Act 5 theme

The best fitting theme for act 5 is Appearance vs Reality. So much in this act appeared to be something it was not, mainly in scene 2. Every character is dropping dead. Hamlet is challenged to fence with Laertes and is told that the king has made a wager with Laertes that Hamlet will win although we really know that Laertes and the King have a plan that Hamlet will "not win" and die. It appears that the king is putting a valuable gem in the wine to give Hamlet if he wins although we know that in reality it is really poison. When Hamlet gets a hold of Laertes sword, it appears to him if it is just the same as his but in reality it really has the poison on the end. There is so much deception in this act that we know is happening but Hamlet does not.

ACT 5 WHO'S WHO

Hamlet- Walks upon the gravediggers, but doesn't know that Ophelia is dead yet. He hides in the bushes to watch the procession, but then emerges when he realizes that Ophelia is the one being buried. He then pronounces that he did truly love Ophelia, even more then Laertes did. He reveals to Horatio that he switched the letter given to Rosencratz and Guildenstern, and that they will now be the ones who are executed when they arrive to England, he says that he feels no sympathy for them. He agrees to fight Laertes, and asks him for his forgiveness. He exchanges swords with Laertes in the midst of their fight, and wounds Laertes with the poisoned sword.  After realizing that Claudius was to blame for the poison, he forces him to drink the remainder of the poisoned wine. Asks for Laertes forgiveness.
Gertrude- Comes to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad after seeing his behavior in the graveyard. She ends up accidentally drinking the poisoned wine. She ends up realizing that the drink was poisoned and calls out for Hamlet, she then dies.
Claudius- He urges Laertes to be patient at the graveyard, and to stick with their plan to get revenge. He puts poison in a glass of wine for Hamlet to drink. He tries to stop Gertrude from drinking out the cup. Is forced to drink the poisoned wine and dies while crying out for help.
Laertes- Attends his sisters funeral, but then becomes infuriated with the priest when he refuses to give Ophelia a full proper christian burial. He jumps into the grave with Ophelia so that he can hold her one last time. Tells Hamlet that he can't accept his apology at the moment. Manages to wound Hamlet with the poisoned sword. Laertes admits to Hamlet that they have both been stabbed by the poisoned sword which was the idea of the king, and the poisoned wine was also of Claudius doing. Forgives Hamlet, and then dies. 
Gravediggers- They dig the grave for Ophelia. However, they spend most of their time talking about whether or not she should really be buried there since her death appeared to look like a suicide. 
Horatio- Agrees to tell the story of what happened that led to such a devastating scene. 
Rosencratz- Executed.
Guildenstern- Executed.
Osric- A courtier who comes to deliver the message that Claudius wants Hamlet to fence against Laertes. Tells everyone that Fortinbras has come to attack. 
Fortinbras- Comes to overthrow Denmark, but ends up walking into a gruesome scene. He tells his forces to give Hamlet a proper soldier burial. 

Personal Reaction:
This last act was really sad, and I didn't expect for literally EVERYONE to die. I think that at the end, Hamlet and Laertes both realized that they had made some big mistakes and they wanted to be forgiven for all of the things that they had done wrong. I also felt really bad for Horatio, because he just watched everyone that he cared about die right in front of his eyes and he couldn't really do anything to stop it. Overall, this was one of the most depressing plays that I've ever read, and i'm just hoping that we can read something not sad next time, like a Disney book or something. 

ACT 4 LANGUAGE

Providence: Provision for the future
Act 4 Scene 1 Line 19-
Claudius: Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered?
It will be laid to us, whose providence
Should have kept short, restrained and out of haunt,
This mad young man.

Countenance: Sanction
Act 4 Scene 1 Line 34-
Claudius: The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch
But we will ship him hence, and this vile deed
We must, with all our majesty and skill,
Both countenance and excuse.

Scourge: Punishment
Act 4 Scene 3 Line 6
Claudius: Yet must not we put the strong law on him.
He’s loved of the distracted multitude,
Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes.
And where ’tis so, th' offender’s scourge is weighed,
But never the offense.

