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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
In some ways she's one of his most fascinating characters, in some ways a failure, because (unlike Ophelia, say, who is shallower than we'd like) there are whispy hints of complexity in Gertrude that he never filled out. Arguably the greatest Shakespearean actress of our lifetime, Dame Judi Dench, played her a few years ago and admitted later that she never got a handle on her. What this means is that individual directors/actresses can pick up some whisps of characterization and run with them in differeing directions. One big example: if you decide she's strong, then her "I will, my lord" when she drinks the poison can mean she is choosing to die to save Hamlet. If you don't, the line is innocent. Here's a question that could start pages of debate, but I'll save us the trouble: there is simply no clear answer to it: Was she aware of the murder of Hamlet Sr?Posted by Hamlet on March 25, 1997 at 11:01:21
In Reply to "HELP Gertrude as shallow, flighty or as strong-minded, intelligent?" posted by Barbara on March 25, 1997 at 09:19:05
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help