Clowns In Hamlet Research Paper

Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers of all time. The profoundness of his work reflected the hard work he put into everything he wrote. Shakespeare’s clowns should be recognized as an important part of his pieces of work. The role and importance of the clowns is an essential part to Shakespeare’s plays.

Many people from all different social classes attended his shows. People would travel from far and wide to see the great work of Shakespeare. In the plays, there were many different characters, but some that were incorporated were the clowns and jests. They were integrated to make it more entertaining to the people watching. For instance, if there was a lot of goury and long scenes, they would provide a comic relief to the audience.

First, the scene starts out with the gravediggers, or clowns, arguing whether Ophelia should be buried in the churchyard or not because of her death. Ophelia died from falling into the stream and drowning. The characters do not know whether it was an accident or if it was an act of suicide. Back then, anyone who committed suicide, their family was shunned from the church, even though the person was already dead. This was all explained by the gravediggers in the play to help the illiterate and audience understand the importance of her death. Next, when the two men are talking, one tells the other a riddle. This act provides comic relief in a serious situation to cut down the sternness of the play. Then, when Hamlet and Horatio show up, Hamlet is trying to figure out who they are digging the grave for. One gravedigger then bickers with Hamlet about who it is for, and makes a joke that the grave is for himself (“Hamlet”). This shows the difference in their roles in society as Hamlet and gravedigger talk to each other. Prince Hamlet does not find this funny, and the gravedigger is used to this reaction by being looked down upon by the upper class. Shakespeare was right to do this, because it showed division but also related to the audience as