Hamlet imagines the second skull to be from] suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery?’ - Hamlet
‘Is this the fine of his…’
‘Is this the fine of his fines, and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine plate full of fine dirt?’ - Hamlet
- play on meanings with ‘fine’ referring to: the end result, a legal settlement, noble, thin
‘The very conveyances…’
‘The very conveyances of his lands will scarcely lie in this box’ - Hamlet
‘They are sheep and calves…’
‘They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that. I will speak to this fellow. Whose grave’s this, sirrah?’ - Hamlet
- ‘Mine, sir.’ - 1 Clown (because he is making it)
- people are as stupid as sheep/calves to seek security in parchment paper
‘You lie out…’
‘You lie out on’t, sir, and therefore ‘tis not yours. For my part, I do not lie in’t, yet it is mine.’ - 1 Clown
‘Thou dost lie in’t, to…’
‘Thou dost lie in’t, to be in’t and say it is thine; ‘tis for the dead, not for the quick, therefore thou liest.’ - Hamlet
‘One that was a…’
‘One that was a woman, sir; but rest her soul, she’s dead.’ - 1 Clown
‘the age is grown so…’
‘the age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe.’ - Hamlet
- peasant treads on the courtier’s heel, close enough to rub against his blisters
- complaining that social distinction is becoming less clear
‘that very day that young…’
‘Ay, marry, why was…’
‘Why, because ‘a was…’
‘that very day that young Hamlet was born - he that is mad, and sent into England.’ - 1 Clown
‘Ay, marry, why was he sent to England?’ - Hamlet
‘Why, because ‘a was mad: ‘a shall recover his wits there; of if ‘a he do not, ‘tis no great matter there.’ - 1 Clown
‘Why, because ‘a was…’
‘there the men…’
‘Why, because ‘a was mad: ‘a shall recover his wits there; of if ‘a he do not, ‘tis no great matter there.’ - 1 Clown
‘there the men are as mad as he.’
‘How long will a…’
‘if ‘a be not rotten before ‘a die […] ‘a will last you some…’
‘How long will a man lie i’th’earth ere he rot?’ - Hamlet
‘if ‘a be not rotten before ‘a die […] ‘a will last you some eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.’ - 1 Clown
‘Here’s a skull now; this…’
‘Here’s a skull now; this skull has lien you i’th’earth three and twenty years.’ - 1 Clown
- ‘Yorick’s skull, the King’s jester.’
‘[Takes the…] Alas, poor…’
‘[Takes the skull] Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy’ - Hamlet
- personal connection but Hamlet had forgotten him until now (perhaps explains why he requests what he does of Horatio)
- clearly H had a fondness for him as he is placed alongside Alexander the great and ceaser in his mind
- strange that Hamlet is so hung up on the bones/body rather than the fate of the soul
‘Where be your gibes…’
‘Where be your gibes now, your gambols, your songs, your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?’ - Hamlet to Yorick’s skull
‘Dost thou think Alexander…’
‘And…’
‘Dost thou think Alexander look’d a this fashion i’th’earth?’ - Hamlet
‘And smelt so? Pah!’ - Hamlet (almost comical)
- talking about Alexander the Great
- even the heroes are reduced to nothing and treated in the way these bones are treated
‘To what base uses…’
‘To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till ‘a find it stopping a bung-hole?’ - Hamlet
- the great reduced to ordinary purposes like that of a stopper for a cask or barrel
‘Alexander died, Alexander was…’
‘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?’ - Hamlet
- ‘loam’ - clay-based plaster
‘Imperious Caesar, dead and…’
‘Imperious Caesar, dead and turn’d to clay,/ Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.’ - Hamlet
‘Her obsequies have been…’
‘Her obsequies have been as far enlarg’d/ As we have warrantise. Her death was doubtful;/ And, but that great command o’ersways the order’ - Priest
- confirms the suspicions of the gravediggers in that her nobility (being a ‘gentlewoman’) allows her to be buried in sanctified ground (‘great command’ was most likely Gertrude, possibly via Claudius)
- he appears resentful of the situation, clearly believing that Ophelia shouldn’t be buried where she is being buried
‘She should in ground…’
‘She should in ground unsanctified have lodg’d/ Till the last trumpet; for charitable prayers,/ Shards, flints, and pebbles, should be thrown on her’ - Priest
- clear opinion, resentful
‘Yet here she is allow’d her…’
‘Yet here she is allow’d her virgin crants,/ Her miaden strewments, and the bringing home/ Of bell and burial.’ - Priest
- being given garlands and flowers as young women’s coffins had
‘We should profane the…’
‘We should profane the service of the dead/ To sing sage requiem and such rest to her/ As to peace-parted souls.’ - Priest
