Hamlet Character Analysis

The final way that Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet occurs once again when Claudius and Laertes are discussing Laertes’ actions to achieve his vengeance. Claudius gives Laertes advice saying, “That we would do/ we should do when we would; for this ‘would’/ changes” (4.7.134-136). Claudius is warning Laertes that if he waits long enough, he will probably end up not doing anything at all and will not achieve his goal of vengeance. This quote spoken by Claudius is quite similar to when King Hamlet’s ghost meets with Hamlet earlier in the play to warn him about how he was killed by Claudius and that he must get revenge. King Hamlet’s ghost also warns Hamlet saying, “Taint not thy mind” (1.5.92), telling him to not over think his plan because otherwise he will not pursue his vengeance. After Claudius warns Laertes to not get side tracked, the audience is reminded of King Hamlet’s ghost telling Hamlet to not over think because then their plans will not be pursued. This scene acts as a foil towards Hamlet because soon after the conversation, Laertes does pursue his plan of seeking vengeance, whereas Hamlet has been working on his plan the whole play, and has still not started to execute it.

In the conclusion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the audience gains an understanding of the importance of Justice to each character. In the final act both Hamlet and Laertes seek to find justice for the wrongs committed against them and their families. This leaves both men trying to identify how to right these misdeeds

The queen obviously considers her son’s dejection to result from his father’s demise. Angela Pitt considers Gertrude “a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman. . . .” (47). She joins in with the king in requesting Hamlet’s stay in Elsinore rather than returning to Wittenberg to study. Respectfully the son replies, “I shall in all my best obey you, madam.” So at the outset the audience notes a decidedly good relationship between Gertrude and those about her in the drama, even though Hamlet’s “suit of mourning has been a visible and public protest against the royal marriage, a protest in which he is completely alone, and in which he has hurt his mother” (Burton “Hamlet”). Hamlet’s first soliloquy expresses his anger at the quickness of his mother’s marriage to Claudius, an “o’erhasty marriage” (Gordon 128), and its incestuousness since it is between family: “Frailty, thy name is woman! . . . .” Rebecca Smith interprets his anti-motherly feelings: “Hamlet’s violent emotions toward his mother are obvious from his first soliloquy, in which 23 of the 31 lines express his anger and disgust at what he perceives to be Gertrude’s weakness, insensitivity, and, most important, bestiality” (80).

Shakespeare applies characterization of Queen Gertrude to display Hamlet's feeling of betrayal and anger towards her. Hamlet adored his father and was dissatisfied that his mother appeared as if she was not in the similar depressive state that Hamlet was in. Hamlet began to feel the betrayal because two months after her husband’s death, her and Claudius decide to get married. Hamlet believed his mother

Angela Pitt considers Gertrude “a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman. . . .” (47). She joins in with the king in requesting Hamlet’s stay in Elsinore rather than returning to Wittenberg to study. Respectfully the son replies, “I shall in all my best obey you, madam.” So at the outset the audience notes a decidedly good relationship between Gertrude and those about her in the drama, even though Hamlet’s “suit of mourning has been a visible and public protest against the royal marriage, a protest in which he is completely alone, and in which he has hurt his mother” (Burton “Hamlet”). Hamlet’s first soliloquy expresses his anger at the quickness of his mother’s marriage to Claudius, an “o’erhasty marriage” (Gordon 128), and its incestuousness since it is between family: “Frailty, thy name is woman! . . . .” Rebecca Smith interprets his anti-motherly feelings: “Hamlet’s violent emotions toward his mother are obvious from his first soliloquy, in which 23 of the 31 lines express his anger and disgust at what he perceives to be Gertrude’s weakness, insensitivity, and, most important, bestiality. . . .(80).

Naturally, the initial reaction of Gertrude was extremely melodramatic, which is portrayed as her being weak and emotional. Hamlet automatically replies to Gertrude’s emotional outburst by accusing her of the “bloody deed” of assisting Claudius with killing the king, who also happens to be Hamlet’s father and Gertrude’s former husband. By saying “almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother,” Hamlet points out that she acts as if she is such a wonderful mother, while in fact she is a murderer. This shows the categorization of Gertrude that occurs, the assumption that she could only be either a “Mary” or an

Will Hamlet accept the new changes in his life? What is he capable of to be happy? After his father’s death, Hamlet will have to face the new changes in his hometown, Denmark. Shakespeare develops Hamlet’s character in relation to other characters in these soliloquies.

In her first lines she says, “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,/And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark./...Thou know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die,/ Passing through nature to eternity.” (Shakespeare, I.ii.70-75) Here Gertrude is concerned for Hamlet’s emotional state and tries to comfort him and bring him out of his two month mourning. Gertrude even asks that Hamlet stay with her in Denmark and not return to Wittenberg. “Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet./ I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.” (Shakespeare, I.ii.121-122) While some might speculate that her reasoning is to conspire with Claudius, her true nature is to have Hamlet close to her so she can comfort him during this hard time (Unknown, unknown). One could even argue “Instead of marrying Claudius because of her lack of self-control, I would argue that Gertrude is in fact protecting her son by marrying the man who killed her husband, the King of Denmark.” (Graf, 2013) Gertrude once again shows her concern for Hamlet’s sadness by hoping Ophelia could return him to his wonted way again. She even goes as far as to invite his old friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to the castle. This acts shows the reader that Gertrude is trying to cheer Hamlet up and solace him. At the play we see Gertrude reachout once again to Hamlet, asking that he sit beside her, to which he rejects. In the closet scene she acknowledges her

