Act 5: The Gravedigger

I find the gravedigger to be a really interesting character. He is a much simpler, honest man than most of the others in the play so far. His frankness--partly because he doesn't know who Hamlet is--is refreshing, both to us and to Hamlet. This is why Hamlet seems to speak a little more openly with the gravedigger; something about the way the gravedigger speaks to him makes him sure that this isn't someone who's going to "play" him. Even if the gravedigger is playing himself down a little, his simplicity and honesty makes him a much more amiable personality; he's easy to converse with, with no concerns of deceit or manipulation. The gravedigger provides a base off of which Hamlet puts together his own views about death and revenge, so that when he returns to the Court, he will act based on his own views rather than on what a good son "should" do to revenge his father's murder. Hamlet won't compare himself to Laertes anymore, but do what he personally believes is right/necessary.