Hamlet Reflection

993 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: women characters in hamlet

Once Gertrude retreats and is back into the arms of Claudius, she tells her traumatic story on how Hamlet killed Polonius, stabbing right through an arras. She confesses to Claudius about his execution, although her tone has changed in a way where it seems that she is defending him: "His madness allows a glimmering of morality to shine through, like a vein of gold in a chunk of coal. He weeps for what he has done," acting as if Hamlet had sorrow for what he has done (IV.i.24-27). This could possibly contribute to how her opinions have changed. Instead of wanting to keep her secrets by hiding and not sharing any details with her son, she could now be trying to help her son, cleansing her conscience since he has an idea of the murder already. This idea is more apparent when Ophelia comes to see the queen. Ophelia, not knowing where her father is and presuming that Claudius has killed him, enters the palace in a severely insane state of mind. She begins by singing a deranged rhyming song about her father being dead and already placed into the ground without a proper
All seems well between everyone until Hamlet and Laertes start to quarrel about their love for Ophelia until they are promptly pulled apart. Gertrude, instead of ignoring him like she did before, now defends Hamlet, stating "This is mere madness, And thus a while the fit will work on him. Anon, as patient as the female dove When that her golden couplets are disclosed, His silence will sit drooping," (V.i.290-294). She begs for Laertes forgiveness, proclaiming that Hamlet, albeit still crazy, will calm down after a few days. The shift in her mood is completely apparent to all of the audience. She wants to fix the broken relationship she has with her son by trying to support him. Her powers are limited, causing a fight request to still persist, which subsequently is accepted by both

Show More
Related

  • Hamlet

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet and Laertes share a different but deep love and concern for Ophelia. Laertes advises her to retain from seeing and being involved with Hamlet because of his social status. He didn’t want her to get her heart broken by Hamlet, since he believed that his marriage would be arranged to someone of his social status, and that he would only use and hurt Ophelia. Hamlet on the other hand, was madly in love with Ophelia but it languishes after she rejects him. Ophelia’s death caused distress in both Hamlet and Laertes and it also made Laertes more hostile towards Hamlet.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Analysis

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act II, scene 2 lines 563-622 shows his thoughts about himself. Hamlet is feeling self-loathing and full of anger. His use of analogies throughout the soliloquy conveys his thoughts and emotions of himself. His analogies are used in the themes of comparisons, uncertainties, and vengeance. His thoughts on himself allows the reader to view and feel what he is feeling.

    Read More

  • Essay On Character Development In Claudius

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    This can be proven by the change in Ophelia’s actions and behavior. Ophelia starts to sing strange songs in front of Gertrude about her father’s death and Hamlet’s madness. Ophelia sings to Gertrude and sings, “He is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone, at his head a grass-green turf, at his heels a stone” (4.5.26-29).This tells us that Ophelia is a very soft and is a very weak character and can easily get heart broken. She cares about her family and the death of her father has shattered her into pieces, it may cause problems for her to

    Read More

  • Horatio: A True Friend of Hamlet

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gertrude was Hamlet’s mother. She was a selfish and evil woman. She cheated on Hamlet’s father with Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. She married Claudius a month after her husband’s death. Gertrude wanted Hamlet to stop his grieving. She told Hamlet, “thou know’st ‘tis common, all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity” (I.2.72-73). When Hamlet was depressed and grieving, it reminded Gertrude of the terrible sin she had committed. She wanted Hamlet to be happy just so she could feel better about herself. Throughout the play Gertrude’s motives do not waiver; she looks out for her own well being.

    Read More

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Lonely Hamlet

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ophelia’s obedience towards her untrusting father is indescribable ( I; iii; 101-103. "Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl, unsifted in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them"?). Why a grown woman would listen to her father and not help the man of her dreams in his time of need is disheartening. A man’s girlfriend should be there for him when a family member passes away, no matter what. If she had been with him on the plan to kill Claudius and knew about his fathers ghost who told Hamlet that Claudius was the one that murdered him, than neither one of them would have went crazy.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Gertrude

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    In other words, Gertrude 's worst fault seems to be insensitivity towards her son. She shows no awareness of how her husband died and therefore no insight into what Hamlet suspects. The irony here is that Gertrude 's motivation in watching Hamlet 's behavior is genuine concern for his well-being, while Claudius ' concern is with his own well-being.

