ipl-logo

Gertrude Hamlet Research Paper

903 Words4 Pages

Hanh Nguyen
Mr.Patterson
English IV
March 24, 2017

Gertrude is the queen of Denmark, previous wife of King Hamlet, the mother of young Hamlet and also the wife/ex-sister-in-law of King Claudius. She has experienced many roles in her life. At that time, it causes her had to face different dilemmas. According to T.S Eliot author : “Shakespeare's Hamlet… is a play dealing with the effect of mother’s guilt upon her son.” Depending on circumstances, it is hard to say Gertrude guilty or not guilty. Gertrude is heavily dependent on the men in her life. When her husband has died, she does not hesitate to remarry with another in less than two months, an action which sets young Hamlet into disappointment. Hamlet believes …show more content…

She calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help discover the reason to Hamlets madness. She shows up her simple-minded thinking also in Act III, scene 1. Gertrude wants to think that Hamlet has come back to Ophelia. "The belief at the bottom of her heart was that the world is a place constructed simply that people may be happy in it in a good-humored sensual fashion" (Bradley, page 141). Then, she supports the king Claudius’ and Polonius’ plan to watch a hidden appointment between Hamlet and Ophellia. However, Hamlet takes his anger out on Ophelia, who Hamlet thinks is just another insincere woman like his mother. Even though the ghost warns Hamlet do not accuse Gertrude …show more content…

Then, Hamlet uses the play to get at his mother's conscience in addition to Claudius’. But Gertrude reacts casually after watching: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" (Act 3, scene 2, line 236).
Gertrude is realistic enough to say that in real life, a widow would easily want to remarry, and that this is why the Player Queen is not a believable character. She does not realize that Hamlet wants to imply the connection between the play and her own life. At the end, Gertrude realizes that the cup contains poison,that she faces the truth.Claudius yells for Gertrude not to drink the wine, but Gertrude is naive to understand or catch the meaning of this, even after knowing the nature of her husband. Gertrude says:
“I will, my lord ; I pray you pardon me” (Act 5, scene 2, line 283). Before this moment, the irony in this scene is that Gertrude actually offers the wine like the way she wants to help and encourage him ! But she finally has to admit to herself that Claudius is guilty of murdering old Hamlet and of trying to murder Hamlet. Gertrude realizes her faults like a blind man can now see. She warns Hamlet not to drink the wine, she again is showing compassion for her son and her wish to protect him from

Show More
Related
477 Words | 2 Pages

Queen Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, the widow of Old Hamlet and the wife of Claudius, brother of her dead husband. Gertrude is ignorant and a woman who means no harm but because of her actions it contributes greatly to the terrible events that occur throughout the play. In this play there’s many conflicts, one of the first conflicts was when Gertrude married King Claudius two months after Old Hamlet’s death. Gertrude is ignorant because she’s not aware of anything happening. For example she’s not aware that King Hamlet’s murder was by his own brother Claudius, even though they were some hints out there to show that it was King Claudius who killed Old Hamlet.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

First, I do not think hamlets acts were justified because of the treatment Gertrude had. According to Doc A: The ghost says not to blame her and get revenge on his uncle but hamlet did blame her and she already remarried after just 1 month of being with the new king Claudius. According to Doc C: Hamlet was speaking in a very harsh way to Gertrude and she said “say no more these are like daggers in my heart”. Then Hamlet (thinking it was the king) stabs Polonius through the curtain.

Read More
314 Words | 2 Pages

Also, Hamlet displays his anguish at the Queen for dishonouring his dead father since “Almost as bad, good mother, as killing a king and marrying his brother” (Shakespeare, pg. 121). In this statement, Hamlet expresses how, through the marriage to her husband’s murderer, Gertrude is a symbol of dishonor and damaging her relationship with the prince. Hamlet is disgusted by Gertrude’s actions and recognizes her not as his mother but the queen and wife of Claudius, the murderer. The respect revered by children to their mother is not evident between Hamlet and Gertrude. In Gertrude’s death scene, Hamlet screams to his mother “Wretched Queen, adieu!”

