Act 5- Key Passages- Erika Kehrt

Act 5, Scene 1, Pg.152, Lines 183-195

In this seen Hamlet picks up the skull of Yorick and starts reminiscing on old memories he has with this jester. This seen is one of the most significant soliloquys Hamlet says throughout the play. The reason is because when Hamlet picks up his old friend’s skull it makes him realize the value of life. He states that life is not really worth much because you will just end up dead and decayed. When one is dead and gone your status as a human being has no worth anymore. It doesn’t matter if you were Alexander the Great or some peasant everyone is equal in heaven. This seen illuminates that Hamlet is finally giving up, life has no worth to him anymore so what’s the point on continue living.

Act 5, Scene 1, Pg. 154-155, Lines 254-287

In this scene Hamlet steps forward after Laertes has just professed his love for his sister and jumped into the grave. After Hamlet and Laertes stop wrestling Hamlet confesses that he had to step forward because he was tired of listening to Laertes overdramatize his love for Ophelia. He states that if someone wanted to see true love for Ophelia it was him they wanted to see. This scene was also significant because it revealed that Hamlet truly did love Ophelia and always had. It also illuminates that every bad event that could occur in Hamlet’s has, this foreshadows that his fate is leading towards a terrible ending. Hamlet doesn’t have ANY reason to live now his father was killed, his mother is married to his father’s murderer, and the love of his life drowned herself. Therefore, he has ultimately given up on life and has accepted his fate.

Act 5, Scene 2, Pg. 170, Lines 354-360

This is the last scene of Hamlet’s life. This scene is significant because it is the last words of Hamlet life. In these lines it was the end of the play. Hamlet dies with these words. For nearly the entire play, Hamlet struggled with the words of his father's ghost asking him to get revenge against Claudius for having killed King Hamlet. Now, Claudius is also dead by Hamlet. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, and the one whom the ghost requested Hamlet to leave alone, is also dead. There is no one left to carry on the family line, so there is definitely silence. Also, these lines reflect on the fact that he is dying, and will not be a part of anything more in life. The rest of his life is silence. His life ended too soon, leaving a hole of silence where years of living should be. Hamlet realizes he needs to rely on Horatio to tell the true story.