The Onion of Death

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Life is a very delicate thing. In Sunday School this past Sunday morning I heard a man speak on how the fragility of our lives is relatable to that of sheep. The man said once he heard one of his sheep coming around the corner of his barn and jumped out to scare it, literally instantly killing it with fear. We are not always as tough and superfluous as we think we are. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet often finds himself much closer to death than he once thought. Hamlet creeps closer to death in Act V through three circumstances: Ophelia’s death, Laertes’ challenge to a duel, and the King’s foolish plans to get rid of Hamlet.
First, Hamlet becomes close to death through the passing of his loved one, Ophelia. Hamlet has no idea when the Act opens that not only is Ophelia dead but he’s standing right next to her grave. Just moments before her body is carried onto the scene, in fact, Hamlet jokes with a skull about her. He says, “Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come.” (scene I, line 179) He unknowingly jokes wit...

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