Hamlet 8

In this scene of the play, Hamlet allows his emotional side to outweigh his rational side.  This unevenness of his personality is seen in his encounter with the grave digger.  In a logical, though arguably unethical, way the gravedigger digs Ophelia's grave by removing remains of previously buried individuals.   The gravedigger is representative of a person whose logical rationality dominates their personality because his job is to dig graves, so he is willing to dig up remains to make room for new ones.  Some would argue that this act is unethical and disrespectful, but it is ultimately a logical act.  Hamlet, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, allows his emotional part to get the better of him.  He sees the skeletons that have been dug up and contemplates the lives that those people must have had, even though he does not know whose remains they are: "That skull had a tongue in it and could sing / once" (V.i.77-78).  Although, in this statement, one could argue that Hamlet does show a sense of rationality.  He uses the past tense as opposed to the present tense, possibly conveying a belief, or more specifically a lack thereof, in the afterlife, and that the person who died no longer exists.  His statement could possibly be portraying his true feelings towards the ghost and that its existence is irrational.