Hamlet Horatio's Fate

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1603), the main character, Hamlet, is constantly battling between who he is and who he wants to be. He is forced to grow up quite rapidly and is put through the ringer when his father, Old Hamlet, dies and, within a month, his mother marries his uncle. There is understandable contempt in Hamlet for his uncle, Claudius, which is compounded when his father’s ghost tells him that Claudius was the cause of his murder. He is instructed to avenge his father by murdering Claudius and throughout the play, the Ghost continues to reappear and keep Hamlet on the track of pursuing his revenge. However, in the last act, Act five, the Ghost of Old Hamlet never appears, never to be heard from or seen again. Being the most

When Hamlet and Horatio are in the graveyard, they encounter a gravedigger who digs up the skull of Yorick, a jester that Hamlet once knew. This discovery leads to a moment of deep contemplation for Hamlet and finally ends with a longer question posed to Horatio: “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alex- / ander returneth to dust; the dust is earth; of earth / we make loam; and why of that loam whereto he / was converted might they not stop a beer barrel?” (5.1.216-219). The fact that Shakespeare set this scene in a graveyard suggests that a large change occurs within Hamlet and this quote reveals that. He begins to see the baseness of life and comes to the realization that everyone ends up in the same place: the ground. Regardless of who it is, a successful ruler like Alexander or a mere court jester like Yorick, they will all end up as dust, serving one trivial purpose or another. As Hamlet confers with Horatio he begins to ponder the fact that he managed to escape his plotted death by Claudius. He

In other words, the Ghost provided Hamlet with the strength he lacked and so now that Hamlet has matured into a more self confident and brave soul, the whole point of the ghost is void and therefore, is not necessary in producing the needed events in the play. After discovering that King Claudius was the cause of his mother’s death as well as his Laertes’, Hamlet immediately seeks revenge on Claudius by making him die as well. He calls him an “incestuous, murderous, damned Dane” (5.2.356). Then continues with, “Drink off this potion. Is thy union here?” (5.2.357). The whole exchange is very crude and sarcastic, especially that last question he poses as if mocking the “slyness” of the king. He tended to be like this before as well but just not nearly as open about stating his feelings; he tended to make off-handed comments under his breath but now he says this directly to the King’s face. Developmentally, he has become more aggressive and is no longer afraid of the outcome of his actions. This is of course furthered by the fact they are all dying, but that surely isn’t the only reason considering this openness began before his death was a sure thing. For example, when Hamlet and Horatio were in the graveyard observing the burial of Ophelia, Hamlet steps out from his hiding place and