Preview

Gertrude's Innocence In Hamlet

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
139 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gertrude's Innocence In Hamlet
Through certain symbols, Shakespeare expresses Gertrude’s overall innocence. For instance, Ophelia gives Gertrude a daisy, the symbol of innocence MORE. In addition, the time it takes for each character to die reflects their innocence or guilt. Claudius dies almost immediately, but it takes 56 lines for Hamlet to die. Shakespeare uses the times it takes for each character to die in order to arouse sympathy for them. Gertrude appears to be fine for several minutes after she drinks from the poisoned cup and lives long after she collapses to warn Hamlet that the “the drink . . . was poisoned” (V, ii, 293-294). Claudius and Polonius die immediately, but Gertrude dies nineteen lines after she ingests poison. Through the symbolism of the daisy
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Claudius and Other Characters of Hamlet
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Claudius and Other Characters of Hamlet

    Now wears his crown” (1.5.46-47). Claudius’s brother was a great warrior that probably ruled with ideas of justice and moral balance but Claudius is a corrupt politician, he rules with manipulation and does not even feel guilt for catalyzing the fall from grace of so many characters. He schemes and manipulates other characters to get what he desires. When Claudius was certain that Hamlet knew of his lie about his brothers death he planned a match between Laertes and Hamlet in which Hamlet was not suppose to come out as the victor. Claudius will stop at nothing to maintain his power if he has he heart to murder his own brother, he will have the heart to murder anyone that blocks him from his goal. It is his own scheming that leads to his death, if power is gained by lies and manipulation more lies and manipulation must take place to maintain it and that life can only be held a secret for so long. The constant deaths, spying and confusion led many to become mad. His lack of guilt can be seen when he openly shows his affection for his wife in front of Hamlet and does it in a very obnoxious way. This affection for his wife is questionable because of his need for power. It is not certain whether or not Claudius actually has sincere feelings towards Gertrude or whether she is just another character playing a part in his lie, something that just came along with what he truly wanted, the crown. However even though his motives for marrying the queen are questionable, if he does not truly love Gertrude he covers it up well, showing once again his good use of manipulation. He openly shows affection and even declares his love in words, “The…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Gertrude Present Claudius's Words And Actions In Hamlet
    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Does Gertrude Present Claudius's Words And Actions In Hamlet

    Claudius’s words and actions in Act IV further reveal the king’s duplicity and ruthlessness. In the act’s first scene, he tells Gertrude that he had hidden Hamlet’s madness from others because “so much was our love” for the prince. Two scenes later, alone on the stage, he reveals his plan to have Hamlet killed in England. The contrast calls to mind the lesson Hamlet drew from the Ghost back in Act I, that stated, “one may smile, and smile, and be a…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Does Steinbeck Present Claudius's Fear Of Corruption
    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Does Steinbeck Present Claudius's Fear Of Corruption

    In “Hamlet in Pieces” by Andy Lavender, Claudius is described as "calm, reasonable, decisive," yet a small play scares. Claudius showed no aspects of the Machiavellian he was originally thought to be after he is shaken up by Hamlet’s little show. Instead, he hastily orders the death of Hamlet. Rather than slaying Hamlet himself, Claudius has others attempt to do so. Perhaps this is so because he needs everyone, including Gertrude, to perceive him as a good king. The murder of her son by her husband's hand would cause unrest in Gertrude. Claudius could not lose one of his key aspects for stealing the throne in the first…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is To Blame In Gertrude's Suicide?
    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Is To Blame In Gertrude's Suicide?

    However, as Gertrude may have heard, Laertes sword was to be poison tipped and would kill Hamlet if it touched him. In case that plan didn’t work, Hamlet would be given a poisoned glass of wine. After the first round of the sword fight, Gertrude picked up the poisoned glass of wine and proposed a toast to the fight. Claudius told her not to drink it, but she replied "I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me." This was the first time that Gertrude didn’t obey Claudius’ orders. The only logical explanation for this is that she didn’t want to observe the death of her…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rosencrantz And Gertrude's Suicide In Hamlet
    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rosencrantz And Gertrude's Suicide In Hamlet

    The deaths in which Hamlet played a part or had knowledge of helped him realize suicide was not the easy way to go. Hamlet stabbed Polonius through a curtain while he was arguing with his mother. Hamlet sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with a letter to the King of England, stating that whomever is holding this letter is to be executed, both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are beheaded. Claudius and Laertes was planning to kill Hamlet in a duel with rapiers. Laertes rapier had poison on the tip of the sword. Hamlet killed Laertes in the duel. Laertes dropped his sword in a scuffle with Hamlet. Hamlet picked up the sword and stabbed Laertes with his own poisonous sword. Laertes told Hamlet that the sword was poisonous and that Claudius planned on killing him with poisonous wine. Laertes had already stabbed Hamlet with the sword giving Hamlet a short amount of time left to live. Gertrude got ahold of the poisonous wine and drank it, killing her. Claudius tried to stop her but he was to late. Laertes dies from the poison soaked rapier. Hamlet walks up to Claudius, makes him drink the poisonous wine and then stabs him with Laertes’ poisonous sword. Hamlet then talks to Horatio; “Horatio I’m as good as dead”(5.2.349). Notify Fortinbras that he is now in charge of the kingdom and to tell him everything that happened. Hamlet's thinking regarding suicide changed throughout the play as he…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hamlet's Last Soliloquy Analysis
    • 93 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hamlet's Last Soliloquy Analysis

