GERTRUDE — Character Analysis (Traits, Key Scenes and Quotes)

Overview

Queen of Denmark, mother to Prince Hamlet and widow of the late King Hamlet. Gertrude marries Claudius soon after the old king’s death, seeks calm at Elsinore and asks Hamlet to set aside grief. She supports court order in public, then meets Hamlet in the closet scene, where he confronts her with painful truth. Later she reports Ophelia’s fate, attends the duel and drinks from the poisoned chalice, dying as the plot she stands within is exposed.

Core Traits and Motives

  • Conciliatory and courtly – prioritises peace at court and family harmony.

  • Maternal – concerned for Hamlet’s welfare and social standing.

  • Adaptive – aligns with the ruling king to steady the realm.

  • Impressionable – responsive to strong speech, especially in the closet scene.

  • Private feeling beneath public form – shows warmth and sorrow under ceremony.

Arc in Five Beats (With Outcomes)

After the Old King (1.2)
Appears with Claudius, urges Hamlet to remain at Elsinore and to moderate mourning.

Between Crown and Son (2.2–3.1)
Hears reports of Hamlet’s change, agrees to staged meetings and asks for honest diagnosis.

The Closet Scene (3.4)
Confronted by Hamlet’s plain speaking and the show of two portraits, she is shaken and resolves to avoid Claudius’s bed as urged.

The Court in Crisis (4.5–4.7)
Receives Laertes, tries to calm the uprising and brings news of Ophelia’s drowning; remains close to the king as plans proceed.

The Fatal Cup (5.2)
At the duel she drinks from the poisoned chalice prepared for Hamlet, realises the treachery and dies naming the drink’s cause.

Key Scenes to Study

  • 1.2 – New court, new marriage: public appeal to Hamlet, balance of ceremony and family.

  • 3.4 – The closet scene: confrontation, conscience and the shift in her private resolve.

  • 4.7 – News of Ophelia: the queen as witness and reporter within a shaken court.

  • 5.2 – The duel: presence at public spectacle, poisoned cup, revelation and death.

Essential Quotes (With One-Line Gloss)

  • “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off.” – a mother’s plea to temper mourning for public life (1.2).

  • “Do not for ever with thy vailed lids / Seek for thy noble father in the dust.” – courtly counsel to move from grief to duty (1.2).

  • “O Hamlet, speak no more.” – overwhelmed by the closet scene’s moral mirror (3.4).

  • “These words like daggers enter in mine ears.” – recognition of hurtful truth and shocked self-scrutiny (3.4).

  • “There is a willow grows aslant a brook…” – lyrical report of Ophelia’s end, mingling pity with distance (4.7).

  • “The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.” – public grace that leads to the fatal drink (5.2).

  • “The drink, the drink – I am poison’d.” – immediate revelation that exposes Claudius’s device (5.2).

Performance and Essay Angles

  • Marriage and legitimacy – what her swift remarriage signals in a court that needs continuity.

  • Mother and monarch – tension between private care for Hamlet and public protocol.

  • Sight and persuasion – how the closet scene reframes her view through portraits and plain speech.

  • Agency and acquiescence – where Gertrude chooses and where she is carried by court current.

  • Language and tone – from formal endearments to the intimacy of the closet and the poetry of 4.7.

Study Prompts

  • How does Gertrude speak differently in court scenes and in 3.4 – what changes in address and honesty.

  • Track her responses to others’ narratives – Claudius’s policy, Polonius’s plans, Hamlet’s accusations.

  • In what ways does Gertrude act as bridge between public show and private truth.

  • Compare her position and choices with Ophelia’s – both women within a surveilled court.

Short FAQs

Why Does Gertrude Marry Claudius?
To stabilise the throne, preserve court order and maintain the royal household after the old king’s death.

Does Gertrude Know About the Murder?
The text gives no clear proof before 3.4; she appears shocked by Hamlet’s charge and shows new resolve thereafter.

What Changes in the Closet Scene?
Confronted with evidence and reproof, she acknowledges fault, promises amendment and agrees to conceal Hamlet’s purpose.

Why Does Gertrude Drink the Cup?
She toasts Hamlet in public grace, unaware of the poison, which exposes Claudius’s plot when she declares the cause.

Further Reading on Site

  • Key scenes – 1.2, 3.4, 4.7, 5.2 with line-by-line modern English.

  • Related characters – Hamlet (son and challenger), Claudius (marriage and policy), Ophelia (court pressures on women).

For Students and Teachers

Designed for GCSE, A Level, IB, AP (US) and Canadian provincial curricula. Use the line-by-line modern English beside the original for close reading, rehearsal choices and essay planning.