Grommersoft

Act 5, Scene 2 Summary

The final scene culminates in a duel with Laertes. The poisoned sword switches hands so both Laertes and Hamlet succumb to the same sword. Queen Gertrude takes the poisoned chalice by accident and dies. Hamlet, knowing he has been poisoned by Laertes' sword, stabs Claudius. As Claudius dies, Hamlet forces him to drink from the chalice that poisoned his wife. Hamlet tells Horatio to tell his story, and he drinks from the poisoned chalice himself. Fortinbras will arrive soon and Hamlet wishes him well. Fortinbras and some English ambassadors arrive, witnessing the grim scene. The ambassadors tell Horatio that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead by Hamlet's command. Horatio denies this. He says to put the bodies on a "high stage." He will tell the story of homicide and accidental death, of jealousy and betrayal. Fortinbras has Hamlet taken away by four soldiers and after all the bodies have been taken removed, a shot of ordinance is fired in honor of Horatio's "sweet prince," now departed to his eternal rest.

Act 5, Scene 2 Analysis

As Hamlet killed Polonius in error, thinking he was Claudius, now Gertrude dies by accident, drinking the poison prepared for Hamlet by Claudius. Laertes realizes his folly in killing Hamlet, who is essentially innocent of intending harm to his sister and father. Laertes unwittingly is responsible for the death of Hamlet, a victim of Claudius rather than a hostile murderer. Even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have died, at the hand of the English, through an intrigue blamed on Hamlet. Hamlet's quest for blood has wreaked its havoc on both guilty and innocent alike. It is a complete tragedy—with hardly any of the main players, except Horatio, perhaps, escaping the axe of a tragic, ill-fated death.