gertrude- hamlet

Question 1

“Do not forever with thy vailèd lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust. Thou know’st ‘tis common, all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity”

Answer 1

Gertrude tries to comfort Hamlet about the death of King Hamlet, however she is insensitive and clearly has no true feelings of grief.

Question 2

“If it be, Why seems it so particular with thee?”

Answer 2

Gertrude’s rhyming couplet when she asks Hamlet why he is so melancholic indicates a rehearsed nature to her speech. Also, it shows her regal side, thus she is too used to being a Queen.

Question 3

“Good gentlemen, he hath much talked about you, And sure am I, two men there is not living To whom he more adheres.”

Answer 3

She is unable to stop herself from lying and being a sycophant in order to get her way. This time it’s with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, asking them to spy on Hamlet.

Question 4

“More matter with less art”

Answer 4

She is blunt with Polonius, telling him to cut out the nonsense - she is cold-hearted and ruthless like Claudius

Question 5

She is blunt with Polonius, telling him to cut out the nonsense - she is cold-hearted and ruthless like Claudius

Answer 5

The first time Gertrude actually admits that they married to soon and may be to blame for Hamlet’s melancholy.

Question 6

“The lady doth protest too much methinks”

Answer 6

Gertrude ironically says that the Player Queen makes too many promises and is perhaps pathetic. One imagines that Gertrude made the same promises therefore her criticism is ironic and indicates her true, cold persona.

Question 7

“Oh what a rash and bloody deed is this!”

Answer 7

Gertrude is horrified by Hamlet’s murder of Polonius, ironically calling it rash, much like her marriage to Claudius.

Question 8

‘as kill a king?’

Answer 8

“As kill a king?”
She seems to be genuinely shocked by this bold accusation, thus implying that she had no knowledge of Claudius’ crimes

Question 9

“O Hamlet, speak no more. Thou turn’st my eyes into my very soul, And there I see such black and grainèd spots As will not leave their tinct.”

Answer 9

We feel very sympathetic towards Gertrude as she feels very vulnerable amidst Hamlet’s abuse of her. She begs him to stop.

Question 10

“This is the very coinage of your brain. This bodiless creation ecstasy Is very cunning in.”

Answer 10

Gertrude calls Hamlet mad after he ‘sees’ the Ghost. This is where we trust her more and now feel far more sympathetic.

Question 11

“Oh Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.”

Answer 11

The previously cold-hearted Gertrude shows genuine melancholy and emotions, as she claims that Hamlet has broken her heart.

Question 12

“Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me.”

Answer 12

Very soon after having seemed genuine for the first time, Gertrude tells a huge lie to Hamlet, claiming that she will not tell Claudius what has happened, when in fact she does exactly that

Question 13

“Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend Which is the mightier.”

Answer 13

Gertrude is incapable of keeping promises, as she slanders Hamlet to Claudius in calling him mad.

Question 14

“So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt”

Answer 14

She says that guilt makes people full of foolish suspicion that they reveal their guilt when they try so hard not to. This could be aimed at Hamlet, Claudius or even herself

Question 15

“I will my lord, I pray you pardon me.”

Answer 15

It is unclear whether she is being deliberately defiant in drinking from the poisoned chalice, aware that she will die, or whether she is ignorant to this.

Question 16

Janet Adelman - Psychoanalytic and Maternal Perspective

Answer 16

Janet Adelman, a prominent psychoanalytic and feminist critic, is well-known for her analysis of Gertrude in Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest (1992). Adelman argues that Gertrude’s sexuality and ambiguous morality significantly influence Hamlet’s psychological state and fuel his Oedipal conflict. She suggests that Hamlet’s obsession with his mother’s sexuality indicates unresolved fears and desires related to his mother, which are projected onto Gertrude’s relationship with Claudius. According to Adelman, Gertrude becomes an “absent mother” figure—central to Hamlet’s psyche yet denied an independent voice.

Question 17

Carolyn Heilbrun - Defense of Gertrude’s Agency

Answer 17

Carolyn Heilbrun, in her landmark essay “The Character of Hamlet’s Mother” (1957), offers a groundbreaking defense of Gertrude. Heilbrun argues that Gertrude is far from the weak or morally compromised figure she is often portrayed as. Instead, Heilbrun sees her as a sensible, sexual, and pragmatic woman who made choices for her own survival and happiness. She challenges interpretations that reduce Gertrude to a passive figure, suggesting that Gertrude’s decisions are deliberate and practical, particularly in the harsh political climate of the Danish court.

Question 18

Elaine Showalter - Feminist Criticism and Gender Roles

Answer 18

Elaine Showalter examines Gertrude’s role as a woman caught in a patriarchal world. In her influential work on women in Shakespeare, Showalter argues that Gertrude, like Ophelia, is silenced and limited by the male characters around her, leaving her with little agency. Showalter also suggests that the play’s treatment of Gertrude, as both sexualized and submissive, reflects Elizabethan anxieties about powerful women and the control of female sexuality.

Question 19

Rebecca Smith - Gertrude as a Victim of Patriarchy

Answer 19

Rebecca Smith provides a nuanced view of Gertrude’s character in her essay “A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare’s Gertrude” (1980). Smith argues that Gertrude is less morally culpable than Hamlet perceives her to be. She sees Gertrude as a loyal mother caught between her son and her new husband. Smith suggests that Gertrude’s actions, such as her marriage to Claudius, are often misinterpreted as weakness or immorality, but are actually pragmatic moves for self-preservation in a male-dominated society.

Question 20

Harold Bloom - Gertrude as an Enigmatic Figure

Answer 20

Harold Bloom, a well-known literary critic, takes a more ambiguous stance on Gertrude’s character in Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (2003). Bloom describes Gertrude as an “enigma” and argues that Shakespeare intentionally left her motives and inner life opaque. Bloom posits that Gertrude’s role is more passive than active, and that her lack of introspection contrasts sharply with Hamlet’s depth. However, Bloom believes this vagueness adds to the play’s complexity, making Gertrude a figure of both fascination and frustration for Hamlet and the audience alike.

Question 21

A.C. Bradley - Traditional Moral Criticism

Answer 21

A.C. Bradley, a renowned Shakespearean scholar, discusses Gertrude’s character in his book Shakespearean Tragedy (1904). Bradley argues that Gertrude’s “sin” is less about malice and more about her lack of judgment and moral insight. Bradley sees Gertrude’s hasty remarriage to Claudius as a sign of moral weakness and superficiality, suggesting that she is morally blind rather than intentionally cruel or manipulative. This traditional reading implies that Gertrude’s actions are the result of a naïveté rather than malevolence.

Question 22

Stephen Greenblatt - New Historicism and Political Context

Answer 22

Stephen Greenblatt, a founding figure of New Historicism, considers Gertrude within the broader political and social contexts of Hamlet. In Hamlet in Purgatory (2001), Greenblatt suggests that Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius can be seen as a pragmatic decision influenced by the instability of the Danish court. Her remarriage ensures continuity and power in a time of political uncertainty.