Hamlet Group

Question:

dut
dut

In "Hamlet," what is implied about Claudius and Gertrude's relationship BEFORE King Hamlet's dealth?

Quote the lines that support your view.

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Posted by dut on Monday October 27, 2008 at 8:52 PM and tagged with characters, claudius, gertrude, hamlet, plot.

Answers:


  1. adrigon Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Thrift, thrift, Horatio, the funeral baked meats/Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

    This is the first real clue that something was not okay in the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude (pseudo-incest aside). Their haste to be married is the thing most distasteful to Hamlet. It is implied in the beginning that had they bided their time a bit, Hamlet would have had less of a problem with it, since he feels the haste of their marriage is a direct insult to the memory of his father.

    Also, the entire play scene pretty much just accuses Gertrude of having an affair with Claudius.

    What should a man do
    but be merry? for, look you, how cheerfully my
    mother looks, and my father died within these two hours. (3.2)

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-iii-scene-2-summary-anal...
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/claudius-character-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/gertrude-character-analysis

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    Posted by adrigon on Tuesday October 28, 2008 at 1:48 AM