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

Hamlet is not justified by treating Gertrude the way he did. Gertrude said that Hamlet has offended his new stepfather by the play that he put on (to find out if Claudius actually did kill the king). After Hamlet hears that his mother is not proud by the way he has been acting Hamlet just goes off on her. Hamlet then says that his mother has offended his real father (King Hamlet) and completely intimidates her. Then Hamlet accuses Gertrude of lustfulness and his mother starts crying and begs him to go.

Read More
893 Words | 4 Pages

(Shakespeare 3.4.40-41) If Gertrude would have been involved in King Hamlet’s murder, then she would not have asked such a question in such a shocking manner. Throughout the play in Act 3, Scene 4, Gertrude makes another shocking reaction when she says to Hamlet after he kills Polonius “Oh, what a rash and bloody deed is this!”(Shakespeare 3.4.28) Hamlet responds with “A bloody

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

Gertrude is Hamlet’s mother and the Queen of Denmark. When King Hamlet is murdered by Claudius, she didn 't seem to daunt her and shortly thereafter got married to Hamlet 's Uncle Claudius. This gives a suspense in this point of the play because it makes the audience think about if Gertrude had anything to do with the murder of her husband or if she helped plan the murder with Claudius. When Gertrude married the person that killed her husband, Hamlet takes it personal and she basically loses her son because he 's so upset with her.

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

Hamlet is speaking his dagger-like words to Gertrude which confirms of her adulterous acts and Gertrude responds: “O Hamlet, speak no more. / Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots” (3.4.88-90). Gertrude uncovers that she has morality and she is guilty of her sins. The references to the ‘black and grained spots’ are metaphors that alludes to her incest and her obedience with Claudius’ murderous act.

Read More
1140 Words | 5 Pages

Hamlet eventually kills Claudius like his father told him to, but only did it after his mother, Gertrude, drank the poison that Claudius meant to give Hamlet. This is a result of external action from all the sorrows that was building up in Hamlet’s life. This brings us to our next character, Gertrude, Claudius’s wife and Hamlets

Read More
930 Words | 4 Pages

Although it is quite clear that Gertrude is weak and reliant on Claudius to make her happy, she does not realize how much it has affected Hamlet. He does not only lose respect for his mother and his uncle, but begins to doubt his mother's prior love for his father. Overall, Gertrude demonstrates similar weakness traits to Ophelia by letting the men who surround her have a huge impact on the way the she

Read More
1327 Words | 6 Pages

Gertrude’s betrayal of her son was caused by Claudius, as he comforted her after her husband’s unfortunate demise, and later married her, this was betrayal to Hamlet because he had a very high opinion of his father and thought very little of his uncle, Hamlet said “-married with my uncle, / My father’s brother, but no more like my father / Then I to Hercules; within a month” [I, ii, 151-153] showing that he believes that his mother betrayed him and his father’s memory by marrying his uncle, it also

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

To begin, Gertrude is a victim because she is naive that eventually leads to her death. At the end of the play when Hamlet and Laertes are fencing, Gertrude unknowingly drinks the cup of wine filled with poison. Even after Claudius warns her not to drink it, she persists and tells him, “I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me” (5.2.318). Gertrude here thinks

Read More
860 Words | 4 Pages

This guarantees that she has done something to make her feel guilty. This could support to idea of Gertrude knowing the truth about Old Hamlets death or being involved in it herself. Later in the conversation the Ghost of Old hamlet comes and Hamlet begins speaking to him. Gertrude does not see the ghost and her reaction shows her inside character. She doesn’t ask many questions to try to understand what is happening.

Read More
1259 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the conversation and various parts of the play, Hamlet expresses his disgust for his mother 's actions. He insults her by comparing his father to Hyperion and Claudius to a satyr. He tells Gertrude not to sin by sleeping with him and tells her she is nothing but lustful for marrying a man like Claudius when he says, “That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,/ Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose/ From the fair forehead of an innocent love/ And sets a blister there, makes marriage vows/

Read More
1313 Words | 6 Pages

However, in in act 5, scene 4, Gertrude finally admits that she has wronged her son and her first husband, and in her conversation with Hamlet, she says, “O Hamlet, speak no more. Thou turn’st my very eyes into my soul.

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

In act one Gertrude marries her dead husband 's brother Claudius, Hamlet is not very happy that his mother did this. Hamlet feels very betrayed by his own mother because she remarried so quickly. He feels as if this is an unforgivable

Read More

More about Gertrude Hamlet Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document