HAMLET GRAVEDIGGER SCENE

DESCRIPTION OF ARTIFACT:

    I have selected a video from Youtube which displays the humouruos scene set in Hamlet created by the notorious Shakespeare. In this scene one of the gravediggers challenges the other to a riddle about grave digging, joking about death but does not receive the desired answer and sends the other digger away to get alcohol.  Hamlet speaks to Horatio about the inappropriate act and ends up talking to the digger. This scene is mainly built up around the absurdity of the grave digging and the atmosphere around it. The gravediggers are common citizens and doesn’t see it as something inappropriate to talk and joke about, while Hamlet on the contrary finds it disturbing. Furthermore Shakespeare links this darkly humorous scene with a very important scene in Hamlet as it links to his soliloquy, "To be or not to be."

Summary/explanation of specific skills/learning outcomes that artifact demonstrates:

    This artifact demonstrates Shakespeares ability to make a humourous scene out of a revenge tragedy. In all of Shakespeare's plays he displays a so-called "clown" and in this case it is the gravediggers. These "clowns" are not jesters, but instead peasants who discuss and talk to each other to make themselves feel superior to socially higher placed people like Hamlet. In this scene shakespeare is able to portray the fragility of life, illustrated by a skull. Although this scene is based upon the demystifying of death, the real core is related to the fact that after death, there is nothing left, and we are all equal. Even the happiest man of them all, a jester, was left as a pile of bones at the end of it all. The specific learning outcomes this artifact demonstrates is revolved around shakespeare's abilitiy to lighten the mood even in the most brutal and treacherous revenge tragedies of all his plays. His skill in vivdly illustrating his scenes in the readers head with only words is transcendent and to be able to switch between moods  so effectively without throwing the audience off is remarkable. This artifact has required me to look in more depth of how Shakespeare controls the atmosphere in his literature and has taught me many things.

Challenges or areas for continued learning:

    Shakespeare's literature and writing style is extremely difficult to adapt to as a researcher or even someone who enjoys his plays, but when it is comprehended many things can be learned. I have discovered how Shakespeare was able to control his audience so effectively by swiftly switching between moods, but I wish to continure researching how he expresses his thoughts so distinctly it keeps the reader hooked and constantly trying to conceive the imagery Shakespeare is portraying.