Hamlet (Graveyard Scene)

By
Alejandro Santana
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
0EXT. GRAVEYARD. NIGHT
HORATIO and HAMLET walk through the valley of the shadow of
death and they shall fear no evil. They stumble upon a
GRAVEDIGGER and ANOTHER person. They hide in bushes nearby
viewing what it is they do.
GRAVEDIGGER
(while digging up bones)
Is she to be buried in Christian
burial, where she willfully seeks
her own salvation?
OTHER
(while playing around with a
skull)
I tell thee she is. Therefore make
her grave straight. The crowner
hath sat on her and finds it
Christian burial.
GRAVEDIGGER
(questioning the sense of
morality)
How can that be, unless she drowned
herself in her own defense?
OTHER
Why, tis found so.
GRAVEDIGGER
(planting the shovel at the
ground and turns toward OTHER)
For here lies the point: if I drown
myself wittingly, it argues an act,
and an act hath three branches-it
is to act, to do, to perform.
Argal, she drowned herself
wittingly.
OTHER
(slightly laughing)
Nay, but hear you, goodman delver-
GRAVEDIGGER interrupts OTHER with a demanding tone of voice
GRAVEDIGGER
Here lies the water; good. Here
stands the man; good. If the man go
to this water and drown himself, it
is will he, nill he goes; mark you
that. But if the water come to him
and drown him, he drowns not
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
GRAVEDIGGER (contd)
himself. Argal, he that is not
guilty of his own death shortens
not his own life.
OTHER
(laughingly)
But is this law?
GRAVEDIGGER
Ay, marry ist-crowners quest
law.
GRAVEDIGGER hands YORICKS skull to HAMLET. HAMLET looks
into the skulls non-existing eyes before speaking.
HAMLET
(talking the skull, with a
troubled voice)
Let me see. Alas, poor Yorick. I
knew him, Horatio, I knew him. A
fellow of infinite jest,
(with a soft smile on his
face)
of most excellent fancy. He hath
bore me on his back thousand times,
and now how abhorred in my
imagination it is. My gorge rises
at it. Here hung those lips that
Ive kissed I know not how oft.
Where be your gibes now?
(slight tear coming down)
Your gambols? Your songs?! Your
flashes of merriment that were wont
to set the table on a roar? Not one
now to mock your own grinning?
Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my
ladies chamber, and tell her, let
her paint an inch thick, to this
favor she must come. Make her laugh
at that...
The KING and QUEEN enter with a following of courtiers in
mourning. A COFFIN is being carried behind them. Without a
moments notice, HAMLET and HORATIO run off behind the bushes
once more and view the funeral from a distance.
HAMLET (CONTD)
(surprised)
But soft, but soft awhile! Here
comes the King, The Queen, the
courtiers. Who is this they follow?
And with such maimed rites? This
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
HAMLET (CONTD) (contd)
doth betoken the corse the follow
did with desperate hand fordo its
own life. Twas of some estate.
Couch we awhile and mark.
LAERTES approaches from behind the KING and QUEEN with a
DOCTOR following aside him.
LAERTES
(with a highly troubled voice)
What ceremony else?
DOCTOR
Her obsequies have been as far
enlarged as we have warrant. Her
death was doubtful, and, but that
great command oersways the order,
she should in ground unsanctified
been lodged till the las trumpet.
Fior charatible prayers shards,
flints, and pebbles should be
thrown on her.
LAERTES grows bitter and angry with the words the DOCTOR has
spoken and continues to speak.
DOCTOR (CONTD)
Yet here she is allowed her virgin
crants, her maiden strewments, and
the bringing home of bell and
burial.
LAERTES
(growing a violent voice)
Must there no more be done?!
DOCTOR
No more be done. We should profane
the service of the dead to sing a
requiem and such rest to her as to
peace-parted souls.
LAERTES
(yelling to the DOCTOR)
Lay her i th earth, and from her
fair and unpolluted flesh may
violets spring! I tell thee,
churlish priest, a ministring angel
shall my sister be when thou liest
howling!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
QUEEN
Sweets to the sweet, farewell!
(the Queen scatters flowers
onto Ophelias coffin)
I hoped thou shouldst have been my
Hamlets wife; I thought thy
bride-bed to have decked, sweet
maid, and not have strewed thy
game.
LAERTES
Fall then times treble on the
cursed head whose wicked deed thy
most ingenious senses deprived thee
of!-- Hold off the earth awhile,
till I have caught her once more in
mine arms.
(jumping onto Ophelias grave)
Now pile your dust upon the quick
and dead, till of this flat a
mountain you have made t oertop
old Pelion or the skyish head of
blue Olympus.
HAMLET comes out of the bushes and out of the shadows.
LAERTES and HAMLET stare into one anothers eyes, but
LAERTES are full of hatred.
HAMLET
What is he whose grief bears such
an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
conjures the wandering stars and
make them stand like wonder-wounded
hearers?
LAERTES crawls out of OPHELIAS grave and charges towards
HAMLET.
LAERTES
(pure anger in his eyes)
The devil take thy soul!
HAMLET
I prithee take thy fingers from my
throat.
KING
Pluck them asunder.
QUEEN
(horrified by the fight)
Hamlet! Hamlet!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
HORATIO
Good my lord, be quiet.
Laertes and Hamlet are both separated from one another.
HAMLET
I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand
brothers could not with all their
quantity of love make up my sum.
What will thou do for her?
KING
O, he is mad, Laertes!
QUEEN
For love of God, forbear him.
HAMLETS
(greatly saddened, almost in
tears)
Swounds, show me what thout do.
Woot weep, woot fight, woot
fast, woot tear thyself, woot
drink up eisel, eat a crocodile? Be
buried quick with her, and so will
I. And if thou prates of mountains,
let them throw millions of acres on
us, till our ground singeing his
opate against the burning zone,
make Ossa like a wart. Nay, an
thoult mouth, Ill rant as well as
thou.
QUEEN
This is mere madness; and thus
awhile fit will work on him. Anon,
as patient as the female dove when
that her golden couplets are
disclosed. Her silence will sit
drooping.
After much painful emotions, Hamlet relaxes. He wipes away
whatever tears he has shed.
HAMLET
(calmly, looking at Laertes)
Hear you, sir, what is the reason
that you use me thus? I loved you
ever. But it is no matter. Let
Hercules himself do what he may,
the cat will mew,and dog will have
his day.
Hamlet walks off and leaves the graveyard.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.
KING
(poiting at Horatio)
I pray thee, good Horatio, wait
upon him.
With a subtle nod, Horatio leaves and follows Hamlet
KING (CONTD)
(looking at Laertes)
Strengthen your patience in our
last nights speech. Well put the
matter to the present push.
(turns toward Gertrude)
Good Gertrude, set some watch over
your son. This grave shall have a
living monument, An hour of quiet
shortly we shall see; till then, in
patience, our preeceding be.