_Enter Queen Gertrude, King Claudius, and their retinue._
Gertrude: Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? _She takes the skull in her hands._ Now, get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come; make her laugh at that._ _She puts down the skull._
_Enter Hamlet and Horatio._
Hamlet: That is the skull of Yorick, the King's jester.
Horatio: Alas, poor Yorick!
Hamlet: He was a man that could get more laughter out of people than any man in Denmark. He was a man that could make even the King laugh.
Gertrude: _seeing Hamlet_ But soft! What is that?
Claudius: O Gertrude, do not look! That is the sight of death!_
Hamlet: _Holding the skull_ This is the head that made me. This is the head that thought those thoughts that made me laugh. This is the head that loved that woman that I loved. And now it is nothing but a skull.
_Gertrude walks away in horror_
Hamlet: To be or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing, end them? To die,—to sleep,—
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die,—to sleep,—
To sleep, perchance to dream:—ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.
Claudius: Hamlet, I know you are grieving for your father, but now is not the time to talk about such things. There are more important things to discuss, such as the burial of your mother.
_Ophelia's coffin enters, being carried by four pallbearers._
Hamlet: What? Buried? She is not dead, she's only sleeping!_ _They set the coffin down_ _Grabbing a handful of dirt_ Go to thy deathbed: He throws the dirt on the pallbearers' heads_ He throws dirt in the grave_ Dust, ashes, dirt! All that remains of beauty and youth!
_Laertes enters._
Laertes: Why have you desecrated my sister's grave? Why have you thrown dirt on her?
Hamlet: Because she is dead, and this is the last thing I can do for her. She was the only person in the world who truly loved me.
Laertes: You killed her!
Hamlet: I did not kill her! It was Claudius who killed her!
Claudius: You lie! I did not kill her!
_Hamlet and Laertes fight._
_Horatio intercedes._
Gertrude: _screams_ Stop it! Stop it!
_Horatio stops the fight_
_Hamlet and Laertes glare at each other in anger_
Claudius: _looking at Hamlet_ You killed my wife, and now you have killed my son. You have nothing more to live for.
Hamlet: _Pointing at Claudius_ My uncle killed my father, now I have avenged him.
Claudius: You will not get away with this! I will kill you myself!
_Hamlet and Claudius exit_
Horatio: _looking at Gertrude_ What about your husband? Don't you want to know who killed him?
Gertrude: I already know. I saw it all with my own eyes. It was Claudius. He killed my husband and my son. I want to be alone.
**Gertrude exits_
_Horatio picks up the skull._
Horatio: Poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Now, get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come; make her laugh at that.
_He puts the skull down_.
Horatio: _exiting_ Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!