To Know or not to Know
Spying, lying, and madness are essential elements of Shakespeare’s drama. On one hand, deceptions in the play can be destructive; on the other hand, they can aim to progress and to showing kindness. Occasionally deception becomes the foundation of a play, as is the case with the Closet Scene, and, most particularly, Hamlet who arranged to deceive his own mother, Gertrude. While some critics believe that there is not enough factual evidence to make an assumption regarding Gertrude knowing about the murder of the former king, others believe that she is absolutely aware of her husband's murder.
In Act III, scene 4, Hamlet is recalling the murder of the King Hamlet. Gertrude and Polonius, chief counselor of the king, wait …show more content…
The play does not specifically tell the reader if Hamlet wants to keep his mother at his side in order to achieve justice, or he wants his mother to confirm Claudius’s crime to proof his guilt, or even he wants to know if his mother is part of the crime herself. While these thoughts are potential for further acts, Hamlet continuously forces his mother to repent and specifically avoid Claudius’s bed. Gertrude’s respond was indeed very normal rather than suspicious. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (III, ii, 211.2678). She tries to justify her re-marriage. She is absolutely aware of her quick marriage after king’s death and when she was forced to look at her private sexual acts, it is indeed hard for her to listen to her sins from her own …show more content…
Indeed, there are some facts that Claudius leave the play with guilt and marry Gertrude quickly to ensure former King’s position and to keep his power but these evidences are not strong enough to conclude that she was involved with this murder. She is certainly a very lustful woman and could have married Claudius just for her desire. In Act I, when she is talking about her wedding with Claudius, she seems worried about her son which makes it harder to believe that she had something to do with her husband’s murder. On the other hand, the ghost never warns Hamlet about Gertrude murdering her husband. Instead, he warns him about her betrayal and cheating on king Hamlet too soon after his death. The ghost also asks Hamlet to talk to Gertrude and to not cause distress to her. In other words, the ghost asks Hamlet to watch over Gertrude. So, one can say that Gertrude is innocent of knowledge regarding the murder of her husband. Her only sin is marrying too soon to her husband’s murderer.
At the end of the story, the signs of Gertrude innocence are more obvious; For instance, if she involved in murder, then she knew about Claudius’s wish to kill Hamlet, moreover, she would have aware of the poisonous drink and would not have taken it.
Spying, lying, and madness are essential elements of Shakespeare’s drama. On one hand, deceptions in the play can be destructive; on the other hand, they can aim to progress and to showing kindness. Occasionally deception becomes the foundation of a play, as is the case with the Closet Scene, and, most particularly, Hamlet who arranged to deceive his own mother, Gertrude. While some critics believe that there is not enough factual evidence to make an assumption regarding Gertrude knowing about the murder of the former king, others believe that she is absolutely aware of her husband's murder.
In Act III, scene 4, Hamlet is recalling the murder of the King Hamlet. Gertrude and Polonius, chief counselor of the king, wait …show more content…
The play does not specifically tell the reader if Hamlet wants to keep his mother at his side in order to achieve justice, or he wants his mother to confirm Claudius’s crime to proof his guilt, or even he wants to know if his mother is part of the crime herself. While these thoughts are potential for further acts, Hamlet continuously forces his mother to repent and specifically avoid Claudius’s bed. Gertrude’s respond was indeed very normal rather than suspicious. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (III, ii, 211.2678). She tries to justify her re-marriage. She is absolutely aware of her quick marriage after king’s death and when she was forced to look at her private sexual acts, it is indeed hard for her to listen to her sins from her own …show more content…
Indeed, there are some facts that Claudius leave the play with guilt and marry Gertrude quickly to ensure former King’s position and to keep his power but these evidences are not strong enough to conclude that she was involved with this murder. She is certainly a very lustful woman and could have married Claudius just for her desire. In Act I, when she is talking about her wedding with Claudius, she seems worried about her son which makes it harder to believe that she had something to do with her husband’s murder. On the other hand, the ghost never warns Hamlet about Gertrude murdering her husband. Instead, he warns him about her betrayal and cheating on king Hamlet too soon after his death. The ghost also asks Hamlet to talk to Gertrude and to not cause distress to her. In other words, the ghost asks Hamlet to watch over Gertrude. So, one can say that Gertrude is innocent of knowledge regarding the murder of her husband. Her only sin is marrying too soon to her husband’s murderer.
At the end of the story, the signs of Gertrude innocence are more obvious; For instance, if she involved in murder, then she knew about Claudius’s wish to kill Hamlet, moreover, she would have aware of the poisonous drink and would not have taken it.