And what do you make of Gertrude? Does she truly repent--does Hamlet change her mind about Claudius?
Feel free to answer any part of these questions--you need not answer all of them.
"hold it up to the light / like a color slide" |
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Pick one film (or, if you deal with more than one, make that clear). In the chamber scene (between Hamlet and his mother), what interpretation are we meant to have of the ghost? Does this scene support the reading that Hamlet himself has an Oedipal complex / is attracted to his mother, or something else? Is he merely grieving for / protecting his father? Or does he hate Gertrude?
And what do you make of Gertrude? Does she truly repent--does Hamlet change her mind about Claudius? Feel free to answer any part of these questions--you need not answer all of them.
27 Comments
Brenda Sanchez
9/21/2014 11:40:00 pm
In the 1990 version of Hamlet, Gertrude reflects a selfish character. I don't think she is in anyway resentful but rather concerned with her own status. Although she seems to fear Hamlet's confrontation, I believe she was just looking for pity. Her kiss to Hamlet was an act of desperation, and a sign that she was almost willing to do anything to save herself. This is also proof that she might have done the same to Claudius. I don't think Hamlet changed Gertrude's mind about Claudius because she was probably already aware of his actions. I find Gertrude to be a smart character that knows how to talk to others so that in the end she is always benefiting.
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Emma Varela
9/21/2014 11:56:45 pm
I completely agree with your interpretation of this scene. I think that Gertrude's character is looking for pity throughout the entire play. She won Claudius by seeking his pity after the loss of her husband. She convinced Hamlet to not return to school based on pity. There is not much to Gertrude's character as a whole, she really relies on her ability to manipulate people to make things work in her favor. This element of her makes her reflect as a selfish character.
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Destiny Ohabughiro
9/22/2014 02:37:15 am
I think that that is a very interesting take on Gertrude and her motives. To me, I felt that her kissing Hamlet was based upon her tendency to be controlled by men, and her kissing him was trying to please him, instead of thinking about herself. (or maybe it's like a reverse oedipal complex or something...)
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Ismael Flores
9/25/2014 06:37:32 pm
To be perfectly blunt, I feel as though the director incorporated the kiss into this /modern/ interpretation of the scene as something that not only "Shakespeare Junkies" could connect to the Oedipal Complex but would be recognizable by the audience as an "if I kiss you, you'll shut up" gesture that I believe began to frequent visual media. In that regard, I agree with your reading of the scene for the most part, and that to benefit herself, Gertrude had to abruptly calm Hamlet down, the most effective way being in the moment of the situation. I believe that the director may have wanted convey Gertrude in this way, but it is of course difficult to determine without having seen other Gertrude scenes from this adaptation.
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ken adams
5/10/2019 05:38:11 pm
dope- u rock!
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Cole
9/21/2014 11:50:21 pm
In Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of Hamlet, Mel Gibson's portrayal of the titular prince is quite Oedipal in that he seems to have some sort of repressed sexual urges towards her. Furthermore, when Gertrude kisses him, Hamlet seems to enjoy this, and they end up in a pseudo-sexual position until the ghost glides in. When this occurs, Hamlet and Gertrude both look up with the faces of teenagers caught in the act by parents.
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Luis Cruz
9/21/2014 11:53:22 pm
In Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet, the film evidently presents lustful affection between Hamlet and Gertrude. This interpretation of Hamlet focuses on Hamlet's oedipal complex. In the film we see many actions, like the kiss, that clearly states that Hamlet is sexually attracted to his mother and vice versa. Furthermore, Hamlet's immediate guilt after seeing his father's ghost also tells us that Hamlet was aware of what he was doing.
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Oscar
9/22/2014 12:02:00 am
However one important question to be made about this scene is why did Gertrude kiss her son.I believe the answer can be found in Gertrude's personality and her reaction to danger and abuse. Gertrude, as seen throughout the play, reacts with sexual affection to any source of danger. This can also be the answer to why she married Claudius.
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Jason Ramirez
9/22/2014 05:54:19 am
I agree with the notion of Hamlet's acknowledgment towards his own actions, but they might just be a cover up for something else. If Hamlet really is insane, then perhaps his father's appearance is just his subconscious. Hamlet loved his father and would probably use him as a role model because of how much he idolized him. Hamlet uses his father to symbolize his subconscious in order to reflect upon the choices he makes.
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Oscar Ortuno
9/24/2014 01:17:16 pm
I do agree that Hamlet does has affection for Gertrude, but not as the matter as we expected in the Franco Zeffirelli's film. As for the kiss Grutrude, uses the kiss to somewhat calm or quiet someone just like Hamlet. There is no way that Grutrude is sexually attracted to Hamlet in any way. The way we see the ghost in the movie is really odd. In a way that we can not clearly see the ghost in the film and hide in the shadows.