    4.) During act III, scene IV, line 30, Hamlet, in order to see Gertrude’s reaction, indirectly accuses her of being a part of Claudius’ atrocity by saying that what he has done (killed Polonius) is as bad as killing a king and marrying his brother. Once Gertrude hears this, confused, she repeats “as kill a king?” and asks him what she has done to cause him to be so rude to her, assuring that, like his father’s ghost had said, she was only weak and she had nothing to do with his assassination.…

    • 93 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Does Gertrude's Use Of Setting In Hamlet
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Does Gertrude's Use Of Setting In Hamlet

    Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, while being an inherently visual work, lacks detailed stage directions, and instead consists mainly of dialogue. This ambiguity in Shakespeare’s intention for the space in which the play is to be presented is interesting because it allows directors and actors wide latitude with which to create a setting that accurately represents the tone and themes found within the dialogue of the play. However, the setting of the play is often irrelevant to portraying Hamlet’s themes because much of the meaning can be derived from the interactions and dialogue between characters. The role of setting is then most important in terms of keeping the audience engaged in the work when the characters recite monologues. For instance, Hamlet, during his monologues, often finds himself alone and as such the actor cannot portray the themes of the play through interactions with other actors but instead through interactions with the environment surrounding him.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Did Gertrude Send Hamlet Crazy
    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page

    Did Gertrude Send Hamlet Crazy

    After Polonius death, Claudius and Gertrude send Hamlet to another country because they were afraid. Ironically, Ophelia became crazy, she sang a un proper song around the castle while Ophelia’s brother, Leathes, wanted to make a revenge to Hamlet. Hamlet was send by ship to England, but he was so clever; he could rush from the security. Hamlet heard a bad news that Ophelia was died, but the death was mystery. Finally, Leathes invited Hamlet to war in the…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Ephemerality In Hamlet
    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Ephemerality In Hamlet

    During the Queen Gertrude’s death in Hamlet the reader is confronted with the notion that life is ephemeral and how swiftly it may change. The king has poisoned the wine to kill Hamlet, but the queen unknowingly drinks from it in a moment of festivity, thus leading to her unforeseen death. The ephemerality of life is apparent in this scene as a result of the queen dying before her time. The poisoned wine was supposed to kill Hamlet, but the queen drank from it, unknowingly killing herself in the process. The queen was not the one intended to die at the hands of the wine; it was a fault no one could have anticipated, least of all the queen herself. Her life was over so suddenly and unexpectedly it was plainly a moment to portray the ephemerality of life itself.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gertrude And Hamlet Research Paper
    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gertrude And Hamlet Research Paper

    Gertrude is over protective after Hamlet loses his father and she demonstrates it by telling the King to make him stay at the Kingdom and not sending him back to school…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Foil Of Hamlet's Mother In Hamlet By William Shakespeare
    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Foil Of Hamlet's Mother In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

    In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, is Hamlet’s mother. Her first appearance is in Act 1, Scene 2 and last seen in Act 5, Scene 2, when she was poisoned. Gertrude is a loving and strong-willed character and although Hamlet views her as weak and lust driven, her intentions are pure in that she only aspires for everyone to get along. As a mother she is only concerned for her son. However despite her good qualities, her lack of intelligence and misjudgement of people is a cause of the tragic events that occur. Gertrude is a foil to her son Hamlet because of their contrasting qualities. She does not reflect about herself in the play alone, thus meaning she is motivated emotionally. Gertrude’s actions is a major factor of…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gertrude's Guilt In Hamlet
    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gertrude's Guilt In Hamlet

    At the end of Act III of Hamlet, Claudius has been sent reeling with guilt after seeing his own act of murder carried out on stage. The King begins to pray as his own repentance for his sins all the while he is being spied on by Hamlet who decides that rather than use this opportunity to fulfill his revenge, he should postpone it so that Claudius would not be able to enter heaven.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Shakespeare Present Gertrude's Character In Hamlet
    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Shakespeare Present Gertrude's Character In Hamlet

    Do you know how Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to Claudius, Polonius, and Gertrude? In Hamlet’s 3rd soliloquy Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to Claudius, Polonius, and Gertrude.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Betrayal in Hamlet
    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Betrayal in Hamlet

    Hamlets mother Gertrude betrays her first husband, the first king of Denmark. This betrayal comes in the form of a hasty marriage to the king’s brother Claudius, who we find out later murdered his brother in an attempt to acquire the crown. This is an act of betrayal on Gertrude’s part, because she should be in mourning of the her first husband’s death, but she immediately enters another marriage, with the kings brother. This is a betrayal to Hamlet because his father was killed, and his mother soon marries the man who we find out is responsible for it. We find out that Claudius killed his brother and Hamlets father with poison, we find this out when Hamlet is visited by a ghost in which Horatio cannot identify but shows itself to Hamlet as his father, it is at this time that the ghost tells Hamlet how he really died and who was responsible . When Hamlet learns of this news, he is enraged with the news and he begins looking to get revenge on the murderer Claudius. Hamlet throughout the play begins to doubt his sanity and if he should kill his uncle Claudius or himself “To be or not to be…….” (Hamlet), this is an act of betrayal on Hamlets part.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gertrude the Mother of Evil
    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gertrude the Mother of Evil

    One of the most important characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet would be the mother of Hamlet himself, Gertrude. Queen Gertrude played a devious and shameful role, which left many questioning her dignity throughout the play. She led a life of wealth and royalty, but could not find happiness in either. Gertrude had to put a twist on her life by quickly abandoning the man she one loved, King Hamlet, for his soulless brother, Claudius. In order to completely understand Gertrude's mystery and you must put yourself directly inside her character. She unravels her thoughts and emotion mainly in Act 3 of the play where she begins to understand the measures Claudius took to obtain the throne.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics