"I ain't sayin' she's a gravedigger..."

Although the Gravedigger is the lowest in social class in the play, he is the character who is least stressed. Being a prince, or for that matter a king, is not so great in this play. Prince Hamlet lives a suicidal life with a purpose of getting revenge on his murderous uncle. Hamlet senior, as ex-king, gets brutally murdered by his own brother. Claudius, the next king, gets stabbed with a poisoned rapier. The queen accidentally drinks poison. The Gravedigger buries dead bodies; however, he sings merrily while doing so and seems to be the happiest person in the play. I find this interesting because in a conventional society one would assume that those of a higher class live a less stressed life. Perhaps Shakespeare is making a statement about how one does not need to be wealthy or 'important' to be happy; and furthermore, those who are wealthy or 'important' are not guaranteed easy lives.