    Read More

  • Role of Women in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...course, ultimately infuriates and intensifies his urge for revenge. Because of Gertrude’s refusal to acknowledge her sins, Hamlet becomes even more personally motivated to kill Claudius for revenge. Queen Gertrude, though ignorant, has a huge impact on the play because her betrayal and abandonment motivates Hamlet to get revenge.

    Read More

  • Hamlet Analysis

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius, and as a ghost tells his son, Hamlet the prince of Denmark, to avenge him by killing his brother. The price Hamlet does agree to his late father’s wishes, and undertakes the responsibility of killing his uncle, Claudius. However even after swearing to his late father, and former king that he would avenge him; Hamlet for the bulk of the play takes almost no action against Claudius. Prince Hamlet in nature is a man of thought throughout the entirety of the play; even while playing mad that is obvious, and although this does seem to keep him alive, it is that same trait that also keeps him from fulfilling his father’s wish for vengeance

    Read More

  • Gertrude Is An Innocent Victim Analysis

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    The fact that Gertrude has a strong dislike about telling the truth is not to be argued. Granted that, she lies to herself about the consequences of her actions, and she lies to those around her. She lies to protect them. Hers are not cruel and wicked falsehoods; hers are white lies that she feels she must tell in order to keep her and those around her safe physically and emotionally. She must tell the King that Hamlet has killed Polonius, but, she does what she can to help Hamlet, telling Claudius that Hamlet "weeps for what is done" when clearly he does not. On the surface, it is hard to comprehend why Hamlet, his father, and Claudius all have such a deep devotion to Gertrude. But the qualities that save her from condemnation along with Claudius are delicately combined with various details into the play. She loves Hamlet, and, underneath her shallow exterior, shows great emotion when he confronts her. Gertrude truly does not know what she has done to make Hamlet so furious, and it is only when he tells her that she understands her actions to be wrong. After all, Gertrude feels horrible for what she has done and how it affected hamlet for she quotes “O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn 'st my very eyes into my soul, and there I see such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct” (III.IV.88-91). “O speak to me no more; these words like daggars enter my ears; No more, sweet Hamlet!” (III.IV.94-6). There is no reason to

    Read More

  • The Innocence of Gertrude and Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Pretty Ophelia,” as Claudius calls her, is the most innocent victim of Hamlet’s revenge in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Hamlet has fallen in love with Ophelia after the death of his father. Ophelia “sucked the honey of his music vows” and returned Hamlet’s affection. But when her father had challenged Hamlet’s true intentions, Ophelia could only say: “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.” Ophelia was used to relying on her father’s directions and she was also brought up to be obedient. This allowed her to only accept her father’s views that Hamlet’s attention towards her was only to take advantage of her and to obey her father’s orders not to permit Hamlet to see her again.

    Read More

  • Hamlet and Gertrude's Relationship

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is strained at first. From the beginning of the play to act III, Hamlet is bitter with his mother. He feels this way because it has been less than four months since the death of his biological father, yet she is already remarried to Claudius. He feels his father is being betrayed from her lack of mourning. She tells her son to "cast thy nighted color off" (I.ii.68) and "all that lives must die" (I.ii.72). Clearly, she isn't grieving over her late husband's death and instead puts forth an optimistic attitude to her new husband and life. Gertrude's concern with Hamlet's odd behaviour after his encounter with Ophelia in act II scene i also shows the strain in their relationship. For example, she agrees with Claudius' words that "of Hamlet's transformation" (II.ii.5) and suggests Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy and find out the underlying cause of her son's problems. In addition to that, she consents Polonius to hide behind the tapestry in act III scene iv without Hamlet knowing. These two decisions suggest their inability to communicate. Instead, spying is required for Gertrude to find out about her son's inner mentality. The mother and ...

