Gravedigger scene

E402957

The Gravedigger scene is a darkly comic and philosophically rich moment in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where Hamlet confronts mortality while conversing with a witty grave-digger amid skulls and open graves.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Gravedigger scene canonical 1
Yorick's skull 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf comic scene ⓘ
dramatic scene ⓘ
philosophical scene ⓘ
scene ⓘ
appearsInAct Act V ⓘ
appearsInScene Scene 1 ⓘ
centralQuestion how social rank relates to death ⓘ
what remains of human identity after death ⓘ
containsDevice dramatic irony ⓘ
foreshadowing ⓘ
gallows humor ⓘ
memento mori imagery ⓘ
puns ⓘ
wordplay ⓘ
dramaticFunction to confront Hamlet with physical evidence of death ⓘ
to deepen Hamlet's meditation on mortality ⓘ
to provide comic relief before the final catastrophe ⓘ
featuresCharacter First Clown ⓘ
Gravedigger ⓘ
Hamlet ⓘ
Horatio ⓘ
Second Clown ⓘ
linked to: First Clown

Yorick ⓘ
featuresProp Yorick's skull ⓘ
linked to: Gravedigger scene

open grave ⓘ
skull ⓘ
spade ⓘ
firstPerformanceApproximateYear 1600s ⓘ
fromCountry England ⓘ
fromPeriod Elizabethan era ⓘ
linked to: English Renaissance

early 17th century ⓘ
language Early Modern English ⓘ
notableLine Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. ⓘ
partOf Hamlet ⓘ
partOfWorkBy William Shakespeare ⓘ
setting churchyard ⓘ
graveyard ⓘ
theme dark comedy ⓘ
death ⓘ
existential reflection ⓘ
mortality ⓘ
the equality of all in death ⓘ
the inevitability of death ⓘ
the vanity of worldly status ⓘ
tone darkly comic ⓘ
philosophical ⓘ
workGenre tragedy ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hamlet (stage performances) → hasFamousScene → Gravedigger scene ⓘ
Gravedigger scene → featuresProp → Yorick's skull ⓘ
linked to: Gravedigger scene