At the moment, although
Gertrude Lines 68-73 Gertrude tells Hamlet that he should no longer wear black mourning clothes and that he should look happier. She tells him he should not keep his eye downward as if he were looking for his father in the dirt. She reminds him that all people must die.
She dies with cries of 'the drink! the drink! I am poisoned' (5.2. 264), and in so doing identifies Claudius as her killer.
One woe doth tread upon another's heel, So fast they follow: your sister's drown'd, Laertes.
Also, Gertrude reports Ophelia's death in one of the most lovely, poignant, poetic speeches in all of Shakespeare. She uses nature, water, and flower imagery to show how she is now free of the cruel human world.
So she has resolved that at the moment of informing Laertes of the sad event she must urge that it was purely accidental, while to lessen the bitterness of it she will assure him that the death was painless, Ophelia's mind having too far gone for her to feel 'her own distress.
She's affectionate, impulsive, and strong-willed. Although Gertrude has many good qualities, she's not conspicuously intelligent.
'To be, or not to be: that is the question'. Arguably the most famous quotation in the whole of Hamlet, this line begins one of Hamlet's darkest and most philosophical soliloquies.
“To thine own self be true.” “Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.” “Brevity is the soul of wit.” “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Laertes selects the poisoned and sharpened rapier, and the two go at it. When Claudius offers Hamlet the poisoned goblet of wine, Hamlet refuses, and Gertrude picks up the cup instead. Toasting Hamlet, she drinks the poison, ensuring her eventual death.
tragic flaw was no other than the innocent desire for reconcilement and her too human need to avoid conflict.
Hamlet decides to kill Claudius when the king is committing a sin so that Claudius will instead go to hell. After Hamlet leaves, Claudius rises, saying that he has been unable to pray. Act 3, scene 4 In Gertrude's room, Polonius hides behind a tapestry. Hamlet's entrance so alarms Gertrude that she cries out for help.
To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub. That makes calamity of so long life.
The last words Hamlet speaks are to his friend Horatio: "The rest is silence." These words were crucial to audiences at the time because they provided a sense of ease in death and the afterlife. Hearing that Hamlet could now rest in peace for avenging his father's death meant he was no longer suffering.
Gertrude claims Hamlet has insulted the memory of his father, but he counters that it is she who has wronged his father. Gertrude questions Hamlet's harsh words and wonders if he has forgotten who she is. He asserts that he knows her identity: his father's brother's spouse and—regrettably—his mother.
The "To be or not to be" soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most famous passages in English literature, and its opening line, "To be, or not to be, that is the question," is one of the most quoted lines in modern English.
1. “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” 2. “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
For variety, get a friend or relative to speak lines to you from a piece of paper, and repeat them. Try making an audio recording of yourself speaking the lines, and listen to yourself over. If you can't stand the sound of your own voice, try using free Text-to-Speech software like Balabolka, or listen to audiobooks.
Even though Hamlet lashes out at her with all the rage he can muster, Gertrude remains faithful to him, protecting him fron the King. And, although her love for Claudius is wrong by moral standards, she is now his queen, and remains loyal to him.
The Gertrude who does emerge clearly in Hamlet is a woman defined by her desire for station and affection, as well as by her tendency to use men to fulfill her instinct for self-preservation—which, of course, makes her extremely dependent upon the men in her life.
She may be sending Laertes a message with this gift. Fennel is said to have symbolized flattery and adultery. Columbines were for ingratitude, adultery, faithlessness, or deceived lovers. (The fennel and columbine may have been for Gertrude, she had been unfaithful.
It is likely that Hamlet really was in love with Ophelia. Readers know Hamlet wrote love letters to Ophelia because she shows them to Polonius. In addition, Hamlet tells Ophelia, “I did love you once” (3.1. 117).
Gertrude betrays Hamlet and the late King Hamlet by marrying Claudius. Hamlet, being still depressed about his father's death was further upset and felt betrayed by his mother when she quickly married Claudius. By marrying her former husband's brother, she also betrayed the late King Hamlet.