King Yorick's Skull Symbolism In Hamlet

Although the tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare took place over 600 years ago, the storytelling and ideology hold up to current standards. From Hamlet and Ophelia's strange and severe emotions to harsh arguments and battles, Hamlet varies extensively in symbolism throughout the play. Shakespeare's story of Hamlet takes place inside a large castle, where communication between others might not be accessible which could cause relationship issues. As Shakespeare referenced in the tragedy, the “play within a play” compares each character to an alternate version of that character outside the “play within a play”. Additionally, Yorick’s skull is a symbol of mortality, and Ophelia’s flowers as a symbol of consequential grief.

Although the characters

For example, each actor contributes to the personality of a contrasting figure outside the play. As a result, the actor king can be regarded as Hamlet’s father, who is depicted differently than the original father of Hamlet, in that the player king is false in his actions, but the real king is not false in his actions. The player king demonstrates that the two kings are not alike when he mentions, "That did I, my lord, and he was accounted a good actor" (Shakespeare 3.2.103-104), contrasting the real king. However, this is unrealistic compared to the real king which shows different perspectives of himself through the player king. Along with these contrasted figures, Hamlet jumps to conclusions and judges Claudius, which results in his

Ophelia feels that she needs to express her feelings about her father, and she does this by handing out flowers instead of verbally aggravating the king and queen. Although Ophelia controls herself, she still has her moments: “Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, she turns to favor and to prettiness” (Shakespeare 4.5.186-187). However, the flowers of Ophelia contradict each other. Some of them represent sadness and grief, while others are associated with positive memories: “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts” (Shakespeare 4.5.174-176). This indicates that Ophelia has a purpose and intention behind the flowers. On the other hand, Ophelia feels that he has to dramatically change herself to be appreciated. This results in Ophelia not wanting to give her flowers away: “I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died” (4.5.182-184). As a result, Ophelia does not appreciate herself, which is another cause of her madness. After Ophelia drowns in a pond, her body is covered in flowers. In the end, Ophelia thought so little of herself that the flowers were the last and only thing she would be remembered for, despite her influence on