The Priest

For my act IV speech that I had to do a paper on I chose to do it on what the priest says when they are all in the graveyard for Ophelia's burial. I picked this one because it should what the Priest was think and that he actually spoke in a way against King Claudius.

 “The Priest”

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (act V, scene I), a quote that I believe to be important is one that the Priest says when they are bring Ophelia to her grave. I think that it is important because in act III Hamlet was talking with Ophelia about his question of whether or not to kill himself. It’s important because he tells her to learn from his mistakes and in that he was talking also about how no one knows what is beyond this life and that it is indeed a sin to kill one’s self. Yet she did kill herself and in doing so gave the Priest a reason to have her not be buried on holy ground.

The Priest also thinks she should be buried there because in her madness she had stated to everyone that she and Hamlet had been together and was no longer considered a maiden. In this quote “yet she is allowed her virgin crants, her maiden strewments”, shows that he doesn’t want to have her here because of the sins that she has done. He also expresses that the only true reason she is being buried there is because the king has asked of it otherwise she wouldn’t be there.

In conclusion I believe that this part given by the Priest is important because it shows of the things that people disapprove of yet go along with because the king wants it to be carried out. I liked how the Priest was the on to step up and truly speak of how he felt towards all that was going on with things he thought was wrong.