“Hamlet’s denunciation of his mother’s weakness is projected onto the whole gender. Thus, Ophelia is victimized as a consequence. Gertrude becomes the source for breeding Hamlet’s grudge against women as well as instigating his subsequent ‘lunacy’ and rash behavior” (Hussein Al-Ali). Hamlet hurts Ophelia with a harsh invective, as he orders her to a nunnery and claims that he no longer loves her. However, following Hamlet’s irate remarks, Hamlet speaks with Ophelia, making sexual innuendos. Gertrude’s licentious actions drive Hamlet to madness, making him confused regarding his own romantic affairs. Since Gertrude toys with Hamlet’s emotions by marrying his uncle only two months after his father’s death, Hamlet feels that he has no other method to release his anger than to toy with Ophelia’s emotions. Gertrude’s actions have a snowball effect, as her relationship with Claudius lead to Hamlet’s complications within his relationship with Ophelia, which leads Ophelia to question the value of her life. Therefore, Gertrude’s behavior employs the theme of insanity among Ophelia and

Furthermore, her harmful deceit ultimately contributes to the demise of characters like Ophelia: who was also once doted upon by Hamlet. As Amanda Mabillard, writer for Shakespeare Online, states “[Gertrude] lies to herself about the consequences of her actions, and she lies to those around her. But she lies to protect. Her [lies] are not cruel and wicked falsehoods…”. Gertrude was not a part of the murder of Hamlet’s father. However, her reaction fractures the remaining sense of normalcy that was left after his father’s untimely death. Gertrude’s lies are the breaking point for Hamlet. She feigns happiness and ignorance in search of bliss, only to completely unravel her own son and his view of women. Both of his role models have essentially died. His father was physically murdered. The mother he once knew as virtuous and kind, he now views as weak and untrustworthy. With her quick marriage, Hamlet becomes entirely isolated. As she is now married to Claudius, Hamlet feels as though his mother has left him to grieve on his own. In Hamlet’s mind, no man can ever live up to his father, and every woman is just like his mother.

      We first realize in Act I, Scene 2 that poor judgment is her major character flaw. As the mother of a grieving son, Gertrude should have been more sensitive to Hamlet's feelings. Instead, less than two months after King Hamlet's death, Gertrude remarries Claudius, her dead husband's own brother. Gertrude should have realized how humiliated Hamlet would feel as a

Prince Hamlet is a man who enjoys contemplating difficult philosophical questions. When his father the king of Denmark, was killed by his uncle. when Hamlet returns he sees his ghost after he returns home to find evidence of his father’s death. The Ghost of Hamlet tells Prince Hamlet that his uncle Claudius his uncle was the one who killed his father with poison of the ear. Throughout the rest of the story with him, Hamlet seeks to prove his uncle Claudius and guilt him into telling before he takes action against him. But, Hamlet is pensive ad extremum, at times even brooding; he constantly overuses his intellect while ignoring his emotions and ignoring what he thinks "feels right." His sense of logic causes him to delay his revenge against Claudius until the end of hamlet story where he kills Claudius and proves that he has progressed into a truly mad character.

From the beginning Hamlet felt a betrayal and disgust towards his mom and uncle. The wedding who was never meant to happen, was plotted by Claudius himself. Hamlet reproaches to his mother, Gertrude of marrying Claudius of only being months later from his father's death. By this

He also thinks it is appalling that she would marry Claudius and stay with him after he had killed the king. Gertrude is torn between being loyal to her husband and to Hamlet. She wants to please both of them even though neither of them can stand one another. Gertrude being a woman in this time period really doesn’t have much of a say-so which makes her easily influenced by the men in her life. When Gertrude and Hamlet’s relationship becomes rocky she does not understand what she had done to make him so upset. When Hamlet finally gains the courage to confront her after the play she states, “O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn'st my very eyes into my soul, And there I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct...O speak to me no more; these words like daggars enter my ears; No more, sweet Hamlet!” She truly believed that she did nothing wrong and when Hamlet began to point out all of the shallow things she had done to him and her former husband she couldn’t handle it. Even though Hamlet acts out so harshly towards his mother she still protects and defends him because of her love and devotion towards

Hamlet is obscure and surprising, and, therefore, confounding because he subverts others’ expectations and never reacts with a predictable response to his own emotions or the expectations of other characters. In addition, it is worth noting that it is not only Hamlet’s curious speech that alienates others. Hamlet’s obsessive pessimism also begins to affect all of his relationships and becomes a large part of who he is as a character. In an otherwise superficial conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet insists that the world has become a prison with “Denmark being one o’ th’ worst” (2.2.265), and he presses the men to explain why they would want to visit him in the place that torments him. Hamlet’s relationship with his mother is also troubling. While he is justified in questioning her decision to marry Claudius before her husband’s corpse has even cooled, Hamlet is sarcastic and demeaning towards her, provoking her to ask “What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue/In noise so rude against me?” (3.4.47-48) These brief and often sarcastic interactions with other characters help define Hamlet as a pessimistic character and cause the reader to anticipate that his perceptions of events will be, almost always, clouded with this characteristic darkness of