Intense human relationships are a fundamental experience in life, which is a concept that is broadly explored in the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, we follow the tragic story of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who is seeking revenge for his father’s treacherous murder committed by his deceiving uncle Claudius. Although there are many intense relationships throughout the development of Hamlet, arguably Hamlet’s relations with other characters are the focus of the plot. In Hamlet, there are three main relationships where Hamlet is the consistent second party, these relations include Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Horatio. To begin with, despite the terrible events that have shaken the relationship …show more content…
We learn that the late King Hamlet has died, and thus he explains his recent marriage to Gertrude. She is the Queen of Denmark, the widow of the late King Hamlet and the mother of Prince Hamlet. Claudius and Gertrude wish to know why Hamlet continues to wear his black grieving garments, which results in Gertrude urging him to take them off but Hamlet replies bitterly and does not obey. Claudius then announces that he does not want Hamlet to return to school, as Hamlet has asked to do so. Gertrude professes her desire for Hamlet to remain close to her and so Hamlet obeys his mother's wishes with resentment. In his upcoming soliloquy, Hamlet, describes his desires to die and wish that God had not made suicide a sin. He remembers how much his mother and father seemed deeply in love and is angry that not even two months after his father's death, his mother has married someone whom he believes is inferior to his father. “Let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman!-” (Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii, line 146.) From this quote, we can deduce that this intense relation consumes Hamlet with hatred for his mother. Hamlet believes that she is tainting his father’s memory by not mourning his death and rejoicing in her new found marriage. Her decision to marry Claudius only two months after her late husband’s death causes Hamlet to change his views upon love itself. By “frailty” Hamlet does not mean that
Queen Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, the widow of Old Hamlet and the wife of Claudius, brother of her dead husband. Gertrude is ignorant and a woman who means no harm but because of her actions it contributes greatly to the terrible events that occur throughout the play. In this play there’s many conflicts, one of the first conflicts was when Gertrude married King Claudius two months after Old Hamlet’s death. Gertrude is ignorant because she’s not aware of anything happening. For example she’s not aware that King Hamlet’s murder was by his own brother Claudius, even though they were some hints out there to show that it was King Claudius who killed Old Hamlet.
Also, Hamlet displays his anguish at the Queen for dishonouring his dead father since “Almost as bad, good mother, as killing a king and marrying his brother” (Shakespeare, pg. 121). In this statement, Hamlet expresses how, through the marriage to her husband’s murderer, Gertrude is a symbol of dishonor and damaging her relationship with the prince. Hamlet is disgusted by Gertrude’s actions and recognizes her not as his mother but the queen and wife of Claudius, the murderer. The respect revered by children to their mother is not evident between Hamlet and Gertrude. In Gertrude’s death scene, Hamlet screams to his mother “Wretched Queen, adieu!”
I agree with the quotes that both Rosencratz and Laertes said about Hamlet because of the particular pressure of having less freedom to do as he wants is understandable, knowing that his, King Claudius’s and Gertrudes decisions affect everyone in Denmark, not just themselves or just a few like ordinary people. At the beginning of the novel, Prince Hamlet, was so emotional about the loss of his father, that even his mother Gertrude and uncle Claudius would talk about how moody he had been. Prince Hamlet was really upset with his mother because he viewed the marriage between her and Claudius as being her fault. I think Hamlet had to just suck it up and move on because there was nothing Hamlet could do to have them separate from each other. A
Because Hamlet seems more upset with his mother’s actions than the actual death of his father, the reader can conclude that Hamlet was not very close with his father and was instead much closer with his mother. After Gertrude remarries to Claudius, Hamlet’s relationship
He was to the point where he thought it would just be easier to die than to live with all these struggles. Hamlet’s uncle Claudius killed his father which put a huge burden on his shoulders because he loved his father so much. What made it even worse was his mom, Gertrude, ended up marrying Claudius short after King Hamlet 's death. After the king was murdered, Hamlet saw his father’s “ghost” which told him that Claudius was in fact the one that killed him and that he wanted Hamlet to seek revenge for him by killing Claudius, but not to punish his mother for remarrying. He said it is not his place to do so and that heaven will judge her when it comes time.
Such actions elaborate on the fact that Hamlet is channeling his inner anger in hopes to frighten his mother. Betrayal does not benefit either party, so Hamlet attempting to act in a way that could mentally harm his mother is not necessary. This hurts his mother’s feelings, as well as going against his father’s
Hamlet’s views on women is adulterous which pertains to the misogynistic tendencies in the play; thus, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, sparks up his misogynistic approaches. Hamlet is repulsed with Gertrude since she was quick to re-wed immediately following Old Hamlet’s death and cries: “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (1.2.156-157). Hamlet is shocked that his mother remarries to Claudius, Old Hamlet’s brother, before letting the tears on her cheek to dry.
Throughout the conversation and various parts of the play, Hamlet expresses his disgust for his mother 's actions. He insults her by comparing his father to Hyperion and Claudius to a satyr. He tells Gertrude not to sin by sleeping with him and tells her she is nothing but lustful for marrying a man like Claudius when he says, “That blurs the grace and blush of modesty,/ Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose/ From the fair forehead of an innocent love/ And sets a blister there, makes marriage vows/
With the decease of his father and the marriage between his uncle and mother, Hamlet begins to hate the way things are around him. Gertrude asks Hamlet, "Why seems it so particular with thee?" Hamlet replies, "Seems Madam? Nay it is. I know not seems” (I.ii.77-8).
In act one Gertrude marries her dead husband 's brother Claudius, Hamlet is not very happy that his mother did this. Hamlet feels very betrayed by his own mother because she remarried so quickly. He feels as if this is an unforgivable
However, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.
He feels betrayed and as if there is no reason left to live. He sees his mother as weak and foolish for marrying his uncle Claudius only two months after his father 's death. Hamlet states: “Frailty thy name is woman!”(1.2.150). He knew how much his father loved his mother and is stunned at the fact she can marry someone so inferior. Hamlet states: “So excellent a king, that was to this/ Hyperion to a satyr”(1.2.143-144).
The leading force for Hamlet’s behavior to change is his mother marrying her dead husband’s brother two months later. In the play Hamlet states “O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason/ Would have mourned longer-married with my uncle,/ My father’s brother, but no more like my father” ( I.ii.150-152). This explains that Hamlet is frustrated because his mother moved on so fast and it seemed to him that she never really loved King Hamlet. Hamlet also claims that “Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,/That can denote me truly” ( I.ii.82-83 ). Hamlet is trying to tell his mother Queen Gertrude how he feels after the
To begin, the plot of Hamlet is clearly decepted from the beginning. No wife remarrys after the “death” of her husband and feels no mourning at all. From the beginning, there is a suspense as to why this text is messed up, and I think that is one reason as to why I connected with this text. My favorite quote in this text is said by Hamlet himself to His mother in Act 1, Scene 2, “Not even an animal or beast, who has no reasoning skills, would have abandoned the mourning so quickly.” I like this quote the best, because Hamlet is saying how there is no humanly way possible that his mother could have moved on to loving another man as quickly as she did, if she ever loved the first in the first place.
William Shakespeare is said to be one of the greatest playwrights and English poets of all time, because his plays are still relevant in the twenty first century, and because his works have left a mark on those that have read them. He was active during the Renaissance period and he has written a multitude of plays and poems that are still studied today. His numerous works have influenced the way literature has been written, and read as time has passed and one of his most famous works is Hamlet. This play is well known because of its revenge plot and family relationships. These ideas and themes show up a lot in Shakespeare’s works (like in Macbeth, or both parts of the Henry IV plays) but the way familial relationships are portrayed and how