Act V, Scene 2g: A) Hamlet hears the warlike approach of Fortinbras’ men.
This is the briefest of beats, but if played according to the meaning of the line, we should feel some apprehension over the arrival of the oft-foreshadowed Fortinbras. Are things about to get even worse, if that’s even possible? This new element of possible danger is a procedural moment, and warrants a down arrow.
B) Hamlet tells Horatio that Fortinbras is his choice to become king of Denmark.
This being the denouement, beats are quickly resolved. Hamlet allays our fears by passing the throne along to Fortinbras. In modern productions, in an age skeptical of autocratic power, this is often played as an ambiguous or sinister moment. In its original monarchical era it was meant to be reassuring-legitimate order has been restored.
This also represents Hamlet’s sole act of governance as king, after killing Claudius. He exercises power, if only once, if only while dying, and therefore scores a final procedural victory, complete with up arrow.
C) Hamlet dies.
And here is his last procedural down arrow, after he finally fails the last-ditch saving throw that allows him to linger mortally wounded.
D) Horatio mourns his passing.
Hamlet is more doomed hero than a tragic hero deserving of his cathartic fate, so it’s appropriate that, through our last surviving PC, we should pause to mourn him. Horatio’s emotional response to the death of his friend moves the action back from the realm of the procedural and into the dramatic. It’s a down moment for us and for him.
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