Gertrude and Claudius - study notes

Gertrude She did not merely marry a second time but was also unfaithful to her husband while he was alive; this is indubitable since the Ghost states so. On the other Hand, the way Shakespeare sees it; she was not an accomplice to her husband's murder. This is evident in the closet scene where Hamlet cries: A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother As kill a king and marry with his brother And she …

…changes her ways); Claudius goes to his death unchanged. The last words he utters show that he's unchanged: Oh yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt In half a minute he is dead. As much as he had tried to get rid of Hamlet and as much as Hamlet had tried to defer his revenge they both had a purpose, and their deaths were - inevitable. Gertrude and Claudius (A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy)