Student Question
Who says the quote from Hamlet, Act 5, "No, no, the drink, the drink—O my dear Hamlet— / The drink, the drink! I am poisoned," and to whom? What does it reveal?
From Hamlet, act 5: “No, no, the drink, the drink—O my dear Hamlet— / The drink, the drink! I am poisoned."
Quick answer:
Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, calls out this line to Hamlet in act 5, scene 2 when she's overcome by the poison that Claudius has put in a drink intended for Hamlet. Gertrude's death is the first in the series of deaths in act 5, scene 2 that draws the play to a close.
In act 5, scene 2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet is involved in a fencing match with Laertes. Laertes wounds Hamlet with his "unbated" (point exposed) and "envenom'd" (poisoned) fencing sword, and Hamlet takes the sword from Laertes and wounds Laertes with it.
Prior to this, Claudius put poison in the shape of a pearl in a drink (probably wine) intended for Hamlet, and offered it to him, but Hamlet refused it at the time.
KING. Stay, give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine;
Here's to thy health.HAMLET. I'll play this bout first; set it by awhile. (5.2. 283–286)
For some reason, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, decides to drink from the cup.
QUEEN. (taking the cup) The Queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.
HAMLET. Good madam!
KING. Gertrude, do not drink.
QUEEN. I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me.
KING. (an aside) It is the...
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poison'd cup; it is too late. (5.2.292–296)
After Laertes and Hamlet wound each other, Gertrude feels the effects of the poisoned wine and falls to the floor. The quote in question is spoken by Gertrude to Hamlet.
HAMLET. How does the Queen?
KING. (trying to cover up her poisoning) She swoons to see them bleed.
QUEEN. No, no! the drink, the drink!—O my dear Hamlet!—
The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.(She dies) (5.2.315–318).
Laertes confesses to his treachery, and blames Claudius for everything that's happened.
LAERTES. ... The foul practice
Hath turn'd itself on me. Lo, here I lie,
Never to rise again. Thy mother's poison'd.
I can no more. The King, the King's to blame. (5.2.325–328)
Laertes dies, Hamlet kills Claudius with the poisoned sword and poisoned wine, and Hamlet succumbs to the poison in his wound and dies.
HAMLET. O, I die, Horatio!
The potent poison quite o'er-crows my spirit.
... The rest is silence.(He dies) (5.2.364–370)
However, the question remains: Why did Gertrude drink the poisoned wine?
Some Shakespeare scholars contend that Gertrude's death was an accident, but others argue that Gertrude knew quite well that the wine was poisoned, and that she drank it on purpose, either to save Hamlet's life, or simply to take her own life for the remorse she felt for being complicit with Claudius in his evil deeds.
Gertrude cannot have been oblivious to the fact that Claudius was deeply suspicious and fearful of Hamlet, and that Claudius would likely try to kill Hamlet, even though there is no direct evidence in the play that Gertrude was aware of any plot against Hamlet's life. Or rather, there's no direct evidence of Gertrude's knowledge of Claudius's plots against Hamlet's life except in the First Quarto version of Hamlet.
In act 4, scene 6 of most versions of Hamlet, sailors give Horatio a letter from Hamlet in which Hamlet writes about being captured by pirates, but he makes no mention of Claudius's scheme to have him killed by the king of England on his arrival there. It's only later, in act 5, scene 2, that Hamlet tells Horatio about Claudius's scheme to have him killed in England.
There's a scene between Horatio and Gertrude that appears only in the First Quarto, and which occurs where act 4, scene 6 appears in most other versions of the play. This scene makes it clear that by the time Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine in act 5, scene 2, she is well aware that Claudius intends to kill Hamlet.
HORATIO. (to Gertrude) Madame, your son is safe arriv'd in Denmark,This letter I even now receiv'd of him,Whereas he writes how he escap't the danger,And subtle treason that the king had plotted,Being crossed by the contention of the winds,He found the Packet sent to the king of England,Wherein he saw himself betray'd to death.GERTRUDE. Then I perceive there's treason in his [Claudius's] looksThat seem'd to sugar o're his villainy:But I will soothe and please him for a time,For murderous mindes are always jealous... (Hamlet, First Quarto, 4.6.1–12)
Gertrude is also aware that Hamlet intends to kill Claudius.
HORATIO. ... Madame, and he hath appointed meTo meet him on the east side of the CityTomorrow morning.
GERTRUDE. O fail not, good Horatio, and withal, commend meA mothers care to him, bid him a whileBe wary of his presence, lest that heFail in that he goes about. (Hamlet, First Quarto, 4..6.15–21)
Gertrude is no doubt torn between he feelings for Claudius and for Hamlet, but she seems to be convinced that Hamlet is justified in killing Claudius to avenge his father's murder, and her sympathies are now with her son, not with her murderous husband.
With this in mind, the question remains as to whether Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine to protect Hamlet, out of remorse for her own misdeeds, or because she's unable to reconcile her loyalties and emotions towards Hamlet and Claudius.