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Michael Jiang
9/21/2014 11:54:27 pm
In the Mel Gibson rendition, the ghost is portrayed as a calculating character. The ghost does anything to achieve his goal, for Hamlet to kill Claudius. His instruction before the chamber scene to kill Claudius drives Hamlet borderline psychotic as seen in his merciless, cold-hearted, remorseless killing of Polonius in Gertrude's chambers, claiming that it Polonius had it coming by constantly spying and meddling in Hamlet's affairs. He furthermore tries to achieve his goals by convincing Hamlet that he is indeed the spirit of his father by stopping Hamlet from attacking and harassing his mother further and instructing Hamlet to carry out vengeance against Claudius, reaffirming Hamlet's belief that the ghost is indeed the spirit of his father and re-instructing Hamlet to kill Claudius. This scene supports Hamlet's Oedipal complex as seen when Hamlet (consciously or unconsciously) performs thrusting motions to his mother when assualting her. Although these actions may be unconsciously done, Freud argues that this Oedipal complex is surpressed in the unconscious so it is possible Hamlet has feelings for his mother.
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9/22/2014 03:22:51 am
I feel it is necessary to mention the drive behind Gertrude's actions as well. For it is not only Hamlet's unconscious desires that drives his and her actions, but Gertrude's ulterior motives as well. We have to question whether she is sided with Claudius or with Hamlet. Or if she is even sided with anyone at all. The case could very well be she is nothing but a woman fighting for her own survival in a medieval world of me fighting to grab power. We must not only consider Hamlet's mind , but that of Gertrude as well.
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Mary Ellen
9/22/2014 12:00:04 am
In the 1990 version of Hamlet, Gertrude's character is actually given depth. As soon as Hamlet starts getting aggressive, her impulse is to kiss him to calm him down. This tells us a lot in terms of Gertrude's possible motives for marrying Claudius. Claudius has already demonstrated that he would definitely hurt a fly, and anything that would get in his way. So it's not a far jump to say that Claudius could have been aggressive towards Gertrude and her response would be to calm him down, and next thing you know she's getting married. I don't entirely agree with the directive choice for the kiss, but I appreciate the effort to give the audience insight into Gertrude's character and her choices.
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Elissa Lindquist-Sher
9/22/2014 03:21:05 am
I agree with Mary Ellen that in this version her character is actually given something more than a mere few lines as well as why she may have married Claudius. By including her impulse with Hamlet, the audience realizes her form of dealing with complicated situations and can apply it to her decision to marry Claudius. This version also showed her as expressing more emotion and repent than those of the other two interpretations. She is made more human within Zeffirelli's film because she reacts more than through a mere few words, as she is portrayed in the others. For instance in the 1948 version she only screams and does little in response in comparison to the others.
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Vicente Kaufhold
9/23/2014 11:08:58 pm
I really like your idea of Claudius being as aggressive as Hamlet and I'd like to add that the similarity in their very rash nature may be a cause of the feud between them. Originally Hamlet has no reason to believe Claudius was the killer but wanted to believe it because Claudius was the only one he truly hated. This similarity very well could have been the cause of the play's whole feud.
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Lauren White
9/22/2014 03:02:44 am
In the 1996 version of the play, Gertrude's character displays a sense of indifference towards Hamlet. She wants attention from Hamlet, and is somewhat remorseful for her actions, but not to an appropriate extent given the abnormal circumstances. Clearly Claudius is her main focus and source of liveliness and purpose. I don't think Gertrude is completely repentant. She looks for a way to get out of the uncomfortable situation that Hamlet presents. By kissing Hamlet, Gertrude demonstrates what her reaction to conflict, which possibly provides insight on her relationship with Claudius.
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Anna Blankenship
9/22/2014 07:40:41 am
I definitely agree that Gertrude is very apathetic towards Hamlet, despite the fact that he is her son. Gertrude seems to feel no remorse for the way she has acted towards Hamlet and her attitude towards the death of her late husband. Another way to interpret the kissing scene between Gertrude and Hamlet is to see it as a means for Gertrude to remember her late husband. Perhaps Gertrude kisses Hamlet because she wants to feel the love of Hamlet Senior one more time. Maybe Gertrude has been repressing these feelings she has had for her late husband, and now finally that she is with Hamlet Junior, she sees him as his father and wants to embrace him because of this.
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Alex Friedman
9/22/2014 03:10:25 am
In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, I think Hamlet feels a lot of hatred for his mother. He sees her as someone who betrayed his father and perhaps tries to break her from his vision of who his family is. With Claudius, the more related Hamlet is to him, the less he feels connected to him. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet establishes that when he says that while Claudius is both his father and uncle, he is "a little more than kin and less than kind." Mel Gibson's Hamlet hates his mother so much he has written her out of his family. She is now someone who was close to him who betrayed him. How can Hamlet make this awful woman feel worse than death? Raping her? I certainly hope not, but his madness makes Hamlet do awful things easily.
