Maria-Hamlet, Carla-Gravedigger 1, Jason-Gravedigger2/Horatio
1. This is the first time we have seen Hamlet since he has been out of Elsinore. How have his experiences aboard the ship for England changed him?
Hamlet seems more relaxed, reflective. His “mad” act is over. When he was on the ship he uncovers a plot against his life, in the form of a Royal Command from Claudius. He devises a new Royal Command that is death on arrival in England for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead – thanks to his father’s signet that looks like the Danish seal and happened to be in his “purse”. We were hoping for one pirate story. He’s hanging out with Horatio after all. Why did they decide to walk in the graveyard? No mention is ever made of Hamlet’s father’s ghost.
2. How does his conversation with the gravediggers demonstrate these changes?
First, Hamlet has quite a warm-up for Horatio, expounding on all the possibilities of character with each unearthed skull: a politician, a courtier, or perhaps a lawyer:”Where be his cases, his tenures, and his tricks?” He then banters freely with the clown/gravedigger about whose grave is being dug. The clown says it’s his own. Hamlet says,”‘Tis for the dead, not for the quick,” meaning living. “‘Tis a quick lie sir…” says the clown, meaning life is short. Hamlet is back to his more normal self: witty, curious and open.
3. How would you describe the gravediggers’ attitude toward their job?
The gravediggers’ attitude was crafted in a way that would reflect the attitude of death. Like death these two men have no prejudice, completely disregarding the social value of each corpse; may they be man or woman, noble or peasant. They are neutral in their criticism of social law, simply voicing how law is subject to the whims of nobility, standing on no particular ground because they have no social stake in it. As they said themselves, they are the architects for death, not only will their designs last till doomsday, but also the truth in which they speak as well.
4. Why is it helpful for Hamlet to be exposed to their conversation?
It is helpful for Hamlet to be exposed to this conversation because Hamlet was able to see the situation of life and death from a different perspective. Throughout the play so far, Hamlet has been contemplating on revenge, justice, and injustice; but never has he taken a moment of self-reflexivity, everyone but Hamlet has seen how he acts. It is only when Hamlet encounters the gravediggers does he finally see the duality of his nature. The skull of York revives a personal engagement with the nature of remorse. Along with Horatio to compliment the scene, we see the dichotomy of insanity verses the median, as Horatio is not only Hamlet’s best friend, but also the representation of a harmonious life. It is the juxtaposition of life and death, where each figure shares the same lack of prejudice, but on completely opposing spectrums. It is now dependent on Hamlet’s mind and reason to determine how he will progress.
When the gravedigger answered the riddle, it had a profound impact me. I never thought of them as “architects for death.” It is true that once one dies, all one possessed in life would be meaningless. I think the profound impact the audience feels, can also be said for Hamlet. The bones had an oocupation, they had purpose, however now they are being excavated without say. The greats will eventually perish, but if they were truly great their ideals would not. I feel this brings a part of the play some closure, and makes the audience question is vengence worth it. At the end of the day don’t we all turn to dust, and there is no point living with all that negativity within. I also feel the group captured the scene rather nicely. The transition from the gravdiggers’ humor, to Hamlet’s moment of existentialism was portrayed nicely.
I LOVEE this scene!!!! You guys really brought the characters to life and gave a whole visual of what happens in the scene. Also, your use of props, appropriate setting, and even costumes was amazing and I felt like I was there in the setting with you all. It made the text much easier to understand, and the movement and positions of the characters made a huge difference. The whole thing felt really authentic and it was a pleasure to watch.
I enjoyed watching this performance. It was really nice to see something outside of a room. Everyone did a good job of portraying the meaning of each character. It was also a lot easier to understand why Hamlet and Horatio decided to speak to the gravediggers for a while. I do agree that it was necessary for Hamlet to be exposed to their conversation. It brought out a different side of Hamlet that we had not seen in the play. It is only during this scene that Hamlet takes some time to reflect upon life and death rather than revenge and unjustice. Nicely done!!
This was arguably one of the better performances of scene studies! The acting and depiction of the themes where very clearly depicted and the ideas presented were done in a fine manner. Great job!
simply amazing. The acting was great, you all seem very well prepared. This was an all around team effort. The ideas were very clear. The props were all very appropriate and well used. Great work you guys.
This was a great scene! You guys really got into character and Carla was very funny. The setting was great and so where the costumes. I think you guys did a great job in conveying the mood that was intended for the scene. Well done!
Bravo! You all should get together and perform the rest of the play for us! Each of you did a great job. Shakespeare would be proud. I think the three of you captured both the humorous and the ruminative nature of the scene brilliantly.
I also wanted to comment on the excellent manner in which these scene was performed. When reading a play, it may be hard to envision the emotions behind the words, but this scene was able to skillfully incorporate the humor while still maintaining the value and meaning behind the words. And I also really liked the analysis of Hamlet within this scene. It really is a chance for him to get a different view on mortality; his conversation with Horatio is an insightful one about the nature of death. He has been blinded by vengeful emotions because of his father’s death, but this reflection on the deaths of others reveals to the audience the part of him that is sane and rational.
Congratulations to all, commentators as well as performers. Where did you film this? Were you breaking any municipal laws by digging away?
Everyone seems to realize how this scene marks a change in Hamlet and allows him to bring a more mature perspective to the horrified preoccupation with mortality that has given him so much pause as the play unfolds.
Skoal!
This was a fantastic performance! I love the props, acting itself and the obvious attention to detail you put into this scene study. Also, the comment you made about the gravediggers being impartial like death itself I thought to be very insightful. I didn’t think about that at first but the gravediggers are real characters that expound upon the meaning of the play and the theme of death and not silly fillers.
I just watched the video for the second time. Great job! Characters are well played and brought to life. I like the facial expressions while the three of you were acting, especially Carla. I also wanted to add that the behaviors that gravediggers have is so indifferent because who is being buried is someone not related to them. We see this with Hamlet too. In the beginning he doesn’t know who has died so he accepts that death is inevitable. Once he knows that is Ophelia, he reacts immediately and remembers how much he loved her. I think he gets emotional (he is not such a bad character/lover? after all).
This was a pretty epic performance and I have to be honest I’m not to thrilled I’m in the group that has to follow this. I thought all the performances were great and really well acted. I think the presentation in class was also awesome. Carla really seems like she had a genuine interest in this project and that made me really interested and made the class presentation easy to follow and understand. Really great job to everyone in this group next time they make a Hamlet movie you guys should reprise your roles!
This scene was fantastic! Loved the props, the setting, the acting… It was all put together very well. I’m sad to think about every other group having to follow this performance. (Myself being quite intimidated) Job well done!
This is a wonderfull scene. I especially love all the time and effort you put into it, it’s obvious that you spent an enormous amount of time on it. I also liked the in class presentation, you guys made a lot of interesting points, especially Carla I could tell she really knows a lot about this subject.