Home > Hamlet Summary & Study Guide > FAQs > Why is Hamlet given a military funeral?

Hamlet | Why is Hamlet given a military funeral?

At the end of the play, with Hamlet’s corpse on stage, the character of Fortinbras, the heroic young prince of Norway, appears for the first time. He instructs his men, ‘‘Let four captains / Bear Hamlet, like a soldier to the stage; / For he was likely, had he been put on, / To have prov’d most royally….’’ (V.ii.395-98). Hamlet is given a full state funeral with ‘‘soldier’s music’’ and ‘‘rites of war’’ customarily reserved for military heroes. The problem, of course, is that Hamlet is not a military hero, but only ‘‘like’’ a soldier. By bringing...

[The entire page is 279 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...