Act V Summary


In the start of Act V Hamlet comes back with Horatio. Only for Hamlet and Horatio to come across the gravedigger and his assistant talking. The assistant leaves and Hamlet strikes up a conversation with the gravedigger in trying to acertain the name of the person to be buried there. The gravedigger pulls out the skull of Yurick, this sends Hamlet into a flashback about how Yurick was the jester when he was a youth. Thus one of the most famous Shakespearian lines and most famous still scences is born, "Alas Poor Yurick, I knew him-Horatio..." At this time the priest, Laertes, and King and Queen arrive at the grave. Laertes is talking about how that the death of his sister is the fault of Hamlet for killing her father. Hamlet and Horatio then go face to face over the cause of her death in the grave. Hamlet proceeds to tell everyone that he loved Ophelia more than a thousand brothers could have ever loved her. Laertes throws Hamlet down and starts choking him and yelling at him. Hamlet and Horatio proceed to leave and the King tells Laertes there will be a living monument to Ophelia. Meaning that Hamlet will die for his wrong doing. The scene draws to a close. The second scene opens with the whole group being at the castle. Hamlet is invited to partake in a fencing match against Laertes. Hamlet jokes with Osric and finally accepts the invite. The foreshadowing to this point is very thick and you know that somethings going to happen soon. The fencing match seems very usual at first. Hamlet proceeds to taunt Laertes as they engage in fencing, Laertes gets upset and Hamlet tells him that he is just joking. After a victory in the first match style King Claudius offers Hamlet a toast. The queen drinks the poisoned drink at the disapproval of Claudius. The match continues and Hamlet gets struck on the shoulder by Laertes with a poisoned blade. This irritates Hamlet and he goes after Laertes with a very irrate demeanor and proceeds to get him on his "death bed". The Queen is now in convolsions from the poison and tells Hamlet along with a seconding from Laertes that Claudius is the one who poisoned the drink hoping that he (Hamlet)would drink it. Hamlet kills Claudius and then starts his march toward death in a dialogue with Horatio, Horatio wants to kill himself and Hamlet says no, just tell others the story of how screwed up this family was. In the end Hamlet dies and Fortinbras storms the castle and becomes the new King.