Hamlet Act 5, Sc. 1: Review Questions KEY 1. At the beginning of the scene, two “clowns,” or gravediggers, are talking about Ophelia’s death. Why is one of the gravediggers irritated that Ophelia will be given a Christian burial in the graveyard? Ophelia seems to have taken her own life and therefore she should not receive a Christian burial. 2. According to the text, how old is Hamlet? Does this sound right to you? Based on what you know about Hamlet and his family, how old do you think he is? Explain your reasoning. The gravedigger recalls that Hamlet was born 30 years ago; however, this seems strange since he is still in school and he did not take the throne after his father’s death. At 30 years old he would be of age to lead Denmark 3. Who was Yorick? To Hamlet, how is this man just the same as Alexander the Great? Yorick was the jester that used to play with Hamlet when he was a child. Just like Alexander the Great, Yorick’s body was returned to the earth. All men face the same ending (death). 4. What is the priest’s attitude about giving Christian burial rites to Ophelia? What is Laertes’ response to the priest? The priest refuses to give Ophelia more; Laertes’ grief is also full of anger. He believes that Ophelia is more virtuous than most and deserves a better ceremony. Act 5, Sc. 2 1. Hamlet explains the contents of the letter he wrote to the King of England using the Danish seal. Who was sentenced to death instead? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sentenced to death instead of Hamlet. 2. When Hamlet says that he is Laertes foil, what possible meaning could this have? Foils= fencing swords. A foil is also a character whose qualities are in contrast with the qualities of another character with the objective to highlight the traits of the other character. Laertes is a foil for Hamlet. 3. How does Gertrude die? She drinks the poisoned cup of wine that was meant for Hamlet. 4. What is Laertes’ dying request of Hamlet? He asks for Hamlet’s forgiveness (and he tells Hamlet that he is not to blame for Polonius’ and Ophelia’s deaths.) 5. How does Claudius die? Hamlet hits him with the sword AND forces him to drink from the poisoned cup. 6. What is Hamlet’s dying request of Horatio? (Did you know- Horatio’s name might be derived from the word “orator” which means speaker.) He asks Horatio to live on and tell his story. 7. How does Hamlet die? What is his final line? He dies from the poisoned sword. “The rest is silence”. 8. Who will now be the leader of Denmark? Fortinbras .