Gertrude

Gertrude

She does however show maternal concern for Hamlet
1. 'Our hasty marriage
  1. Here she directly recognises the inappropriate nature of her marriage- like her son- suggests tension between the newly-wed couple
2. 'look where the poor wretch comes reading'
3. 'assay him any pastime'
  1. She clearly doesn't realise how deeply he is affected- so although she shows maternal concern- she also shows neglect- she is unaware of her sons turmoil.
  2. Links also to Shakespeare's presentation of Women- Naiieve- pretty uncaring
4. 'Thou turnest mine eyes into my very soul'
  1. /sudddenly realises what she has done has arnished her soul- childlike- ads to her victiisation -doesn't nderstand the extent of what she has done.
Shakespeare presents important ideas about women through her too.
1. 'I shall obey you'
  1. Women's submission to men- Readers nowadays would find this oppressive- all power to husbands and fathers.
  2. Her selfish desires eans she relies hevily on men for her self preservation
2. 'Good beauties be the happy cause of Hamlets wildness'
  1. Idea women were only valued for their beauty and their chastity- Even she doubt Hamlet Loves her for anything more than her looks.
3. 'none wed the second but who killed the first'
  1. This in the play heightens the unresolved tension between H + G. The player Queen conveys re-marriage to 'treason'- Stark contrast as she doesn't even consider it- presents player queen as the embodiment of fidelity to demean the Queens actions.
    1. Elizabethan audiences would have seen treason as much worse- as the King was Gods descendent- chain of being- not just a crime but a sin.
  2. audiences tend to view her as heartless- but in reality she didn't have much choice- with her husband gone- and no one to provide for her she would have been alone in a rold where women were dependant on men- so perhaps Shakespeare is harsh on her character by making her seem cold.
4. 'The lady doth protest too much me thinks'
  1. By asking her opinion of the play he foreshadows the moral grilling he will gove her- almost defneding her actions- monosyllabic- annoyed.
5. 'Thouhas cleft my heart i twain'
  1. Dislikes and avoids confrontation- tries to keep peace between claudius and Hamlet- loyalties are divided
6. She uses her sexuality to attract and give her a hold over men-as Hamlet says she used to 'hang on' to King Hamlet- and her hasty marriage suggests she is a weak character.
In her talk with Hamlet-we see her allegiance changes- showing she is doubtful of herself and easily swayed
1. 'What should I think'
  1. Her struggle for loyalty vs. Hamlets unwavering loyalty makes us look own on her and seem weak. However her struggle to physically survive without a husband would seem small to Hamlets moral struggle.
2. 'my soul .. black and grieves spots .. leave their tinct'
  1. Admits guilt- first recognition of what she has done 'tinct' suggests no matter what she cannot reach redemption
3. 'O Hamlet thou has cleft my heart in twain'
  1. She is husrt- Hamlet responds with 'throw away the worser part of it' - harsh- telling her to throw her heart away- not much empathy- She starts of using 'thou' and Hamlet uses 'you'- suggesting he feels he is her moral superior- she switches back when her allegiance changes
4. 'Be thou assured'
  1. Despite her previous grievences she is assures Hamlet her loyalty lies with him- making us feel sorry for her hwen she dies- before this she has little personality and her character remains very undeveloped as a whole.
5. 'Eyes without feeling.. ears without hands'
  1. Hamelt talks about her senses and suggests she was senseless to pick Claudius.
6. Scene in Closet is more in line with the Freudian psycoanalysis of an Oedipal Hamlet
  1. Relation to Oedipus- who bedded his mother and killed his father. Gertrude recieving him in her closet suggests an intimacy. Hamlets harsh treatment could be sexual jealousy- and explains his harsh treatmetn of Ophelia.
7. 'mas as the sean and the wind when both contend'
  1. Visual imagery as hamlets madness as a storm- violent- dangerous- and representing his inner turmoil- also shows she is loyal to hamlet0 kept his secret-
    1. Links to decieving nature of women- however- liek Ophelia she is being loyal to herkin.
    2. deption develops- theme of appearance vs. reality- How prominent it is now- amongst all the charcters in the danish court
8. 'Hamlet thy hast thy father much offended/Mother you have my father much offended'
  1. Stichomythia- back and forth between the twcharacers symbolises they are head to head at this point and increases the tension-. Gertrude isn't quick qied- she ies to tell hamlet off but he siezes control of the situation- mocking her by twisting her words and repeating them back to her in the same rhythm. - inverts the traditional chld-parent relationship.
Her relationships with Claudius is seemingly one for the public only and lacks any true affection
1. The one intimate moment between C + G in the whole play- at almost all other moments their speech has been conditioned by the others present. Claudius is fresh from a moral crisis where he has poured emotion out into soliliquy and ertrude has just been reprimanded by her son. Shakespeare presents husband and wofe as suffering in mutual isolation beneath a pretence of initmacy. They exchange words but not confidence- they tell each other lies.
2. I will my lord. I pray you prdon me’
  1. The only time she stands up to Claudius and does what she wants she gets killed. We see her loyalty shift progrtessivel fromo Hamlet- culminating this open defiance of Claudius.
3. 'No, no, the drink, the drink'
  1. This is her most heroic moment of defiance- shame that we see it before she dies- Shakespeare ensure this is our last view of her so her death remains tragic.
SOLILIQUY. This is different from the dramaticall poerful explortion of claudius' guilt in 3.3. No exploration of her feelings or self anaysis/ justification.
1. ‘sick soul, as sin’s true nature is’
  1. Very sibilant- clear indication of how she is feeling- something rare- Clearly she is racked with guilt- and uses words connoting regret, fear and sickness- suggests she recognises her moral dilemma- following on from Hamlet and the King. . She feels she cannot talk to Ophelia as she is so caught up in her own troubles.
2. iIt spills itself in fearing to be spilt’
  1. –Ironic- Idea her fear will lead her to get caught. -Tow rhyming couplets- portrays her as very set on this new person she has become- no confusion just a burden of guilt- very different from the seemingly contented adulteress of 1.2
An ambiguous character- no soliliquies and speaks in a reserved amnner.- any qualities he may have therefore seemquite insincere and Superficial- prevents a surface to everyone.
1. 'Thou knowst 'tis common that all lives must die'
  1. Shown to be ungrateful- especially as Hamlet paints picture of their epic love, where OKH would 'beteem the winds of heaven' do not hit her to harshly
2. my Hamlet’s wife:/ I though thy bride- bed to have be ecked’
  1. Transformation of wedding to funeral- links to act 1 scene 2 of funeral to wedding. –Seems to be she says what she thinks she shoukd say- not really sincere- way she treated Ophelia when she was alive
3. ‘This is mere madness… His s;ience will sit drroping’
  1. Just wants to hush everything- doesn’t want to deal with anything
4. 'mermaid like'
  1. Her account of Ophelia's death is lyrically beautifu- she seems detached- it doesn't sound like an emotional recount of a traumatic event- more concerned with the appearance
5. 'If it will pleae you/ to show us so much gentry'
  1. flatters R=G and hrases it as a favour to her rather than an order- Grace and charm are evident here- s Queen she is used to being obeyed but knows how to use Language to make people obeyher
6. 'Cast thy nighted colour off'
  1. Cares about what things look like more so seemingly than how Hamlet feel.

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