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.
Its sad how like almost everyone you described died. Although I think most of them deserved it, I agree with your reaction. Maybe next time we will read something more lighthearted.
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