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Hamlet | Who is Yorick?
One of the most famous names in English drama belongs to a character who never appears on stage and is, in fact, long dead before the play’s action begins. In the graveyard scene of Act V, Hamlet comes across a skull and acknowledges it with the words, ‘‘Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him Horatio: / A fellow of infinite jest’’ (V.i.184). In short order, Hamlet tells us that Yorick was once the court fool (it is interesting to note that no one has replaced him in this part). Hamlet harbors a sentimental affection for the deceased jester, who once gave him piggyback rides and...
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- Hamlet: Introduction
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Hamlet: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
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Hamlet: Essays
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- Analysis of Act Five of Shakespeare's Hamlet
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- Staging for Shakespeare's Hamlet: Act II, Scene ii, Lines 85-221
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