Analysis : Claudius and Gertrude
“Give [Claudius] more soliloquies and he could have been Macbeth”
-Rosenberg, 47.
"Gertrude, in her silences, will have much to show. Given her show, the audience fills in the silences for themselves..."
- Rosenberg, 70.
Did Claudius kill his brother? Did Gertrude know of the plot? Were the two having an affair before Hamlet’s father’s death? Some of these things are debatable and usually actors create a backstory for their character. Rosenberg argues that one thing is not a choice, “[Claudius] must be a worthy mighty opposite for Hamlet” (47). In Franco Zeffirelli’s 1991 production, Hamlet and Claudius were mighty opposites, but not as you would at first suppose. Mel Gibson’s “powerful”, eccentric Hamlet was opposite Alan Bates “remorseful” Claudius. During the mouse trap scene, Bates becomes ill and his repenting scene is heartfelt making the audience believe that he is sorry for the cruel deed he has done by killing his brother.
The “political” Claudius we are introduced to through Kyle MacLauchlan, who portrayed him in Michael Almereyda’s production, is much more obsessed with controlling the company (Denmark) than he is with Hamlet’s mother or anything else.
Rosenberg states, “an obvious villain too easily wins from spectators dislike for himself…” (49). With Patrick Stewart’s performance, in Gregory Doran’s 2009 production, we do not get an obvious villain. At least not at first. We get a man who seems bent on controlling Hamlet and the kingdom. It is not until the prayer scene that Stewart reveals his true intentions, “My words fly up, as my thoughts remain below” is said why Stewart stares down the camera maniacally.
Gertrude’s job, states Rosenberg, is to “fit between the two men” (70). She is Claudius’ new wife, but she is also Hamlet’s mother and has to balance between the two roles. A “naïve” Gertrude, like the one played by Glenn Close in France Zeffirelli’s 1991 production, is wooed by Claudius and does not understand the repercussions of her actions. Close is a young Gertrude who skips around and kisses Claudius openly and often. Her Gertrude is one that seems to have gotten caught up in the moment in her affair with Claudius and did not think about what would happen after her husband was dead.
The other Gertrude that we typically get is the “remorseful” Gertrude. This Gertrude pairs well with a “villain” or “political” Claudius since she typically see’s Claudius for what he really is, either power-hungry or a monster, and she regrets her part in the scheme. Penny Downie, who played Gertrude in Gregory Doran’s 2009 film, played Gertrude as “remorseful”. She is seen drinking and smoking her woes away at the beginning of the bedroom scene, and she visibly regrets marrying Claudius.
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