Summary
Hamlet stumbles upon gravediggers preparing Ophelia's burial, sparking dark comedy about class, death, and hypocrisy. The working-class gravediggers joke that if Ophelia weren't nobility, she'd be denied a Christian burial for suicide - revealing how wealth buys different treatment even in death. When the gravedigger tosses up skulls, including that of Yorick (the court jester who entertained Hamlet as a child), Hamlet confronts mortality head-on. He realizes that death is the great equalizer - lawyers, politicians, even Alexander the Great all end up as dust. This moment strips away his philosophical overthinking and grounds him in reality. At Ophelia's funeral, Laertes dramatically leaps into her grave, declaring his grief. Hamlet, triggered by what he sees as performative mourning, jumps in too, leading to a physical fight. Both men compete over who loved Ophelia more, turning her funeral into a spectacle. The scene reveals how grief can become about the grievers rather than the deceased. Hamlet's confrontation with death - both literal skulls and Ophelia's burial - forces him to stop intellectualizing and face raw emotion. The working-class gravediggers provide wisdom through humor, while the nobility creates drama even at a funeral. This chapter shows how proximity to death can either humble us or make us more theatrical.
Coming Up in Chapter 21
The final confrontation arrives as Hamlet faces Laertes in a duel that will settle all debts. But in a court full of secrets and poison, not everyone will survive to see justice done.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
SCENE I. A churchyard. Enter two Clowns with spades, &c. FIRST CLOWN. Is she to be buried in Christian burial, when she wilfully seeks her own salvation? SECOND CLOWN. I tell thee she is, and therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her, and finds it Christian burial. FIRST CLOWN. How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defence? SECOND CLOWN. Why, ’tis found so. FIRST CLOWN. It must be _se offendendo_, it cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act: and an act hath three branches. It is to act, to do, and to perform: argal, she drowned herself wittingly. SECOND CLOWN. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver,— FIRST CLOWN. Give me leave. Here lies the water; good. Here stands the man; good. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes,—mark you that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life. SECOND CLOWN. But is this law? FIRST CLOWN. Ay, marry, is’t, crowner’s quest law. SECOND CLOWN. Will you ha’ the truth on’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial. FIRST CLOWN. Why, there thou say’st. And the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers: they hold up Adam’s profession. SECOND CLOWN. Was he a gentleman? FIRST CLOWN. He was the first that ever bore arms. SECOND CLOWN. Why, he had none. FIRST CLOWN. What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam digg’d. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself— SECOND CLOWN. Go to. FIRST CLOWN. What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter? SECOND CLOWN. The gallows-maker; for that frame outlives a thousand tenants. FIRST CLOWN. I like thy wit well in good faith, the gallows does well. But how does it well? It does well to those that do ill. Now, thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church; argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To’t again, come. SECOND CLOWN. Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter? FIRST CLOWN. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke. SECOND CLOWN. Marry, now I can tell. FIRST CLOWN. To’t. SECOND CLOWN. Mass, I cannot tell. Enter Hamlet and Horatio, at a distance. FIRST CLOWN. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating; and when you are asked this question next, say ‘a grave-maker’. The houses he makes last till doomsday. Go,...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Death's Honesty - When Mortality Cuts Through Performance
Proximity to death either strips away pretense to reveal authentic response or amplifies performance to avoid facing powerlessness.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when people use others' tragedies as their own stage versus genuine mourning.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone shares bad news—watch who offers practical help versus who makes dramatic gestures for attention.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Christian burial
In Shakespeare's time, people who committed suicide were denied proper church burial and buried in unhallowed ground. This was considered a spiritual punishment that affected the soul's afterlife. The church controlled who deserved dignity in death.
Modern Usage:
We still see how institutions decide who deserves respect - like how some families are denied military honors or how different communities treat addiction deaths differently.
Crowner's quest
An early form of coroner's inquest where officials determined cause of death. The 'crowner' (coroner) would investigate suspicious deaths and decide if they were accidents, murders, or suicides. Their verdict determined burial rights.
Modern Usage:
Today's coroner investigations serve the same purpose - determining cause of death for legal and insurance purposes, though we don't deny burial based on findings.
Se offendendo
The gravedigger's mispronunciation of 'se defendendo' (self-defense). He's trying to sound legal and educated but gets it wrong. This shows how working-class people were excluded from formal education but still tried to engage with legal concepts.
Modern Usage:
Like when people use big words incorrectly to sound smart in meetings, or when we try to use legal terms we heard on TV but don't fully understand.
Memento mori
A reminder of death's inevitability, often through skulls or other symbols. Hamlet holding Yorick's skull is a classic example. It's meant to humble people and remind them that earthly concerns are temporary.
Modern Usage:
We see this in how people post about mortality after losing someone, or how near-death experiences change people's priorities about what really matters.
Class privilege in death
The gravediggers point out that Ophelia gets a proper burial only because she's nobility, not because the circumstances warrant it. Wealth and status buy different treatment even in death and spiritual matters.
Modern Usage:
Like how celebrities get different treatment in legal cases, or how wealthy families can afford better medical care and funeral arrangements than working families.
Performative grief
Making a public show of mourning that's more about the griever's image than genuine sorrow. Laertes leaps dramatically into Ophelia's grave, turning her funeral into a performance about his own pain.
