Who poisoned Gertrude?

She wilfully disobeys Claudius by drinking the poisoned wine. She dies with cries of 'the drink! the drink! I am poisoned' (5.2. 264), and in so doing identifies Claudius as her killer.

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Why did Claudius poison Gertrude?

Claudius uses the poison for his own selfish ambition and marries Old Hamlet's widow, Gertrude, making him the new King of Denmark.

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Did Gertrude drink the poison on purpose?

Gertrude is just a mother, trying to protect his son from being hurt. In the final scene of the play, Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine that Claudius has prepared for Hamlet. Even though Claudius tells Gertrude not to drink, Gertrude does it for his son.

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Did Hamlet poison Gertrude?

She drinks a cup of poison intended for Hamlet by the King, against the King's wishes, and dies, shouting in agony as she falls: "No, no, the drink,—O my dear Hamlet—The drink, the drink!

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Who poisoned the cup in Hamlet?

When Claudius offers Hamlet the poisoned goblet of wine, Hamlet refuses, and Gertrude picks up the cup instead. Toasting Hamlet, she drinks the poison, ensuring her eventual death. Meanwhile, Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned blade, and the two continue to scuffle, somehow switching swords in the process.

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Ophelia, Gertrude, and Regicide - Hamlet Part 2: Crash Course Literature 204

33 related questions found

What is the name of the poison in Hamlet?

The ghost of the king appears before his son, Prince Hamlet, and tells him that his own brother, now his converted stepfather, has killed him, pouring into his ear the contents of an ampoule of henbane (Act I, scene 5).

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Who died by poison in the ear?

How did King Hamlet Die? The ghost of King Hamlet tells Prince Hamlet that when he was taking his regular nap in his orchard, his brother, Claudius, poured a potion into his ear. The potion was leprous distilment, a poison.

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Who is Hamlet's wife?

Ophelia (/əˈfiːliə/) is a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in a state of madness that ultimately leads to her drowning.

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Did Hamlet drink the poison?

Does Hamlet drink the poison? Hamlet does not drink the poison in the final duel. However, he kills Laertes with a poisoned blade as soon as he discovers the plot.

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Why does Gertrude kiss Hamlet?

In Sigmund Freud's concept, which Shakespeare was familiar with, it is proposed in Hamlet that he and his mother kiss because Hamlet no longer wants to allow his mother to sleep with Claudius.

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Is Gertrude a villain or a victim?

She is often the victim of oppression and surveillance. She cannot be interpreted related with her own utterances. She has been the victim of males' words in the play. Gertrude should not be thought only as a sensual woman without taking into consideration of her sufferings and Hamlet's behaviours.

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Why did Gertrude marry?

Claudius also implies that Gertrude's marriage to him has a political function, calling her “Th'imperial jointress to this warlike state” (1.2. 9). They married to show that the former king's death did not break Denmark; rather, the “jointress” and her new union have strengthened it.

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Was Gertrude guilty or innocent?

Maclise portrays an innocent Gertrude who apparently has no inkling of Claudius's guilt or even of the murder itself.

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Does Claudius really love Gertrude?

Claudius's love for Gertrude may be sincere, but it also seems likely that he married her as a strategic move, to help him win the throne away from Hamlet after the death of the king.

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Who kills Hamlet?

Hamlet agrees to fight Laertes. During the duel, Gertrude drinks poison and both Hamlet and Laertes are fatally wounded. Hamlet kills Claudius before he dies.

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Is Hamlet sad about Ophelia's death?

Grief-stricken and outraged, Hamlet bursts upon the company, declaring in agonized fury his own love for Ophelia. He leaps into the grave and fights with Laertes, saying that “forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love, / make up my sum” (V.i.254–256).

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Who killed Gertrude in Hamlet?

She wilfully disobeys Claudius by drinking the poisoned wine. She dies with cries of 'the drink! the drink! I am poisoned' (5.2. 264), and in so doing identifies Claudius as her killer.

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Who has the last word in Hamlet?

Hamlet's final line is to his friend Horatio. Hamlet says, "The rest is silence." Hamlet tells this to Horatio as he is dying and after Gertrude, Laertes, and Claudius have all died.

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Who drinks the poison first in Hamlet?

The duel takes place before the king and court, and Hamlet scores the first two touches. Gertrude unwittingly drinks the poisoned wine intended for Hamlet.

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Who is Hamlet in love with?

Ophelia is Polonius' daughter and Laertes' sister. Hamlet has been in love with her for a while before the play starts and has given her several gifts during their courtship until her father warns her away from him and tells her not to see him anymore. During the play, he treats her very badly.

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Who is the villain in Hamlet?

Claudius is the primary antagonist in Hamlet. He thwarts Hamlet by killing his father. And when he usurps the Danish throne, Claudius denies Hamlet the future that rightfully belongs to him.

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Did Hamlet have a girlfriend?

Although it isn't openly stated, it is implied that Ophelia is Hamlet's 'girlfriend': his betrothed, the woman he will marry. Like Hamlet, she is part of the royal court, and her father, Polonius, is a lord – so although she isn't royalty like Hamlet, she would be a suitable match for him in Danish society.

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Who killed old Hamlet?

Remember that Claudius killed King Hamlet by pouring poison into his ear. Shakespeare continually illustrates that words can function as poison in the ear as well. As the ghost says in Act I, scene v, Claudius has poisoned “the whole ear of Denmark” with his words (I.v.36).

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How did Hamlet reject Ophelia?

The Nunnery Scene

One moment he says 'I did love you once', the next 'I loved you not'. He goes on to insult Ophelia and tells her to go to a nunnery. He tells her that this will be the best place for her and, by being a nun, Ophelia won't have children and produce wicked men like his uncle.

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Who was poison Queen?

She managed to get a mistrial twice after trace evidence was lost while conducting the tests for poison each time. By her third trial, there wasn't much physical evidence left. On December 12, 1961, Marie Besnard was acquitted. The “Queen of Poisoners,” as the French called her, ended up getting away with 13 murders.

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