Abstract

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most incredible plays in the world and there are a lot of literary reviews and analysis about it. As for the characters in the play, Gertrude is the most heated discussed one next to Hamlet. The cause of her being controversial is her remarriage; after all, marrying her brother-in-law within two months of the death of her husband is really unacceptable to most readers. Therefore, in the eyes of these readers, she is selfish, fragile, ruthless and even overwhelmed by lust. However, some scholars hold the view that though it seems she is weak and ignorant, in fact she is brave, wise and responsible. I agree on the positive view, and believe that Gertrude considers the situation beyond her own interests when she is facing the choice of her remarriage. As a queen, she has to take the national order and peace into account, to maintain the social stability; as a mother, she is concerned about Hamlet’s safety and prospect; as a wife, her remarriage can’t be evidence to show she doesn’t love King Hamlet at all but is an expedient measure. All in all, she is a sensible queen, mother and wife.

Keyword: Gertrude; queen; mother; wife

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

I. Introduction-1

1.1 Brief introduction to Hamlet-1

1.2 Literary reviews on Gertrude in Hamlet-2

1.3 significance of the study-4

II. Gertrude as a queen-5

III. Gertrude as a mother-6

IV. Gertrude as a wife-9

4.1 wife of King Hamlet-9

4.2 wife of Claudius-11

V. Conclusion-12

References-13