Cicatrice: wound
Act 4 Scene 3 Line 65
Claudius: And, England, if my love thou hold’st at aught—
As my great power thereof may give thee sense,
Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red
After the Danish sword and thy free awe
Pays homage to us—thou mayst not coldly set
Our sovereign process, which imports at full,
By letters congruing to that effect,
The present death of Hamlet. 

the hectic: A severe fever
Act 4 Scene 3 Line 71
Claudius: Do it, England,
For like the hectic in my blood he rages,
And thou must cure me. Till I know ’tis done,
Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun.

These words are used to create a sense of impending doom and convey to the reader just how desperate Claudius is to get rid of Hamlet. 

Personal Reaction: I don't believe that Hamlet had any intention of harming Polonious, and this is going to cause him to feel guilty over the "accidental" murder. I think that Claudius is using Polonious death as an excuse to get rid of Hamlet so that way his secrets won't be revealed. I feel really bad for Ophelia, because she has lost every one that she cares about. 

Act 5 Language

The Skulls, in  the graveyard.
These were symbols of death obviously. But they were one of the only physical symbols I remember from this play. They were probably able to show Hamlet that everyone dies an they are often forgotten. He realizes he knew the man whose skull was dug up and he didn't even recognize him. Kind of like when he said Polonius will be eaten by worms, this man has also decayed and now no one seems to care.

The Poison
I think the poison was as symbol for the tragedy of revenge. That is probably very general, but the poison was used  to kill people out of revenge and it literally ended up killing everyone involved. Whether through the pearl of through the sword, the poison was a sad reality for the people who mistakenly thought they could solve all their problems through revenge.



Personal Response:
I enjoyed reading Hamlet...more then I thought I would, I thought the story line was actually really good, if only it didn't use all the language it did. It was often so hard to understand that it took away from the enjoyment or entertainment side.I liked the ending though, I thought everyone deserved to die, except for Ophelia. The end, was weird with Denmark getting taken over, but I thought it suited the situation, because ultimately none of the characters won out.

Act 4 Symbols and Allusions

Ophelia's flowers are each symbols. She explains some of them like fennel and columbines for adultery and a daisy for unhappy love. But others such as rosemary for remembering and pan sys for thoughts are symbolizing the loss of her own mind and her inability to form logical thoughts. The fact that Ophelia drowned is also symbolic of the weight she was being forced to carry around was essentially the thing that drive her crazy. The fact that she had no say in her life and made no decisions on her own made her an easy target for everyone to put their problems onto. She felt the desperation of her father to keep her safe, she felt the need the king and queen had to find out what was wrong with Hamlet, she felt so attached to Hamlet and cared for him that she also worried about his struggles. All of these worries with no explanations are what drowned Ophelia mind. When Ophelia is singing in scene 5 she also mentions Saint Charity. Charity was tortured and martyred at a young age because of her faith. This symbolizes her father who was killed by accident and had done nothing wrong in his daughters eyes. THis made him a martyr to her. Personal Reaction: Most of this act seemed like they were just telling what had happened before and things that were going on around them. THe most important things that I thought happened were Laertes and the kings plan forming, the letter from Hamlet, and Ophelia drowning. I think all of those things are sure to carry over into the next act. I also think a lot of people are going to die in the final act because of the confusion and the new plan.

2) Clarification Questions/Key Passages

Act 4, Scene 4, Pg. 128, Lines 31-67
               Hamlet is questioning himself as to why he's doing what he's doing. He cant figure out why he's putting off killing Claudius. It's like he doesn't understand why he's thinking so much or why he's having so many convicting thoughts about the revenge. He just can't seem to bring himself to the final act of it.

Act 4, Scene 5, Pg. 137, Lines 205-214
                 King Claudius is trying to redeem himself. This is important because it sets up the relationship between Laertes and the King as they plot to kill Hamlet. The King wants Laertes to know that it wasn't him that killed Polonius so he wasn't to lose his crown when everyone starts asking qustions. He blames everything on Hamlet so there can be no reason anything would come back to him. 

Act 4, Scene 7, Pg. 143, Lines 128-140
                 The King is telling Laertes that it is alright for him to attempt to murder Hamlet. Throughout these lines, their true feelings come to the surface and we don't have to keep guessing about what they are going to do about this. This passage also builds further suspense as to what the readers think will happen later.

Clarification Questions

Why did Laertes secretly come back from France?

Why does Laertes assume Claudius killed his father?

How do you think Ophelia's death will affect Laertes plan to kill Hamlet?

What is the symbolism between the flowers and Ophelia?