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Societal Norms And Tensions In Hamlet

427 Words2 Pages

In Hamlet, Willam Shakespeare ingeniously masks the societal norms and tensions in the Elizabethan era in his characters, events, and themes. At the time of Shakespeare's making of the play, Queen Elizabeth was close to death, and the only rightful heir was James, son of Queen Mary of Scotland: a political adversary. In the play, Shakespeare addresses this tension by giving the throne not to King Hamlet's son, but to his brother, Claudius: a truth that shakes Prince Hamlet to his core. In fact, the environment is so tense-- a reflection of the uneasiness that the people of England felt as their Queen got closer and closer to death-- that Claudius marries the widowed wife of King Hamlet, Gertrude, hoping to balance the emotions of the country's people. But the …show more content…

But, in the first place, why would Gertrude marry Claudius so quickly after being widowed? Would not a woman need time to recoup her thoughts and emotions? In fact Prince Hamlet says to Gertrude, "‘You cannot call it love, for at your age / The heyday in the blood is tame, it’s humble, / And waits upon the judgment," signaling that his mother must have married for reasons other than love, because at her age, judgement and rationality rule over blind, youthful emotion (3.4.67-9). It is a reasonable inference to say that she was trying to maintain her political authority: a demonstration that, in Elizabethan times, women could only be in power alongside an even stronger male. But a sense of strong morality and belief in the Church are also present in the play: Prince Hamlet envies the fact that he cannot just 'evaporate' away-- effectively, committing suicide-- but refrains from doing so because God made it a sin. Nowadays, people commit suicide without a second thought-- if anything, they might think about their family, and definitely not

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Have you ever felt limited or excluded from something because of your gender? In both "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, which depicts a heartbroken and betrayed prince, Hamlet, who is going through the loss of his father and being called mad for it and "The Color of Water" by James McBride, which speaks about his childhood filled with racism being a black person and comparing it to his mother, Ruth’s, childhood. These writing pieces depict gender otherness, which is when people are separated and grouped based on their gender, often leading to them being excluded or treated harshly. Shakespeare and McBride show how social norms can have a great impact on someone's identity, including gender roles through the use of tone. Shakespeare carries out

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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.

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This would further prove the theory that Claudius married Gertrude for political gain and not because he had always been in love with her or something to that extent. Claudius’s guilt for killing his brother became unbearable, which is why he ends up repenting his sins at a private altar. The guilt previously tormenting him must have left his body after repenting because he did not seem to react with much remorse when Gertrude was killed. In fact, Hamlet kills Claudius shortly after Gertrude

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The Symbolism Of Gertrude's Honor In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

314 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play, Gertrude’s honour is constantly attacked and damaged. Following the death of her beloved husband, a hasty marriage to her former brother-in-law, Claudius, commences. “Although the memories of my dear brother Hamlet’s death are fresh…with sadness and delight do I marry my former sister-in-law” (Shakespeare, pg.10). Gertrude’s integrity and honour is brought into question as she weds the unknown murderer of her deceased husband. A basis of respect for the deceased is an important statue in the court of Denmark.

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In the play, Hamlet, the king’s death isn’t seen as suspicious and the king’s brother, Claudius marries the queen to get the crown. When Hamlet finds out the

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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.

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In Hamlet, the destruction of Gertrude all started when she married the man that killed her husband. Even though she didn’t know of Claudius's schemes, she rushed into a marriage and ended up getting killed for it in the end. If she would’ve wiser, she would have waited to get remarried so that she would of went into marriage with a clearer head. Women throughout history have rushed into marriages they haven’t been sure of, but did it anyway regardless. Gertrude

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It seems that Claudius was not happy with just taking his brothers throne, he also took his brother’s wife. Hamlet feels that the new king is full of greed and has taken over their lives. On top of his obsession with revenge Hamlet also appears to have sexual desire for his mother. The loss of his father along with his mother’s marriage to Claudius and his confusion to his feelings for his mother have set hamlet on a dangerous.

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She married Hamlet’s uncle. Through this dialogue, it is revealed that Gertrude cannot be on her own. She is dependent on having someone by her side to rule, to make all the critical decisions. Nonetheless, some may justify her dependence on the time period, because “everyone is like that”, or even bring up the point that, royalty comes with a load of stress and can be made more bearable by having someone else to rule with. While that may be true, it is made apparent as the story continues to develop, that Gertrude seems, “ a kindly, slow witted, rather self-indulgent woman,” (http://www.avensoline.org/fulltextarticles/JSUR-2332-4139-51-0001hmtly. (2015).

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Hamlet believes that Gertrude's quick marriage to his uncle was a sign of her weakness because it shows she could not stand to be alone, “A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father's body Like Niobe, all tears- why she, even she O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourned longer! , married with my uncle” (1.2.151-157). Here, Hamlet is clearly angry that his mother's emotions were so weak, wondering how she could quickly marry her husband's brother after burying her husband. It goes without saying Gertrude clearly can't be by herself and constantly needs a man in her life to fulfill that emptiness inside her.

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880 Words | 4 Pages

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