Yorick's Skull In Hamlet

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Maddie Smith, Introductory Page, 1
The group’s concept for the gravedigger scene that shifts to Ophelia’s funeral is to present the brief reprieve from the seriousness of Hamlet with a more comedic interpretation that conveys that life lasts beyond how temporary life actually is, which is represented by Yorick’s skull and the death of Ophelia. The concept of how brief life is in relation to Yorick’s skull conveys how quickly the years pass as Hamlet speaks of knowing Yorick and now seeing him once more as a skull. Ophelia’s life was shortened due to her suicide, which effects the major characters such as Hamlet and Laertes. The stark contrast of our comedic interpretation from the sorrow of skulls and death allows the audience a chance to relax. …show more content…
When presenting one of the final scenes of the play, reading the first part of the play becomes necessary for context. To understand what it happening in Act 5, I head to reread the whole play. Rereading the play several times has helped me to grasp Shakespeare’s language; consequently, speaking Horatio’s and the Doctor of Divinity’s lines became easier. During one of my read-throughs of the Doctor of Divinity’s brief speech, I suddenly had a type of epiphany that he was reluctant, possibly angry, that he had to give Ophelia a burial despite making it as short as possible and not complexly Christian. I had a limited amount of knowledge regarding Shakespeare’s time period, but I knew that suicide was a taboo. Due to this scene, I was able to see the extent of such social interpretations because of how furious the Doctor of Divinity acted. In contrast, Ophelia’s family was devastated and argued for a proper burial. While working on this specific scene and listening to my group member’s interpretation, I was able to learn more about the importance of Ophelia. Originally, I was set on the idea that Hamlet was using Ophelia as a reason for his madness and as a victim for his madness. On the other hand, I can now comprehend the interpretation that Hamlet may have actually loved Ophelia due to their history together. Ophelia’s death also presents Hamlet’s complexity and Laertes’s character. Hamlet’s complexity is explained by the multiple interpretations, but also the speech about death in relation to Yorick’s skull. Circling back to the concept of our project, the speech relates how worthless a single death is in comparison to the world. Laertes’s character is further developed by showing his passion for family beyond their death, which is what allows Claudius to manipulate Laertes to agree to kill Hamlet. I
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