The Gravediggers
Encyclopedia
The Gravediggers are examples of Shakespearean fools (also known as clowns or jesters), a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. Like most Shakespearean fools, the Gravediggers are peasants or commoners that use their great wit and intellect to get the better of their superiors, other people of higher social status, and each other.
The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet
, making their one and only appearance at the beginning of Act v, Scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia
, discussing whether she deserves a Christian
burial after having killed herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the first Gravedigger. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick.
The pair get off the subject of suicide almost as quickly as they began it, however, and soon begins the more witty section of their scene. The First Gravedigger begins to goad and test the Second, beginning by confusing him with the double meaning of the word "arms" (as in weapons and appendages). The dialogue between the two ends when the First Gravedigger is unsatisfied by the answer to the riddle "What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?" (V.i.39-40) that the Second Gravedigger gives, and consequently sends him off to bring back alcohol.
The Second Gravedigger exits as Hamlet and Horatio
enter, and the First Gravedigger begins to sing a song on the topics of love and graves as he digs. He throws a skull (and later a second) up and out of the grave. Hamlet then talks to Horatio about how inappropriate it is to treat what used to be someone's, and possibly an important someone's, body in such a way. He decides to ask the Gravedigger whose grave he is digging, but the Gravedigger will not reveal the answer without another witty exchange.
Soon, it is revealed that the Gravedigger has been digging graves since the day Hamlet was born. The two then briefly discuss Hamlet's insanity (which they are able to do because the real Hamlet is in disguise). It is shortly thereafter that the Gravedigger points out a skull that used to belong to the Yorick, the king's jester and Hamlet's caretaker. Hamlet asks if this could really be so, and the Gravedigger responds with, "E'en that," (V.i.159), marking his last line in the play.
Gravedigger
What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the
shipwright, or the carpenter?
Other
The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand
tenants. (V.i., 38-41)
And later in the scene:
Gravedigger
And when you are asked
this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that
he makes last till doomsday. (V.i., 53-55)
Gravedigger
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet. (V.i.57-58)
Gravedigger
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull) (V.i.63-64)
While the rest of the play is set solely in the fictional world of Hamlet's Denmark, this scene helps makes sense of the themes by simultaneously bringing the focus to the audience's world. "By using recognizable references from contemporary times, the clown can, through the use of the oral tradition, make the audience understand the theme being played out by the court-dominated characters in the play."
For example, although the First Gravedigger is definitely in the fictional world of the play (he is digging Ophelia's grave), he also asks his fellow to "go, get thee to Yaughan, fetch me a stoup of liquor". This does not appear in all versions and means little to us now, but it is "generally supposed that [Yaughan] was a nearby inn-keeper [to the theatre]". Likewise, the First Gravedigger is in the same world as the English audience of the time when he jokes "...[insanity] will not be seen in [Hamlet] there [in England]; there the men are as mad as he". This gives enough of a "distance from Elsinore [for the audience] to view what the clowns say as discreet parallels, not direct commentaries"
The literal graveness of the situation (the funeral) subsides to the humor. This makes it possible for the characters to look at the subject of death objectively, giving rise to such speeches as Hamlet's musings over the skull of Yorick.
The tone is set from the opening of the scene, during the Gravediggers' dialog regarding Ophelia. Simply, they use her death to debate whether suicide is legitimate and forgivable according to religious law. This is not the first time, however, that this question has been raised in the play. Hamlet has the very same discussion with himself during his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Act 3 scene 1. The characters in Act 5 scene 1 approach the topic this time with dark comedy, and in doing so bring up an entirely different theme.
The parody of legal jargon used by the pair of clowns continues the theme of the corruption of politics, as seen in the usurpation of the throne by Claudius
(which should have belonged to prince Hamlet) upon King Hamlet
's death.
The disintegration of values, morals, and order is a theme discussed at length in "Hamlet". The everyday tone of the Gravediggers brings this philosophy into the focus of the audience's world. The synthesis of all perspectives used ends in a greater comprehension of the play as a whole."
Finally, it should be remembered that Hamlet was written to be performed at a time when religion was a very hot topic. But it was possible to critique the Reformation in England and discuss the legality of suicide as long as the characters have their own intention (i.e. to dig a grave) separate from the author's intention
, all theatres were closed down by the puritan
government. However, even during this time playlets known as drolls were often performed illegally, including one based on the two clowns, called The Grave-Makers, based on Act 5, Scene 1 of Hamlet.
The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, making their one and only appearance at the beginning of Act v, Scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia
Ophelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
, discussing whether she deserves a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
burial after having killed herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the first Gravedigger. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick.
Detailed summary
The penultimate scene of the play begins with the two clowns digging a grave for the late Ophelia. They debate whether she should be allowed to have a Christian burial, because she committed suicide. This quickly leads them into a discussion of the impact of politics on the decision, and the two parody lawyer speech. They present Ophelia's case from both positions: if she jumped into the water, then she killed herself, but if the water effectively jumped on her, then she did not. The First Gravedigger laments the fact that the wealthy have more freedom to commit suicide than the poor.The pair get off the subject of suicide almost as quickly as they began it, however, and soon begins the more witty section of their scene. The First Gravedigger begins to goad and test the Second, beginning by confusing him with the double meaning of the word "arms" (as in weapons and appendages). The dialogue between the two ends when the First Gravedigger is unsatisfied by the answer to the riddle "What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?" (V.i.39-40) that the Second Gravedigger gives, and consequently sends him off to bring back alcohol.
