How Old Is Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark?
Why is Hamlet so immature? Is it because he is an adolescent and the young are often prone to self-centeredness and juvenile behavior? To the contrary, though, as revealed upon a close examination of the play, Hamlet is not so young. document.getElementById(‘adsense_placeholder_2’).innerHTML = document.getElementById(‘adsense_ad_2_hidden’).innerHTML; Granted, yes, when the play opens, Hamlet has interrupted his studies at the University of Wittenberg and returned home for his father’s funeral, so the audience assumes Hamlet is a young man around 18-years-old. Certain facts, however, are later revealed that negate this assumption: • In Act 5, Scene I, the audience learns that Yorick died 23 years before Hamlet’s return from the university and Hamlet played with Yorick when he, Hamlet, was a young child. Hamlet says, “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on is back a thousand times . . . ” (Harrison, n.d.) • Also in A
