Yorick's Skull In Hamlet

Writing #6 When one thinks of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the first image that comes to mind is that of Hamlet gazing into the eyes of Yorick’s skull. This scene has become an icon of the play because of the message behind it. It is arguable that the graveyard scene embodies the essence of the entire play. As Hamlet metaphorically and literally stares death in the face, a pivotal moment occurs where he realizes the meaning of human mortality. Hamlet sees the temporary nature of the human body, the insignificance of rank, and the equality of all humans in death. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the image of Yorick’s skull in the graveyard scene is so noteworthy because it acts as a reminder of the transience of human life. As Hamlet stands in the graveyard surrounded by the dead, he is struck with the fleetingness of the human body. He sees a skull on the ground and notes, “That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once” (V.i.75-76). Hamlet realizes that this skull was once a human being with a voice and a

He wonders about the professions of the skulls when they were living. He says, “Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillities, his cases, his tenures, his tricks” (V.i.97-99)? Hamlet realizes that the skull he is looking at could have been the skull of a lawyer, but there is no way of knowing now. The skull shows no signs of rank or status from being a lawyer; all the things that the owner of this skull once prided his or herself for are gone. Yorick’s skull, the skull of a court jester, looks no different than that of a lawyer or anyone else of rank. All of the skulls receive the same bad treatment from the gravedigger regardless of what status they may have possessed in life. In this scene, Hamlet understands that while one’s reputation and wealth may seem permanent, none of it stays with anyone after