Hamlet

Yorick's Skull and the Graveyard

Hamlet's constant brooding about death and humanity comes to a head (grotesque pun intended) in the infamous graveyard scene, where Hamlet holds up the unearthed skull of Yorick, a court gesture Hamlet knew and loved as a young boy. The skull itself is a physical reminder of the finality of death. For all of Hamlet's brooding and philosophical contemplation of mortality, here, Hamlet literally looks death directly in the face.

We're also interested in the way this moment with the skull marks a turning point for Hamlet. It's here, in the graveyard, where Hamlet thinks about the commonness of death and the vanity of life. He not only remembers Yorick, a mere jester, but also considers what's become of the body that belonged to Alexander the Great. Both men, concludes Hamlet, meet the same end and "returneth into dust" (5.1.30). This seems like a new, more mature acceptance of a common human fate. (Notice that Hamlet is contemplative but not suicidal or anguished when he speaks these lines.)

Aside from seeming to "grow up" in the graveyard, some literary critics also suggest that Hamlet literally ages in this scene. Here's how the argument works: when the play begins, Hamlet is a university student, which means he's pretty young. By the time Hamlet makes it to the graveyard in Act V, Hamlet appears to be thirty years old (much older than the average university student). The evidence? The First Clown says he's been a gravedigger in Elsinore since "the very day that young Hamlet was born" (5.1.28) and a few lines later he reveals that he's been a "sexton" in Denmark for "thirty years" (5.2.30). If you want to argue that Shakespeare just messed things up, feel free (Shakespeare has been known to make a mistake or two). But it's not so surprising to us that Hamlet literally ages between Act I and Act V – perhaps it's a reflection of his new, more mature outlook on life and death.

Finally, we also want to note the way the graveyard is different from the royal court (aside from the dirt and bones and all). Recall from Act I that the court is a place where Hamlet's told to stifle his grief, to forget his dead father, and to move on (1.2.6). The graveyard is a space, then, where Hamlet is allowed to remember the dead.

"Alas, poor Yorick," says Hamlet, as he recalls that Yorick was "a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy," one who "hath borne [Hamlet] on his back a thousand times" (5.1.26). Hmm. That’s quite a coincidence, no? Hamlet encounters the skull of a man who worked for his father and who Hamlet knew as a child. This causes Hamlet to remember his childhood as a happy time in which Old Hamlet was alive and all was well in the world. All this happiness, of course, is disrupted when Hamlet realizes Ophelia (now dead) is being buried a few gravestones over. We'll let you handle that one on your own.

The Ghost

We thought you might look here for a little somethin’ about the ghost. We talk about this figure in its own "Character Analysis" and in the theme of "Religion."

"Rank" Gardens

There's a whole lot of garden imagery in the play. The thing is, the gardens in Hamlet aren't necessarily the kind of places where you'd like to hang out and watch butterflies while you picnic. According to Hamlet, the entire world "tis an unweeded garden, / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely" (1.2.6). The word "rank" refers to the fertile overgrowth of vegetation and also implies the kind of festering and rot that often accompanies lush foliage. Yuck.

Why does Hamlet see the world this way? As his speech continues, it becomes clear that his father's death as well as his mother's sexual appetite and marriage to Claudius are the causes of Hamlet's world view. In fact, the term "rank" turns up over and over again throughout the play to describe Gertrude's incestuous relationship. Consider, for example, Hamlet's description of his mother's "rank" marriage bed, which offers a rather repulsive view of sexuality.

Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty,– (3.4.14).

Of course, this allusion to the world as a ruined garden also recalls Eve's temptation in the biblical Garden of Eden, which, according to Christian theology, causes man's Fall. The allusion to Eden is strengthened later in the play when the Ghost reveals that Old King Hamlet was murdered by his brother, Claudius, while he slept in his orchard:

'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown. (1.5.8)

Gosh. The Ghost sounds a lot like young Hamlet. Notice the way the Ghost insists the murder "rankly abused" the entire kingdom – as if Claudius poured poison in "the whole ear" of Denmark. What's more, the Ghost insists that Claudius's poison caused a scaly rash and "loathsome crust" to cover his once "smooth body" (1.5.8). This suggests, in turn, that the whole country has been infected by a contagious disease.

Hamlet's Costume Changes

Early on in the play, we learn that Hamlet wears an all black get-up that seems to be getting on his mom's nerves. But why? Well, Hamlet wears an "inky cloak" because he's in mourning for his dead father, who hasn't been gone for very long. But, Hamlet's the only one in the royal court who's still upset. His mother married Claudius about two seconds after Old Hamlet died and now that Claudius is king, the happy couple wants everyone to forget about Old Hamlet. So, Hamlet's black attire sets him apart from everyone else – just like his grief makes him an outsider in the cheerful court. (When the play's staged, Hamlet's black clothing really stands out, especially when the director positions him off to the side of stage while the rest of the court is in the center.)

But don't tell Hamlet that his clothes reflect his grief – he might jump down your throat, as he does here when his mom asks him why he "seems" so sad:

'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly (1.2.4)

In other words, Hamlet objects to the idea that any outward signs (dress, behavior, etc.) can truly "denote" what he's feeling on the inside (which is rotten). Hamlet's "suits of solemn black," he says, can't even begin to express his grief and anguish.

Later on, however, Hamlet changes his tune about what it is that clothing or costume can "denote." After he decides to play the role of an "antic" or madman, he adjusts his costume accordingly. Check out Ophelia's description of Hamlet:

My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;
No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;
And with a look so piteous in purport
As if he had been loosed out of hell
To speak of horrors,--he comes before me. (2.1.1)

If we assume that Hamlet makes himself appear disheveled in order to convince Ophelia that he's lost his mind, then we can also assume that Hamlet is banking on the convention that one's physical attire is a reflection of one's state of mind. And it works because Ophelia and Polonius are convinced that Hamlet is mad. Notice too that Hamlet's not wearing his favorite black cloak – Ophelia says his skin's as "pale as his shirt." Hmm. Ophelia makes Hamlet sound a lot like the ghost. What's that all about? Be sure to check out the themes of "Art and Culture" and "Madness" if you want to think about this some more.

Flowers

When Ophelia loses her mind in Act IV, Scene v, she starts handing out flowers to everyone around her. She talks directly about the symbolic meaning of those flowers, but what's also important is to whom she hands each flower.

Does Ophelia give the rosemary (for remembrance) to an invisible Hamlet, praying he hasn't forgotten about her? Does she give the rue (another word for regret) to Gertrude, who may be regretting her hasty marriage to Claudius? Keep these questions in mind as you read Ophelia's lines. "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember," she says, "and there is pansies. That's for thoughts […]. There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's rue for you; and here's some for me: we may call it the herb-grace o' Sundays: O you must wear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy: I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died." Fennel symbolized strength and praiseworthiness, columbine symbolized folly, daisies symbolized innocence, and violets symbolized faithfulness and modesty. So which flowers belong to which characters?