William Shakespeare s Hamlet - Hamlet And The Ghost Essay

Although written over 400 hundred years ago, Hamlet remains a puzzling and complex play, partially due to the ambiguous Queen Gertrude. The Queen is a puzzling character as her motives are unclear and readers question her intentions throughout the play. Townsend and Pace in The Many Faces Of Gertrude: Opening And Closing Possibilities In Classroom Talk view her â€Å"as a simple-minded, shallow woman...who has no self beyond a sexual one† while Harmonie Loberg in Queen Gertrude: Monarch, Mother, Murderer sees Gertrude as murderess who â€Å"is responsible for the death of Ophelia.† Although Gertrude seems innocent of the death of King Hamlet, Graf believes â€Å"Gertrude is considered to be guilty not by her own actions or words but by the words of two key characters, Hamlet and the Ghost;† these two characters suggest that the Queen is â€Å"sensuous and disloyal,† even if not openly aware of her first husband’s murder (Graf). These contrasting vie ws of Queen Gertrude reveal the many possible answers to readers who question whether Queen Gertrude’s words and actions are genuine or self-serving. Queen Gertrude, although a fairly minor character, is a primary example of dramatic irony in the play as she is evidently unaware of the murder of her first husband and her new husband’s plot to eliminate her son. Her seeming disloyalty in marrying Claudius less than two months after King Hamlet’s death, her seemingly willful naivete at those who conspire against Hamlet, and her apparent tendency toShow MoreRelatedThe Ghost Of William Shakespeare s Hamlet1030 Words   |  5 PagesIn William Shakespeare s Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet is a subtle character who has a major effect on Hamlet during the play. Although he appears very little, the ghost causes Hamlet to not think correctly, not act his normal self, and make people think he has gone insane. 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