where he is eaten" (IV, ii, 18-20). Hamlet's harsh and cruel treatment of Ophelia and his murder of her father lead to the madness which eventually overtook her. She became distraught by Hamlet's rejection and the death of her father. This madness caused her to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge. Therefore, Hamlet can be held responsible for her death. If he hadn't treated her in such a cruel manner, her life would not have ended so soon.Hamlet also reveals an inhumane and cynical side at the grave scene. When Laertes proclaims his love for Ophelia and his sorrow for her death, Hamlet rushes from his concealment and jumps into the grave after Laertes. Hamlet insults Laertes when he states, "Forty thousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum" (V, i, 234-236). He is so cynical that he doubts that Laertes is sincere, even though there is no proof that Laertes is not being perfectly honest. His concern for his sister was shown when he gives her brotherly advice before he goes away. At the funeral when the priest implies that Ophelia should be buried "in ground unsanctified have log'd," (V, i, 239) Laertes protests, and he claims that Ophelia shall become a "ministering angel" (V, i, 251). Hamlet had no right to doubt Laertes and to challenge him at this time of great grief, but Hamlet has become so cynical that he has no regards for Laertes, and he intervenes and causes a fight.Wilson Knight also states that Denmark was place of "healthy and robust life, good-nature, humour, romantic strength, and welfare" (Jump, 125). The two clowns of act five, scene one display the general welfare of the state. The clowns, as in most Shakespearean plays, are symbols of the common people of the land. When we first encounter the clowns they are discussing the circumstances of Ophelia's death, but they soon begin to joke with each other in a merry fashion, and the First Clown tells the Second Clown a joke. Later in t...