- argues it would undermine the services of the Church to allow her the same rites (a funeral mass) to a suicide as to those who died at peace/naturally
‘Lay her i’th’earth…’
‘Lay her i’th’earth;/ And from her fair and unpolluted flesh/ May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,/ A minist’ring angel shall my sister be/ When thou liest howling.’ - Laertes
- ‘violets’ - sweetness, fidelity
- arguing against the idea that Ophelia committed suicide, saying that violets will grow because of how innocent and pure she is and she will even become an angel whilst the priest is in hell
‘[Scattering…] I hop’d thou…’
‘[Scattering flowers] I hop’d thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife;/ I thought thy bride-bed to have deck’d, sweet made,/ And not have strew’d thy grave.’ - Gertrude
- contradicts Laertes and Polonius in 1:2 who claimed Hamlet would never marry her, shows how different her life could’ve been
- painful contrast between flower-strewn bed and flower-strewn grave
- suggestion of virginity and purity in ‘maid’
‘O, treble woe/ Fall…’
‘O, treble woe/ Fall ten times treble on that cursed head/ Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense/ Depriv’d thee of! Hold off the earth awhile,/ Till I have caught her once more in mine arms. [Leaps into the grave.]’ - Laertes
- Hamlet is the ‘cursed head’
‘[Leaps…] Now pile your…’
‘[Leaps into the grave.] Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead/ Till of this flat a mountain you have made’ - Laertes
‘What is he whose…’
‘What is he whose grief/ Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow/ Conjures the wand’ring stars, and makes them stand/ Like wonder-wounded hearers?’ - Hamlet
‘This is…’
‘The devil…’
‘This is I/ Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave]’ - Hamlet
‘The devil take thy soul! [Grappling with him.]’ - Laertes
- Hamlet seems performative and theatrical, it is hard to defend him in this scene
‘Thou pray’st not..’
‘Thou pray’st not well./ I prithee take thy fingers from my throat;/ for, thou I am not splenitive and rash,/ Yet have I in me something dangerous,/ Which let thy wiseness fear.’ - Hamlet
- threatening
‘Why, I will fight with…’
‘Why, I will fight with him upon this theme/ Until my eyelids will no longer wag.’ - Hamlet
‘I lov’d Ophelia…’
‘I lov’d Ophelia forty thousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum.’ - Hamlet
- insensitive and rude
- an unproven declaration given the way he has used and disregarded Ophelia - is it the “new” Hamlet post-sea travel?
How do Gertrude and Claudius try to explain away Hamlet’s behaviour in 5:1?
‘O, he is mad, Laertes.’ - Claudius
‘For love of God, forbear him.’ - Gertrude
‘This is mere madness’ - G
'’Swounds, show me what…’
'’Swounds, show me what th’owt do:/ Woo’t weep, woo’t fight, woo’t fast, woo’t tear thyself,/ Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?/ I’ll do’t.’ - Hamlet
- made the funeral into a competition (links to how they are in very similar situations when it comes to revenge)
‘Dost come here…And, if thou…’
‘Dost come here to whine?/ To outface me with leaping in her grave?/ Be buried quick with her, and so will I;/ And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw/ Millions of acres on us’ - Hamlet
- continuing to turn Ophelia’s funeral into a competition, become more about him vs Laertes than about her at all (ownership?)
- incredibly insensitive and shocking to suggest that Laertes is trying to ‘outface’ Hamlet rather than simply be mourning his sister
‘This is mere…’
‘This is mere madness;/ And thus awhile the fit will work on him;/ Anon, as patient as the female dove/ When that her golden couplets are disclos’d,/ His silence will sit drooping.’ - Gertrude
- some kind of apology or attempt to excuse Hamlet’s behaviour
‘What is the reason…’
‘What is the reason that you use me thus?’ - Hamlet
- is he genuinely confused by Laertes curse, perhaps he is unaware of the circumstances around Ophelia’s dead
‘I lov’d you…’
‘I lov’d you ever. But it is no matter./ Let Hercules himself do what he may,/ The cat will mew, and dog will have his day.’ - Hamlet
- implies that nothing will stop him, he will have his day - of course it is unclear what his purpose is, to avenge his father?
- effectively saying that Laertes can rant all he wants now but Hamlet will have his say in due time, ironic given Laertes hasn’t spoken for around 35 lines
‘[To Laertes] Strengthen your…’
‘[To Laertes] Strengthen your patience in our last night’s speech;/ We’ll put the matter to the present push’ - Claudius after Hamlet’s outburst at Ophelia’s funeral
‘An hour of quiet…’
‘An hour of quiet shortly shall we see;/ Till then in patience our proceeding be.’ - Claudius to Laertes after Hamlet’s outburst at Ophelia’s funeral
