ACT FOUR HAMLET….

REVIEW PRIOR TO ACT FOUR Hamlet goes to speak with the Queen Polonius is hiding in the Queen’s chamber behind large curtains (tapestries) Hamlet speaks harshly to his mother and forces her to see the error of her ways She cries out for help and Polonius cries out as well Hamlet assuming it is the king, pulls out his sword and kills the man behind the curtain. Realizing it is Polonius, he makes a couple of snide comments and then drags the body away.

VIDEO REVIEW Please note that this video is a paraphrase and does not include all what we have read. This is merely to serve as a visual review for clarification.

ACT FOUR SCENE ONE Gertrude explains to Claudius what has happened. She explains the death to be an accident and that Hamlet is repentant. King orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and discover where Hamlet has hidden Polonius’ corpse

ACT FOUR SCENE TWO Rosencrantz and Guildenstern question Hamlet about Polonius’ whereabouts. Hamlet evades their questions playfully, accusing his former friends of sycophancy to the king and leading them on a wild goose chase Sycophancy: Noun (origin Latin sycophanta-informer) -a self seeker, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

ACT FOUR SCENE THREE Claudius is greatly distracted by the death of Polonius and the attempt to find the body. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter with Hamlet. Claudius questions Hamlet as to where he has taken Polonius. After some morbidly humorous replies, Hamlet reveals that he hid Polonius “up the stairs into the lobby.”

SCENE THREE CONT’D Claudius then tells Hamlet that he is to depart immediately for England, as planned. Hamlet mockingly departs, leaving Claudius to reflect on his plans for Hamlet. He, Claudius, has prepared letters asking the English king, whom Denmark has recently defeated in war, to kill Hamlet as part of the duties owed by right of conquest.

ACT FOUR SCENE FOUR What is the significance of this scene?

ACT FIVE Two gravediggers are in a cemetery, discussing the Christian burial accorded to Ophelia. Though her funeral is not allowed in the church, she has been given a plot in its graveyard

THE MEANING OF LIFE Hamlet and Horatio enter as one gravedigger begins to sing happily. Hamlet watches as the gravedigger picks up a skull from the grave and throws it on the ground

ALAS, POOR YORICK…. Hamlet's thoughts turn to the inevitability of death; he imagines the people whose bones now lie in the graveyard and wonders what kind of lives they led

I KNEW HIM WELL…. When Hamlet talks to one of the gravediggers, he learns that some of the bones belong to Yorick, the old court jester. Hamlet reminisces about the fact that Yorick had often shown him affection, carrying him on his back. Though he once had the power to make everyone in the court happy, the old jester is now nothing but a pile of bones. Hamlet is impressed with the leveling force of death.

A TIME TO MOURN As the funeral procession approaches, Hamlet and Horatio retire some distance away from the grave in order to observe and not be seen. Hamlet is quick to notice that the burial is for somebody who has committed suicide, for there are no religious rites of a Christian funeral and no requiem is sung.

BROTHERLY LOVE Hamlet then spies Laertes, who commands the coffin to be lowered in the pit. He says that when the casket is covered with mud, violets are sure to grow from it. He also claims that his beloved sister will still be an angel of virtue when the priest himself lies howling for mercy

QUEEN….A MOTHERLY SYMBOL Next, the Queen bids Ophelia farewell, scattering flowers on her grave and remarking that she always wanted Ophelia and Hamlet to marry

BROTHER VS BOYFRIEND…. Then, overcome with grief, Laertes jumps in the grave with his sister and calls out to the gravedigger to bury him as well. Hamlet is overcome with sorrow over Ophelia's death and joins Laertes in the grave.

REVENGE When the two men argue, they are restrained by Claudius and Gertrude. As Hamlet leaves, Claudius slyly indicates to Laertes that his opportunity for revenge is almost at hand.

MEANINGS…… The dark comedy of the gravediggers suddenly transfers the focus of attention from abstract matters such as love, honor, and revenge to the basic question of human survival……

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? Laertes and Hamlet's fight symbolizes Hamlet's internal struggle to control his inability to act. Hamlet's challenging Laertes, whom he calls "a very noble youth," is uncharacteristically rash. Faced with his mirror opposite, a man who is all impassioned action and few words, Hamlet grapples to prove that he loved Ophelia though he was unable to demonstrate his feelings for her.

UNCERTAINTY OF DEATH…. The explanation of Ophelia's burial offered in most criticisms is that the grave is on the periphery of the sacred ground, in an area reserved for those whose Christianity might be questionable. Yorick for one. This is supported by the fact that there are so many skulls in the grave; it's a common grave, not an individualized, consecrated resting place.

MOTIFS IN HAMLET

SYMBOLS

CONCLUSION…..