How do you see the presentation of queen gertrude?

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How do you see the presentation of Queen Gertrude in the play?

Throughout Hamlet Gertrude can be perceived by the audience in a number of ways with at times it being possible to accept her remarriage to Claudius when at others she appears to be an incestuous traitor.

One argument suggests that the queens lawful remarriage to the new king Claudius. One reason for this could be the fact that for modern audiences examining the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius it appears to be lawful in comparison to laws of today. However in Shakespeare's day the Church of England included marrying a husband’s brother as incestuous. Another reason found not to condemn Gertrude is the simple fact that she is the queen of Denmark and that her actions should be respected as she is head of state. This backed up by the fact that it seems to appear at certain moments that she is not culpable and that Claudius is the one wholly responsible and has “Taken to wife”. Shakespeare never really communicates Gertrude’s true feelings regarding the marriage so it is easy to feel sympathetic towards her.  Despite this it is easy to criticise Gertrude for the short timescale taken to marry Claudius with it being completed with “most wicked speed”. As a result of this she is condemned by Hamlet with him describing her as no better than the pts of society

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   “A beast that wants discourses of reason would have mourned longer”

This shows how passionately Hamlet cares about the death of his father and the events preceding it as this treatment of his mother is something that is a shock to the modern day audience. Gertrude is also condemned by the ghost of Hamlet who uses sarcasm to express his distaste “my seeming virtuous queen” this disapproval is a natural reaction and one that adds to the audiences opinion that she should be condemned. The views of hamlet and the ghost are biased and so therefore cannot be used ...

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