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

face, but all of that is gone. Hamlet asks the gravedigger how long it takes a human to rot. The gravedigger replies that a body can rot before it is even in a grave. Humans worry about their physical appearances so much, but this shows that one’s body is so temporary that it can decompose as soon as one dies. When Hamlet comes upon Yorick’s skull, he cannot recognize Yorick at all. Death has changed Yorick’s appearance so much that even someone as close to him as Hamlet cannot recognize him. In a play filled with characters worried about deception and appearances, this scene makes Hamlet see that all of these things don’t matter after death. As he looks at Yorick’s skull, Hamlet physically sees that one’s body may seem enduring, but in reality, death can abruptly take it away.
While looking at the skulls, Hamlet also realizes that rank and status are just as temporary as appearance.

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

death.
Perhaps the most important realization Hamlet has in the graveyard is all humans are equal in death. All of the skulls have the same disgusting look and the same nasty smell. Hamlet realizes this is how all human’s skulls will end up looking one day. Even Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great’s skulls look and smell the same as anyone else’s look and smell. Hamlet says, “Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander 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” (V.i.208-211)? In this line, Hamlet recognizes that someone as great in life as Alexander the Great is just as susceptible to decomposing into the earth and someday becoming the stopper of a beer barrel as anyone else. Though these men were of high renown in life, there is nothing separating them from the common man after death. All people will someday die, and therefore, all people will someday be equal.
The image of Yorick’s skull in the graveyard scene of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is so noteworthy because it acts as a reminder of the temporary nature of humans’ lives. This image helps Hamlet see the fleeting nature of the human body, the unimportance of rank, and the equality of all humans after death. The image of Yorick’s skull powerfully prompts the audience to analyze their lives and to decide if what they are striving for in life is worth it. Though elements of life such as status and looks may seem constant, they are inconsequential after death.