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Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet

 

 

 

Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies

 

`Mother you have my father much offended'

 

`Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue'

 

Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad and harmful. After this scene she becomes aware that Hamlet isn't mad and starts trusting him as opposed to Claudius. This is exactly how Shakespeare has presented women throughout the play: they are easy to convince, very meek and become submissive to the men (as we can see Ophelia and her response to her father and brother). They are depicted as weak and inferior in comparison to the male figures, who control their lives. After the closet scene Gertrude keeps faith to her son and lies to her husband Claudius for Hamlet saying he killed Polonius in his madness:

 

`And in his brainish apprehension

 

Kills the unseen good old man'

 

Then when Hamlet returns back to Elsinore and is arguing with Laertes, Gertrude seems worried about the consequences and tries to protect Hamlet by telling them to leave him as he is saying all this in his madness:

 

`For love of God forbear him'

`This is mere madness'

 

During the fight Gertrude drinks to Hamlet and her success and shows her support for him:

 

`The Queen carouses to thy fortune'

 

In doing so she disobeys Claudius who orders her not to drink but she replies by saying:

 

`I will my lord, I pray you pardon me'

 

This shows that Hamlet means more to her that her husband. When the Queen dies after drinking from the poisoned cup Hamlet gets enraged and stabs the king but before he dies we learn that although Gertrude is on Hamlet's side in the end, he has still not forgiven her for her remarriage to Claudius but is grieved of her death.

 

`Wretched Queen, adieu'

 

Shakespeare makes the closet scene more dramatic by including the appearance of the ghost and the fact that Gertrude cannot see it. The ghost's appearance results in different reactions between Hamlet and Gertrude. The interesting part is that Gertrude cannot see the ghost in account of her being sinful and at this part she feels convinced that Hamlet is mad. Hamlet on the other hand gets confused at why she cannot hear or see the ghost. Shakespeare arouses interest in the audience by making the ghost appear at that particular point. The death of Polonius is also an attempt by Shakespeare to enhance the plot.