I mentioned in class today that I personally do not feel that there was an improper relationship between Gertrude and Claudius prior to the death of King Hamlet. I know that other teachers share varying opinions. What are your thoughts on this topic? What examples can you give from the text to back up your opinion? Do you think it is relevant to the plot either way? Do you think Shakespeare really cared what we made of that relationship?
Week of 9/10
5 years ago
2 comments:
If Gertrude was cheating on King Hamlet with Claudius, the king didn't know about it and had no suspicions of it, and I think it would be next to impossible for that to be true if there was really something going on. The ghost tells Hamlet not to implicate his mother in his revenge, and I think that the king would want his wife to get her just desserts if she was sleeping with his brother while he was still alive. I don't think it really matters either way, it just adds gossip to the discussion of the play, and I think that if it was crucial in any shape or form to the plot, then Shakespeare would have explicitly stated either way what was going on.
I agree with Erica. Even though in both the book and the movie Gertrude just seemed frivalous, not like she was trying to hide something. I just think that she was a little dim witted and that It doesn't really matter what was going on before.
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