Gertrude As Innocent Or Guilty Of Various Crimes - 870 Words

In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet, the audience can view Gertrude as innocent or guilty of various crimes. However, Shakespeare uses Gertrude’s ignorance, symbols, and her actions to portray her as innocent. Gertrude condones spying on Hamlet and marries her husband’s murderer, but she has no idea that Claudius killed King Hamlet and agrees that they must watch Hamlet closely because she is worried about him. Shakespeare depicts Gertrude as innocent through her own ignorance of the circumstances surrounding King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet decides that the best way to catch his father’s murderer is to â€Å"have these players play something like the murder of my father,† and gets his answer in Claudius’ anger (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Penguin Books, 2001. II, ii, 533-534). However, Gertrude shows no signs of guilt. She clearly does not understand that the play relates to her life, as seen in her statement that â€Å"the lady doth protest too much† (III, ii, 226). Therefore, Gertrude’s lack of response shows her innocence. In addition, Gertrude shows that she is oblivious to the crime in that she asks â€Å"as kill a king?† when Hamlet tells her that his father was murdered (III, iv, 30). Through statements such as â€Å"to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stewed in corruption, honeying and making love over the nasty sty,â₠¬  Hamlet makes her feel guilty, but that guilt is over her hasty marriage (III, iv, 91-94). Throughout the play, Gertrude suggests that Hamlet isShow MoreRelatedThe Blind Curtain And Hamlet s Guilt922 Words   |  4 Pagesof Claudius and Gertrude. As well as the two main characters of Hamlet exhibiting guilt, most of the supporting cast commit various crimes. Ophelia, notably, is seen as the most sympathetic and victimized character in a Renaissance era. The worst sin one could commit in the culture of early 17th century England, is suicide. 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