Sunday, December 29, 2019
Shakespeares Hamlet - Gertrude Essay examples - 2462 Words
Regarding Hamlet’s Gertrude Angela Pitt in â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies†comments that Shakespeare’s Gertrude in Hamlet is, first and foremost, a mother: Gertrude evinces no such need to justify her actions and thereby does not betray any sense of guilt. She is concerned with her present good fortune, and neither lingers over the death of her first husband nor analyses her motives in taking another. . . .She seems a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman, in no way the emotional or intellectual equal of her son. . . . Certainly she is fond of Hamlet. Not only is she prepared to listen to him when he storms at her, proof that he is sufficiently close to her to have a right to make comments on†¦show more content†¦Angela Pitt considers Gertrude â€Å"a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman. . . .†(47). She joins in with the king in requesting Hamlet’s stay in Elsinore rather than returning to Wittenberg to study. Respectfully the son replies, â€Å"I shall in all my best obey you, madam.†So at the outset the audience notes a decidedly good relationship between Gertrude and those about her in the drama, even though Hamlet’s â€Å"suit of mourning has been a visible and public protest against the royal marriage, a protest in which he is completely alone, and in which he has hurt his mother†(Burton â€Å"Hamlet†). Hamlet’s first soliloquy expresses his anger at the quickness of his mother’s marriage to Claudius, an â€Å"o’erhasty marriage†(Gordon 128), and its incestuousness since it is between family: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman! . . . .†Rebecca Smith interprets his anti-motherly feelings: â€Å"Hamlet’s violent emotions toward his mother are obvious from his first soliloquy, in which 23 of the 31 lines express his anger and disgust at what he perceives to be Gertrude’s weakness, insensitivity, and, most important, bestiality. . . .(80). When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother, â€Å"the human truth†(Abrams 467). Gunnar Bokland in â€Å"Hamlet†describes Gertrude’s moral descent during the course of Shakespeare’sShow MoreRelated Gertrude of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay3047 Words  | 13 PagesThe Gertrude of Shakespeare’s Hamlet     Is Gertrude, in the Shakespearean drama Hamlet, a bore? A killer’s accomplice? The perfect queen? A dummy? This paper will answer many questions concerning Claudius’ partner on the Danish throne.  In her essay, â€Å"Acts III and IV: Problems of Text and Staging,†Ruth Nevo explains how the hero’s negative outlook toward Gertrude influences his attitude toward Ophelia:  Whereas it is precisely his total inability to know her [Ophelia]Read MoreEssay on The Character of Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet1453 Words  | 6 Pages   Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, presents ten male characters for every one female character. The only prominent female characters are two: Ophelia, Laertes’ sister and Polonius’ daughter; and Gertrude, the queen and wife of Claudius and mother of Hamlet. This essay will explore the character, role, and importance of Gertrude.  Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, is apparently disturbed by her son’s appearance in solemn black at the gathering of the court, and she requests of him:      Read More Shakespeares Hamlet Essay: Observations on Gertrude2572 Words  | 11 PagesAnd What of Gertrude in Hamlet?     To what extent does evil reign in the heart of Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet? This essay will delve into her character, and into the deposit of literary criticism regarding her, in order to analyze her character in depth.  Philip Edwards’ â€Å"The Ghost: Messenger from a Higher Court of Values?†expresses the necessity of the Ghost leaving the guilt of Gertrude to the afterlife:  The final injunction, ‘Leave her to heaven’, mustRead More Shakespeares Hamlet - Regarding Gertrude Essay1965 Words  | 8 PagesRegarding Hamlet’s Gertrude      In William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy Hamlet, the audience meets a queen who is a former and present queen. She was unhappy before – how does she feel now? Is she evil, guilty, motherly, lascivious? The multiple aspects of her personality deserve our attention.  Angela Pitt in â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies†comments that Shakespeare’s Gertrude in Hamlet is, first and foremost, a mother:  Gertrude evinces no such need to justifyRead MoreEssay on Passionate Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet2793 Words  | 12 PagesPassionate Gertrude in Hamlet          Like so many of the characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, Gertrude appears to be dominated by passion. This essay will explore this and other aspects of her interesting character.  Lilly B. Campbell comments in â€Å"Grief That Leads to Tragedy†on Queen Gertrude’s sinful state:  Shakespeare’s picture of the Queen is explained to us by Hamlet’s speech to her in her closet. There we see again the picture of sin as evil willed by aRead MoreThe Character of Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay1558 Words  | 7 PagesThe character of Gertrude in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, is not a woman for emulation by others. She is too human, and not very intelligent. Let’s consider her in this essay.  Mary Bradford-Whiting, in her article â€Å"Mothers in Shakespeare†compares the mother of Juliet to the mother of Hamlet:  Juliet has a mother, to whose heart of stone she appeals in vain:  . . . O, sweet my mother, cast me not away! [Romeo and Juliet, III.v.198]  Hamlet has a mother, eachRead More Shakespeares Hamlet Essay: Who is Gertrude?1691 Words  | 7 PagesHamlet –Who is Gertrude?     This essay intends to explore Gertrude’s situation in the play in an attempt to answer many questions about her, the queen, wife of Claudius and former wife of his deceased brother, King Hamlet.  Back in 1883 Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets comments on what he interprets as a problem or inconsistency in the presentation of the character Gertrude in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet:      Ham.Read More The Character of Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay535 Words  | 3 PagesThe Character of Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet        It is tempting to condemn Gertrude as evil, but it is probably more sensible to consider her as weak and inconstant. Hamlets heartfelt line Frailty, thy name is woman sums up his view of her actions early in the play. Like many of Shakespeares women characters, she is sketched in rather than drawn in detail. We know that she has a deep affection for her son, which is commented on by Claudius in Act 4 The Queen, his mother, livesRead MoreEssay on Conscience of Queen Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet1134 Words  | 5 PagesThe Conscience of the Queen William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is perhaps one of his most intriguing and scandalous pieces of work. One character who is liable for much of this excitement and outrage is Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude. To some readers and critics, Gertrude is conceived as an erratic, superficial and sensual woman. Others discern the Queen as an earnest, intellectual and sagacious woman whose tragic fault is her yearning for sexual satisfaction. Throughout the text, there areRead More Shakespeares Hamlet - Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia Essay3031 Words  | 13 PagesHamlet -- Comparison of Gertrude and Ophelia     Gertrude and Ophelia occupy the leading roles for females in the Shakespearean drama Hamlet. As women they share many things in common: attitudes from others, shallow or simple minds and outlooks, etc. This essay will delve into what they have in common. The protagonist’s negative attitude toward both women is an obvious starting point. John Dover Wilson explains in What Happens in Hamlet how the prince holds both of the women in disgust:
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