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Jack Scott
9/22/2014 04:33:10 am
I agree a lot with what you're saying Alex. The late King Hamlet tells his son to leave Gertrude alone and not to touch her. However, Hamlet does not listen to his father's words concerning Gertrude which is very unusual. Up to this point Hamlet has listened to everything his father has told him and even agrees to avenge his father's death by murder, a very radical action. So it takes a large amount of anger and rage from Hamlet to disobey his Father and abuse his mother in the fashion he does.
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Jack Scott
9/22/2014 04:14:01 am
The chamber scene in Mel Gibson’s Hamlet is very memorable. It begins with Gertrude pushing Polonius behind a curtain as Hamlet walks into the chamber twirling his sword. With a sword in his hand, a look of discontent on his face, and sharing several backhanded comments, it is clear to the watcher that Hamlet is outraged with his mother. After one particular comment towards her, Hamlet receives a slap to the face from Gertrude that enrages Hamlet further. Hamlet begins to threaten his mother and eventually goes on to slay the screaming Polonius behind the curtain in which he was hiding behind. Hamlet returns his attention to his mother and jumps onto her bed. Hamlet becomes physically violent with her and seemingly goes on to rape his mother and kiss her right before the ghost of the late King Hamlet walks into the chamber.
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Weston Hill
9/22/2014 05:46:31 am
In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, there is a strong argument that Hamlet has an Oedipal complex. When he stabs Polonius through the screen, he is attempting to show off for his mother by “protecting” her from whatever is spying on them. This is shown by his zeal in jumping up to face the perceived threat and his unthinking act of thrusting his sword through the curtain to kill his “father” and reclaim his mother. Furthermore, when the ghost of Hamlet’s dead father appears to Hamlet, he falls off the bed as if he has been embarrassed by being with his mother. This embarrassment demonstrates Hamlet’s secret feelings for his mother and his fear at these being discovered by his father, and therefore his Oedipal complex.
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Jason Ramirez
9/22/2014 05:47:48 am
Laurence Oliver's Hamlet seems to have a darker tone when compared to the others. The chamber scene has Hamlet becoming delirious as he approaches his mother, Gertrude. Hamlet seems to be a bit more insane than the other Hamlets in other renditions due to his personality being quite "calm" compared to others and uses it to cover up his real self. It is because of his personality that he doesn't seem to have respect for the death of Polonious and then proceeds to become aggressive towards Gertrude. This can benefit the argument that Hamlet's father might just be a figment of his imagination. If he drives himself to the point of murder, assault and insanity, then it might be safe to say that Hamlet is just using his imagination to make him feel "secure".
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Evan Myers
9/23/2014 01:20:22 pm
In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, it is apparent that Hamlet has a significant Oedipal complex through the very undisguised sexual aggression. However, I do not believe that this is the driving factor behind Gertrude kissing Hamlet, which is instead her means of dodging her problems (kissing them to make them go away). After all, it does silence his anger, and may offer some explanation to the audience as to why she might have abandoned the old King Hamlet in favor of Claudius--something that is not hinted at in the text.
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Sahithi Tupuri
9/23/2014 02:52:46 pm
In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, Gertrude is portrayed in a very dramatic and emotional way. She is definitely portrayed as a strong character, but doesn't have a mind of her own. When Polonius tells Gertrude that she has get Hamlet to confess, she agrees and tells him that she knows how and what to do, yet Polonius still tells her because he can't trust her. Through out the entire scene, Gertrude shows over the top emotions as she hits Hamlet and later kisses him. Gertrude is an unstable character and she is confused about what to do, so she just tries to continue her life as was (a husband, a son, the kingdom). When Hamlet mentions a ghost, she tries to look for it, but when she doesn't see anything, then she is immediately concerned about her son's health.
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Rose Smiley
9/29/2014 04:03:56 am
I agree with Gertrude being portrayed with strong emotions but still not having a strong personality. I didn't think about this scene from Gertrude's perspective and its interesting to see what she was possibly thinking. Gertrude being unstable would explain why she remarried so quickly and then reacts so oddly to Hamlets confrontation.
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Rose Smiley
9/29/2014 04:00:38 am
In the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet it seems like he semi-attracted to his mother, Gertrude, hinting at a possible Oedipal complex. I believe this is a possible furthering of his wish to be like his father who he holds to impossibly high standards. And going after Gertrude is another way to be like his Father. Plus he hates Claudius and Gertrude being together and to him she's already committed to be incestuous so he might as well have someone better then Claudius which is himself. Hamlet wants Gertrude to know the truth and make her realize her sins because he cares about her. The reason he gets so upset is because he still cares about her and wants her to go back to the mom she was before Hamlet Sr. died. This is evident in the how Mel Gibson gets so brash and borderline sexual with her. He has a lot of emotion and feelings and doesn't know exactly how to express them and in the chamber scene it comes out in his interaction with Gertrude.
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AuthorChristina Swan teaches AP English IV to seniors at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, in Austin, Texas. In her free time, she likes to watch sci fi shows on netflix. Over the summer she wrote some articles and gave some presentations in a desperate attempt to get media badges to some science fiction conventions. She also taught herself how to sew pants and build bookcases. Archives
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