Modern Usage:
Social media mourning posts that seem more about getting attention than honoring the deceased, or when people make someone else's tragedy about themselves.
Characters in This Chapter
First Clown (Gravedigger)
Comic truth-teller
A working-class gravedigger who sees through social hypocrisy with dark humor. He points out that Ophelia only gets a Christian burial because she's nobility, and he's comfortable handling death daily. His wisdom comes from lived experience, not books.
Modern Equivalent:
The hospital janitor who's seen everything and tells it like it is
Hamlet
Protagonist confronting mortality
Finally faces death directly instead of just thinking about it. Holding Yorick's skull forces him to confront the reality that everyone dies - rich, poor, smart, powerful. He stops philosophizing and starts feeling raw emotion when he sees Ophelia's funeral.
Modern Equivalent:
The overthinker who finally has to deal with real loss instead of just worrying about it
Laertes
Dramatic mourner
Jumps into his sister's grave declaring his grief louder than anyone else's. His mourning becomes a performance, which triggers Hamlet's anger. He turns Ophelia's funeral into a competition over who loved her more.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who makes every funeral about their own grief and needs to be the center of attention
Yorick
Symbol of mortality
The court jester's skull that Hamlet knew in life. Represents how death comes for everyone regardless of their role in life. His skull triggers Hamlet's meditation on the meaninglessness of earthly achievements when we all end up as bones.
Modern Equivalent:
The funny coworker everyone loved who died too young, reminding you that life is fragile
Key Quotes & Analysis
"If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial."
Context: The gravediggers discuss why Ophelia gets a proper burial despite apparent suicide
This exposes how wealth and status buy different treatment even in death. The working-class gravediggers see clearly what the nobility pretends doesn't exist - that rules apply differently based on social class.
In Today's Words:
If she wasn't rich, they would've buried her like a criminal.
"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."
Context: Hamlet holds the skull of the court jester who entertained him as a child
This moment forces Hamlet to confront mortality personally rather than abstractly. Yorick was full of life and humor, but now he's just bones. It strips away Hamlet's philosophical distance from death.
In Today's Words:
Poor Yorick! He was so funny and creative when I was a kid.
"The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense."
Context: Hamlet observes how the gravedigger casually handles skulls while singing
Hamlet realizes that people who work with death daily become desensitized to it, while those who think about it rarely are more affected. Experience changes how we process difficult realities.
In Today's Words:
People who don't do hard work are more sensitive to tough stuff.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Working-class gravediggers speak truth about how wealth buys different treatment even in death, while nobility creates drama at the funeral
Development
Evolved from earlier power dynamics to show how class distinctions persist even in death
In Your Life:
You might notice how different social classes handle grief and crisis differently in your workplace or community
Performance vs Reality
In This Chapter
Hamlet and Laertes compete over who loved Ophelia more, turning her funeral into a spectacle about themselves
Development
Builds on Hamlet's earlier theatrical tendencies, now showing how grief can become performance
In Your Life:
You might recognize when people make others' tragedies about their own emotional display rather than offering genuine support
Mortality
In This Chapter
Hamlet confronts death directly through skulls and burial, realizing all human achievement ends in dust
Development
Introduced here as Hamlet finally faces death's reality rather than philosophizing about it
In Your Life:
You might find that facing mortality—your own or others'—cuts through everyday pretenses and reveals what truly matters
Wisdom from Below
In This Chapter
Gravediggers provide honest insights about death and class while nobles create drama
Development
Continues pattern of working-class characters offering clearer perspective than nobility
In Your Life:
You might notice that people closest to life's harsh realities often have the most practical wisdom to offer
Grief Competition
In This Chapter
Two men fight over who mourns Ophelia more authentically, making her death about their rivalry
Development
New manifestation of how personal conflicts corrupt even sacred moments
In Your Life:
You might see family members or friends compete over who 'cares most' during someone's illness or death
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What different attitudes toward death do we see from the gravediggers versus Hamlet and Laertes at the funeral?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do the gravediggers joke that Ophelia only gets a Christian burial because she's nobility, and what does this reveal about how class affects treatment even in death?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about funerals or crises you've witnessed - when have you seen people make someone else's tragedy about themselves, like Hamlet and Laertes competing over who loved Ophelia more?
application • medium - 4
When facing loss or crisis, how can you tell the difference between genuine grief and performative mourning, and how would you choose to respond authentically?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter suggest about how proximity to death either strips away pretense or amplifies it, and what does this teach us about human nature under pressure?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Crisis Response Pattern
Think of a recent crisis, loss, or difficult situation in your family or workplace. Write down who responded with genuine help versus who made it about themselves. Then reflect on your own response - were you more like the practical gravediggers or the dramatic mourners? What pattern do you notice in how you and others handle high-stakes emotional situations?
Consider:
- •Look for who offered practical help versus who created more drama
- •Notice if anyone used the crisis as a stage for their own performance
- •Consider how your own response might have appeared to others
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you had to choose between being helpful or being seen as caring. What did you learn about the difference between genuine support and performative grief?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 21: The Final Duel and Reckoning
As the story unfolds, you'll explore to recognize when you're being manipulated into dangerous situations, while uncovering trusting your instincts about people and situations can save your life. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.