ACT+5

Act 5 Scene I & II

**Summary of Events:**
 * Scene I**

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In this scene, we are left with two grave diggers who are digging Ophelia’s grave. They briefly discuss the unfair line between the rich and the poor. Ophelia, despite the fact that she had committed suicide (something considered a sin in the Christian religion), would be given a Christian burial because she is a gentlewoman. The two grave diggers then exchange riddles until Hamlet and Horatio arrived. Hamlet then proceeds to muse over the nature of mortality shortly before he and Laertes find themselves fighting in Ophelia’s grave. They argue over who loved Ophelia more until they are separated.=====


 * Scene II**

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This scene opens with Hamlet and Horatio in conversation. Hamlet tells Horatio what happened on his journey from England to Denmark. He tells Horatio of how he stole the letter King Claudius had given to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the two were supposed to deliver it to the King of England. The letter stated that Hamlet was to be beheaded upon sight. Hamlet switched the letter with one he wrote, one that stated that Guildenstern and Rosencrantz would the ones to be executed instead.=====

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Later Osric, a courtier, arrives to tell Hamlet of the duel between himself and Laertes that Claudius proposed – he also mentions that Claudius is betting on Hamlet to win. Hamlet decides to go on ahead with the duel, despite Horatio’s advice. Prior to the duel Hamlet apologizes to Laertes and the two commence their duel, however, unbeknownst to Hamlet that Laertes is fighting with a poisoned sword.=====

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In midst of the duel, Claudius drops poison into the drink that was supposed to belong to Hamlet, however, Gertrude drinks it instead. Laertes manages to wound Hamlet with his poisoned sword, and then he finds himself being poisoned with the same sword he used against Hamlet. Gertrude dies and when she dies, Laertes who is dying from the wound he received reveals that Claudius is behind everything. Hamlet kills the king, but dies himself. Before he dies he tells Horatio to tell the world of his story and names Fortinbras, who had arrived with his army, the new king of Denmark. The soldiers carry Hamlet off the stage like a solider and it is implied that peace will be restored in Denmark now that the royal house has died off.=====

**Questions to Consider:**

1. What is the significance in what the gravediggers were saying about the fact that Ophelia was a gentlewoman and therefore received a “proper Christian burial”?

2. Do you think that Hamlet was sincere when he stated that he loved Ophelia more than Laertes?

3. Why were the grave diggers hesitant about giving Ophelia a Christian burial?

4. What is the title of Osric, the one to interrupt Hamlet and Horatio's conversation?

5. In the end, was all that Hamlet went through worth it for the sake of getting revenge for his father’s death?

**Creative Component:** A reference to King Claudius's death.

By: Tamika & Edna.