Essay Considering Gertrude of Shakespeares Hamlet -- GCSE English Lit

Gertrude of village In Hamlet, Gertrude is a woman who means no harm but whose silly judgment contributes greatly to the terrible events that occur. There are only two female characters in the play, and neither one--Gertrude or Ophelia--is assertive. But the decisions Gertrude does make eventually spark advance to her death and the downfall of others as well. We first realize in Act I, Scene 2 that poor judgment is her major character flaw. As the beat of a grieving parole, Gertrude should have been more sensitive to Hamlets feelings. Instead, less than two months after King Hamlets death, Gertrude remarries Claudius, her dead husbands own brother. Gertrude should have realized how humiliated Hamlet would feel as a result, because at that time it was considered incestuous for a widow to marry her husbands brother. There is also jealousy on the part of a son, who feels that his mother should be giving him more attention during the mourning period. Gertrude is not in touch with her own sons feelings to see why he is angry. Hamlet expresses this vitiate during his first soliloquy O, most wicked speed, to postWith such dexterity to incestuous sheets (I.ii 156-157) Gertrude is shown to be a loving mother but a reboot who cannot read into her sonss behavior. When answering Hamlet, she says that it is common for all men to die, but this is not just any man who has died, she should realize its Hamlets own father Also, when Gertrude asks Hamlet If it be,why seems it so particular with thee? (I.ii 74-75) she means to calm him down, but the word seems only makes Hamlet more suspicious. She fails to realize that in his sensitive mood, the word seems will lapse Hamlet the ... ... him But she finally has to admit to herself that Claudius is guilty of murdering old Hamlet and of trying to murder Hamlet. When she warns Hamlet not to drink the wine, she again is showing forbearance for her son and her wish to protect him from danger. In other words, the plays last scene summarizes Gertrudes two sides. As a mother, she means well and does have concern for her son but her bad decisions and failure to judge people correctly are a major cause of the tragedy. If Gertrude had been a different kind of person, many of the deaths mightiness not have happened. List of Works Cited Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York, 1965.Cohen, Michael. Hamlet in My Minds Eye. Athens (Georgia), 1980.Coyle, Martin, ed. New Casebooks Hamlet. New York, 1992.King, Walter N. Hamlets Search for Meaning. Athens (Georgia), 1982-.