Do you think that Act V Scene II of ‘Hamlet’ brings the play to a satisfying conclusion? Refer to the play as a whole as you answer.
Throughout the play Hamlet has battled with his conscience on several occasions, revealing his ideas of the corruption and dishonesty that preside in Claudius’ court and the whole of “the state of Denmark”. By the final scene of the play, the audience is finally able to see the end of this corruption and the hope of a new beginning with Fortinbras’ arrival. Hamlet’s thoughts of death and suicide throughout the play give way to a much more fatalistic attitude by Act V, Scene II, which allow us to accept his death. These conclusions leave the audience satisfied, despite the play having a tragic end.
The corruption of the court and the state of Denmark as a whole is a prevailing theme throughout the play, which Hamlet criticises on many occasions. He speaks of feeling imprisoned in his own kingdom, commenting that “Denmark’s a prison” and that he is “bounded in a nutshell”. Hamlet describes the entire world as “an unweeded garden” and declares that “to be an honest man, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand”. Hamlet’s view of the world and of Denmark is extremely critical; he alludes to corruption frequently, describing it as “maggots in a dead dog”. This diction is very graphic and strongly indicates Hamlet’s disgust at the corruption around him: at the heart of “the unweeded garden” are the “incestuous sheets” of Claudius and Gertrude, but the corruption Hamlet speaks of expands to greater things. He criticises Fortinbras for sending his men to fight in a battle that “shows no cause without / Why the man dies”. The death of Claudius in Act V, Scene II, signifies the end of the “rank corruption” of his court and thus reassures the audience that Denmark can be ‘cleansed’.
Fortinbras’ entry at the end of the final scene of the play brings with it the hope of new beginnings. The corruption of Claudius’ court has died with him and Fortinbras recovers “those lands / Lost by his father”, and also the throne of Denmark. As an audience we can be satisfied that Fortinbras will bring honesty and true kingly qualities to the court. In many ways he will make a better king than Hamlet, who is clearly not as courageous or soldierly. In his soliloquy in Act IV, Scene IV, Hamlet speaks admirably of Fortinbras, describing him as a “delicate and tender prince” who dares “fortune, death and danger”. Shakespeare uses elaborate diction here to suggest Hamlet’s respect for this prince, who we can therefore accept as the new king of Denmark in Act V, Scene II.
Although Hamlet’s death at the end of the play is tragic, the audience is able to accept his demise because of the fatalistic attitude he develops in Act V. Earlier in the play Hamlet expresses a fear of death, afraid of “what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil”. However, after finding Yorick’s skull he considers “Imperious Caesar”, Alexander and other great heroes who all “returneth to dust”. Hamlet realises that “there’s a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will”, suggesting that he has accepted the inevitability of his death: “what is ‘t to leave betimes?”. It is this acceptance that allows him to do as he first suggested in Act I, and “sweep to [his] revenge”. Hamlet kills Claudius swiftly and easily in the last scene of the play, forcing him to “drink off this poison” with no concern about the possible consequences of such treason. His actions are those of an avenger, contrasting with his earlier “dull and muddy-mettled” character, unable to do anything except “fall a-cursing like a very drab”.
While his language in the earlier scenes and soliloquies is morose and self-critical, by the end of the play Hamlet has become the renaissance prince Ophelia describes him as whilst grieving over his madness: “the courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword”. Throughout the play Hamlet speaks of “things rank and gross in nature”, using harsh disease imagery such as “maggot”, “blister” and “mildewed ear” to insult those close to him. Shakespeare employs cruel and coarse diction in these speeches, which indicates Hamlet’s disturbed mental state, and does not reflect the princely qualities that would be expected of him as prince of Denmark. However, as the play draws to a close, Hamlet’s language becomes much more vengeful. He is focused on exacting his revenge, and although he admits to some foreboding, he asserts that “we defy augury”. The “we” he uses here could be interpreted as the royal “we”, indicating his determination to win his place on the throne. His speech is no longer cynical or spiteful, and he delivers a sincere apology to Laertes for Polonius’ death, asserting that “his madness” is to blame.
By the end of the play we are satisfied that Hamlet’s death has not been in vain: Horatio promises to “speak to the yet unknowing world / How these things came about” and we trust that he will “truly deliver” the prince’s story and redeem his “wounded name”. In death, Hamlet is turned into a warrior prince and given the dignity of a soldier’s death, which his father deserved after his murder. “The soldier’s music and rite of war” are ordered to honour Hamlet’s “passage” as he is borne “like a soldier to the stage”. Some consider this tribute to be slightly ironic and question whether or not Hamlet deserves a soldier’s funeral after we have witnessed so much cowardice and hesitation on his part throughout the play. He has the chance to kill Claudius as he prays in Act III, but decides to wait until the king is “about some act / That has no relish of salvation in ‘t” in order to ensure that his soul may be “as damned and black / As hell whereto it goes”. Hamlet’s constant procrastination suggests that he is not the avenger he wishes to be. However, by the closing of the play Shakespeare portrays Hamlet in a different light, acting much more swiftly to kill Claudius, and even earlier in the death of Polonius. After hearing the advisor’s cries he immediately “makes a pass through the arras” to kill him. These actions are those of an avenger, and we feel satisfied that Hamlet has finally acted without thinking of the consequences.
Although ‘Hamlet’ is a tragedy and the final moments of the play are obviously very grave as we view the deaths of Hamlet, Gertrude and Laertes, the audience is able to feel satisfied because of the end of the corruption of the court and the promise of new beginnings. Act V, Scene II opens in a very positive way as Hamlet tells how he “devised a new commission” for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The banter between Hamlet and Osric is reminiscent of the foolish Polonius and brings some comedy to the play at a time of enormous tension for the audience. Overall, Hamlet’s final moments of action show us that he really is able to avenge his father’s death in a princely manner, and we are satisfied that the corruption of Claudius’ court has finally ended.
