Act five, scene one, opens with two “gravediggers” who are considered “clowns.” The purpose of these characters is to act as a comic relief. This is necessary after the tension of Ophelia’s death and the tone of most of the play. Just a few lines before, Queen Gertrude gave a very depressing image of Ophelia, “When down her weedy trophies and herself / Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide, / And mermaid-like awhile they bore her up” (4.7.174-176). Right after the reader reads

The comedy and tragedy of Act Five, Scene One balance each other, but also serve distinct purposes. The dark humor of the first half provides a relaxation of the atmosphere, which is definitely needed after Ophelia's death and the complexities of the plot. The joking of the “gravediggers” gives the audience a little relief before the final rise into the play's resolution. The tense grief of the second segment, the funeral, gives the audience an insight into what is to come at the end of the play. Dividing the play up like this, Shakespeare has created an up, down effect that allows the reader to still pay attention. Once the play gets a little too sad, he throws in some comedy to ease the drama, but gets right back on track once he feels he has cheered up his readers.

Continuing to alleviate the play, Shakespeare has Hamlet speak to the “gravedigger.” Everything that Hamlet asks, the “gravedigger” takes literally. Hamlet asks, “Whose / grave’s this, sirrah” (5.1.117-118)? The “Clowns” immediate response is, “Mine sir” (5.1.19). Shakespeare now chose to throw in a pun, Hamlet and the “Clown” continue, “ I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in’t / You lie out on’t , sir, and therefore ‘tis not / yours; for my part, I do not lie in’t, yet it is mine (5.1.121-124). A pun is a type of humor where one word has more than one meaning. In this case, the gravedigger "lies" in the hole because he is lying in it, and he also "lies" in the hole because he has just told a lie. Puns are considered a sophisticated form of humor, and are thought to be very witty and clever, by some people.

The “clowns” continue to talk to each other, still ponde

Some topics in this essay:
Queen Gertrude, Hamlet Horatio, Shakespeare Hamlet, Five Scene, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet Laertes, hamlet horatio, “clown 1”, shakespeare created, play shakespeare, throws skull hamlet, act five scene, queen gertrude, throws skull, portion play, hamlet laertes, moves play, tone play,