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Hub AI
The Gravediggers AI simulator
(@The Gravediggers_simulator)
Hub AI
The Gravediggers AI simulator
(@The Gravediggers_simulator)
The Gravediggers
The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools (also known as clowns or jesters), a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. Like most Shakespearean fools, the Gravediggers are peasants or commoners that use their great wit and intellect to get the better of their superiors, other people of higher social status, and each other.
The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, making their only appearance at the beginning of Act V, scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether she deserves a Christian burial after having apparently drowned herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the Sexton. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the alleged skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick.
The penultimate scene of the play begins with the Sexton and a fellow Gravedigger digging a grave for the late Ophelia. They debate whether she should be allowed to have a Christian burial, because she committed suicide. This quickly leads them into a discussion of the impact of politics on the decision, and the two parody lawyer speech. They present Ophelia's case from both positions: if she jumped into the water, then she killed herself, but if the water effectively jumped on her, then she did not. The Sexton laments the fact that the wealthy have more freedom to commit suicide than the poor.
The pair get off the subject of suicide almost as quickly as they began it, however, as the Sexton begins to goad and test the Gravedigger, confusing him with the double meaning of the word "arms" (as in weapons and appendages). The dialogue between the two ends when the Sexton is unsatisfied by the answer to the riddle "What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?" (V.i.39–40) that the Gravedigger gives, and consequently sends him off to bring back alcohol.
The Gravedigger exits as Hamlet and Horatio enter, and the Sexton begins to sing a song on the topics of love and graves as he digs, throwing skulls up and out of the grave. Hamlet considers this behavior inappropriate and disrespectful towards what used to be someone's, and possibly an important someone's, body in such a way. He decides to ask the Sexton whose grave he is digging, but the Sexton evades the question with clever wordplay and riddles, changing the topic to that of Prince Hamlet (the Sexton fails, or pretends to fail, to recognize Hamlet) and his recent supposed bout of insanity. The Sexton then claims that one of the skulls belonged to Yorick, the king's jester and Hamlet's caretaker. Hamlet asks if this could really be so, and the Gravedigger responds with, "E'en that," (V.i.159), marking his last line in the play.
When together, the Gravediggers speak mainly in riddles and witty banter regarding death, with the first asking the questions and the second answering.
Sexton
What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the
shipwright, or the carpenter?
Gravedigger
The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand
tenants. (V.i., 38–41)
The Gravediggers
The Gravediggers (or Clowns) are examples of Shakespearean fools (also known as clowns or jesters), a recurring type of character in Shakespeare's plays. Like most Shakespearean fools, the Gravediggers are peasants or commoners that use their great wit and intellect to get the better of their superiors, other people of higher social status, and each other.
The Gravediggers appear briefly in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, making their only appearance at the beginning of Act V, scene i. They are first encountered as they are digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether she deserves a Christian burial after having apparently drowned herself. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialogue with the Sexton. The beat ends with Hamlet's speech regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the alleged skull of his father's beloved jester, Yorick.
The penultimate scene of the play begins with the Sexton and a fellow Gravedigger digging a grave for the late Ophelia. They debate whether she should be allowed to have a Christian burial, because she committed suicide. This quickly leads them into a discussion of the impact of politics on the decision, and the two parody lawyer speech. They present Ophelia's case from both positions: if she jumped into the water, then she killed herself, but if the water effectively jumped on her, then she did not. The Sexton laments the fact that the wealthy have more freedom to commit suicide than the poor.
The pair get off the subject of suicide almost as quickly as they began it, however, as the Sexton begins to goad and test the Gravedigger, confusing him with the double meaning of the word "arms" (as in weapons and appendages). The dialogue between the two ends when the Sexton is unsatisfied by the answer to the riddle "What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?" (V.i.39–40) that the Gravedigger gives, and consequently sends him off to bring back alcohol.
The Gravedigger exits as Hamlet and Horatio enter, and the Sexton begins to sing a song on the topics of love and graves as he digs, throwing skulls up and out of the grave. Hamlet considers this behavior inappropriate and disrespectful towards what used to be someone's, and possibly an important someone's, body in such a way. He decides to ask the Sexton whose grave he is digging, but the Sexton evades the question with clever wordplay and riddles, changing the topic to that of Prince Hamlet (the Sexton fails, or pretends to fail, to recognize Hamlet) and his recent supposed bout of insanity. The Sexton then claims that one of the skulls belonged to Yorick, the king's jester and Hamlet's caretaker. Hamlet asks if this could really be so, and the Gravedigger responds with, "E'en that," (V.i.159), marking his last line in the play.
When together, the Gravediggers speak mainly in riddles and witty banter regarding death, with the first asking the questions and the second answering.
Sexton
What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the
shipwright, or the carpenter?
Gravedigger
The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand
tenants. (V.i., 38–41)