The Second Gravedigger exits as Hamlet and Horatio
Horatio (character)
Horatio is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. A friend of Prince Hamlet from Wittenberg University, Horatio's origins are unknown, though he is evidently poor and was present on the battlefield when Hamlet's father defeated 'the ambitious Norway'...
enter, and the First Gravedigger begins to sing a song on the topics of love and graves as he digs. He throws a skull (and later a second) up and out of the grave. Hamlet then talks to Horatio about how inappropriate it is to treat what used to be someone's, and possibly an important someone's, body in such a way. He decides to ask the Gravedigger whose grave he is digging, but the Gravedigger will not reveal the answer without another witty exchange.
Soon, it is revealed that the Gravedigger has been digging graves since the day Hamlet was born. The two then briefly discuss Hamlet's insanity (which they are able to do because the real Hamlet is in disguise). It is shortly thereafter that the Gravedigger points out a skull that used to belong to the Yorick, the king's jester and Hamlet's caretaker. Hamlet asks if this could really be so, and the Gravedigger responds with, "E'en that," (V.i.159), marking his last line in the play.
Jokes
When together, the Gravediggers speak mainly in riddles and witty banter regarding death, with the first asking the questions and the second answering.Gravedigger
What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the
shipwright, or the carpenter?
Other
The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand
tenants. (V.i., 38-41)
And later in the scene:
Gravedigger
And when you are asked
this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that
he makes last till doomsday. (V.i., 53-55)
Songs
While digging Ophelia's grave, the first Gravedigger sings to himself:Gravedigger
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet. (V.i.57-58)
Gravedigger
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull) (V.i.63-64)
Analysis of the scene
Many major and important themes of the play are discussed and brought up by the Gravediggers in the short time they are on stage. The manner in which these themes are presented, however, is notably different from the rest of the play.While the rest of the play is set solely in the fictional world of Hamlet's Denmark, this scene helps makes sense of the themes by simultaneously bringing the focus to the audience's world. "By using recognizable references from contemporary times, the clown can, through the use of the oral tradition, make the audience understand the theme being played out by the court-dominated characters in the play."
For example, although the First Gravedigger is definitely in the fictional world of the play (he is digging Ophelia's grave), he also asks his fellow to "go, get thee to Yaughan, fetch me a stoup of liquor". This does not appear in all versions and means little to us now, but it is "generally supposed that [Yaughan] was a nearby inn-keeper [to the theatre]". Likewise, the First Gravedigger is in the same world as the English audience of the time when he jokes "...[insanity] will not be seen in [Hamlet] there [in England]; there the men are as mad as he". This gives enough of a "distance from Elsinore [for the audience] to view what the clowns say as discreet parallels, not direct commentaries"
The literal graveness of the situation (the funeral) subsides to the humor. This makes it possible for the characters to look at the subject of death objectively, giving rise to such speeches as Hamlet's musings over the skull of Yorick.
The tone is set from the opening of the scene, during the Gravediggers' dialog regarding Ophelia. Simply, they use her death to debate whether suicide is legitimate and forgivable according to religious law. This is not the first time, however, that this question has been raised in the play. Hamlet has the very same discussion with himself during his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Act 3 scene 1. The characters in Act 5 scene 1 approach the topic this time with dark comedy, and in doing so bring up an entirely different theme.
The parody of legal jargon used by the pair of clowns continues the theme of the corruption of politics, as seen in the usurpation of the throne by Claudius
King Claudius
King Claudius is a character and the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle to Hamlet. He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow...
(which should have belonged to prince Hamlet) upon King Hamlet
King Hamlet
The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, also known as The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost."...
's death.
The disintegration of values, morals, and order is a theme discussed at length in "Hamlet". The everyday tone of the Gravediggers brings this philosophy into the focus of the audience's world. The synthesis of all perspectives used ends in a greater comprehension of the play as a whole."
Finally, it should be remembered that Hamlet was written to be performed at a time when religion was a very hot topic. But it was possible to critique the Reformation in England and discuss the legality of suicide as long as the characters have their own intention (i.e. to dig a grave) separate from the author's intention
Performance
During the InterregnumEnglish Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
, all theatres were closed down by the puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
government. However, even during this time playlets known as drolls were often performed illegally, including one based on the two clowns, called The Grave-Makers, based on Act 5, Scene 1 of Hamlet.
Film
In most of the movie adaptations of Hamlet, the part of the First Gravedigger (and at times the Second Gravedigger) is played by an extremely established actor or comedian. The following are the actors that portrayed the Gravedigger in the most notable cinematic productions:- Jeffrey Wright in Hamlet (2000)Hamlet (2000 film)Hamlet is a 2000 American film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name...
, directed by Michael AlmereydaMichael AlmereydaMichael Almereyda is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His most well known work is Hamlet , starring Ethan Hawke.-Early life:... - Billy CrystalBilly CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
in Hamlet (1996)Hamlet (1996 film)Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet...
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in Hamlet (1990)Hamlet (1990 film)Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. It was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson as the young Prince Hamlet...
, directed by Franco ZeffirelliFranco ZeffirelliFranco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party.... - Roger LiveseyRoger LiveseyRoger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death...
in Hamlet (1969)Hamlet (1969 film)Hamlet is a 1969 British film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, starring Nicol Williamson as Prince Hamlet. It was directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production at the Roundhouse theatre in London...
, directed by Tony RichardsonTony RichardsonCecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist... - Stanley HollowayStanley HollowayStanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
in Hamlet (1948)Hamlet (1948 film)Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...
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