    Read More

  • The Tragedy of Ophelia in Hamlet

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ophelia trusts the advise given and her obedience is very evident in this matter as she avoids contact with Hamlet until she is told by her father, with the King and Queens approval, to meet up with him by 'accident' in the lobby. Deceit not being in her nature, believing that her father, the king and queen are right and true; that Hamlet is mad; and probably curious to know if Hamlet is "mad in love" with her the young, obedient, powerless Ophelia does her part to search out the truth. But tragically this one forced step outside of her true character begins her downfall. In a precarious predicament, loyalty to her father compelled Ophelia to lie to Hamlet when he asked about her father?s location at that moment saying he was at home instead of behind a tapestry right the...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Power In Shakespeare's Hamlet

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    The position of Gertrude’s character in the play raises numerous questions about her involvement with her former husband’s murder, along with her reasoning for marrying Claudius. Failing to question Claudius’ intentions with her son, Hamlet, Gertrude includes herself in the corruption. She is present at various meetings discussing her son’s whereabouts and plots to spy on him (83). Though she is conscious of the corruption in the court, she does not seek to resolve the matters. But rather, she involves herself in the conflict and schemes. Claudius’ ways definitely influence her judgment, which is seen when she allows Polonius to spy on her private conversation with Hamlet (169). Furthermore, when confronted by Hamlet, she admits, “Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, And there I see such black and grainèd spots, As will not leave their tinct” (175). Her response to Hamlet’s raging interrogative and accusatory speech insinuates that she too has in some fashion contributed to the corruption in Denmark, though the specific circumstance is never revealed. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Gertrude shows a woman who is more concerned about self-preservation and remaining in power so much so that she involves herself with the plots of a man, who murdered her

    Read More

  • Comparing Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    At times it seems that Gertrude does not know or pretends not to know why Hamlet is so angry with her and with Claudius ('What have I done, that thou dar'st wag thy tongue/ In noise so rude against me?'). At other times she seems to know exactly what is troubling him ('His father's death and our o'er-hasty marriage', II.2.57). But Hamlet, too, does not come clean directly. He does not confront her with the murder, but rather sets out 'to wring her heart' (III.4.35), and plays upon her emotions rather than on her reason. Instead, he shows her two pictures, and compares at great length his father with his uncle (55 ff.). In this long speech, the son touches on many matters so delicate that critics can be forgiven for detecting more than a whiff oedipal sentiment in Hamlet himself. He plays on his mother's sense of shame, even bringing her eroticism or lack of it into play, and culminating in a vision of his mother making love in a bed stained with semen - not a pretty sight:

    Read More

  • Hamlet's Conflict Between Hamlet And King Claudius

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Towards the end of the play, Hamlet becomes enraged and accuses his mother for marrying his uncle in such a short time after his father’s death. The incestuous relationship suggest that his mother might have been involved in her husband’s murder, which is more reason to kill Claudius. Gertrude is a loving figure that is unable to understand Hamlet’s delicate state. Her way of solving problems is by isolating those that confront her, instead of analyzing her own mistakes and owning up to them. When Hamlet walks into his mother’s bedroom, he kills Polonius who is hiding behind the arras, and compares the murder to his mother’s guilt. “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, / As kill a king, and marry with his brother” (3.4.28-29). The queen cannot handle and truth and tells Hamlet to stop speaking. “O Hamlet, speak no more: / Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct” (3.4.89-92). It’s a similar reaction of guilt, like Claudius who didn’t want to continue seeing the murder play because he didn’t want to accept the reality of his crime. In another instance, the queen decides to send Hamlet to England to prevent another death. Here, her solution is cowardly and says a lot about her character. She is inclined to go for the easy way out, rather than finding a solution to the huge mess she’s caused. In this scene, the reader can apply Gertrude as the antithesis to Hamlet. Unlike Hamlet who considered ethical and an innocent young man, Gertrude is described as traitor, wicked woman, and an adulterate. Her lust and external pleasures have impacted her family greatly and those she governs over. She is a shallow woman who does not see the consequences of her decisions. Even though she is at the highest level of authority, she seems to lack the most important qualities of a royal ruler: integrity and

    Read More

More about Hamlet Reflection

Open Document