(left to right) Afia Obeng and Amanda Scott in Macbeth
While doing the responses for Hamlet, I couldn't help but notice some similarities between the plays Hamlet and Macbeth. In Act III.iv of Hamlet, Hamlet says to his mother "confess yourself to heaven" assuming that since Gertrude married Claudius that she must have some part in the murder of King Hamlet. But did she really know Claudius killed King Hamlet? I don't think she does, mainly because in this scene Gertrude is unable to see the ghost of her late husband, and this is where I connected Gertrude to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, as we know, is responsible for killing the King and later on she turns mad with the whole “blood on hands” scene; this happened because she was filled with guilt. Later on in this play, Banquo’s ghost comes to haunt Macbeth but Lady Macbeth is unable to see the ghost, and I think this is because she is not connected to his murder. Banquo’s murder is all Macbeth’s doing. So since Gertrude cannot see the ghost of her late husband, she has no part of his murder. This made me think, Gertrude did not actually commit a sin for she is simply unaware of what’s going on around her. Gertrude does not know that Claudius killed her husband and that is why she does not feel guilty and in a figurative sense, her hand is clean of blood. I do not think it is humanly possible for someone to be connected to a murder and not go a little insane, because even Lady Macbeth who we all thought was a "thug" went on a major guilt trip.Do you think Gertrude still played a part in King Hamlet's death?
Really great post Jess!! Honestly, I don't think that Gertrude knew about King Hamlets death... She actually seems like she doesn't know. However, she did get married right after he died.
ReplyDeleteGood post Jess! I agree I do not think Gertrude knew about King Hamlets death either. I think she got married because women of her time were expected to be married. Although I do agree she married pretty fast, at that time it was believed women "needed" a man.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this post Jess, I never thought about the connection between Lady Macbeth and Queen Gertrude. It's interesting how Lady Macbeth's guilt causes insanity while Queen Gertrude could not feel sympathy due to her ignorance of how her husband died. I honestly believe she did not play apart in King Hamlet's death, I think she married Claudius to maintain her role in society. Also, remember when the ghost of King Hamlet visited Hamlet, he revealed that Gertrude would receive her punishment from God, so maybe her punishment is not using context clues and realizing that King Hamlet was murdered. I believe if she knew about the murder, the ghost of King Hamlet would've told Hamlet to punish his mother.
ReplyDeleteYou know when we really started to get into the play, I believed very strongly that she had a part in her husbands death. Now that you have pointed it out, she honestly does not know. She is neither insane and the ghost would have told Hamlet that she had some part in it. His deceased father wants her spared. She's just a woman who found love in the comfort of her ex-husbands brother. I guess she coped by finding a new love.
ReplyDeleteI don't think she can be considered a part of King Hamlet's death. I think she just got dragged into the situation and her marriage to Claudius made her look suspicious. Especially since he had only died a month ago and Gertrude already remarried. The main difference between her and Lady Macbeth is Gertrude doesn't know what is truly going on while Lady Macbeth is causing issues. I feel like Gertrude is stuck between her son and husband and when she takes Claudius' side over Hamlet it makes her seem like she knows what is going on when she really has no idea.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection to Macbeth but I do not think that Queen Gertrude was apart of the murder of the late King Hamlet. From what I have read, I do not think she is capable of that. In Macbeth, the murder was the idea of Lady Macbeth. She was behind the plan and then she faced the guilt. Gertrude on the other hand is experiencing very little emotions regarding her husband's death which makes me think that she got over her husband's death for the sake of her kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alyssa. Lady Macbeth even from the beginning was portrayed as a person strong enough to commit a murder and Gertrude was not portrayed as that strong. And maybe if she was involved she would have seen Late Hamlet's ghost... If she would have been involved she might be more secretive towards Hamlet when he brings it up to her rather than just being like "what are you talking about? stop."
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