
How does hamlet die?
Hamlet dies following a fencing match with Laertes. Though Laertes's sword only scratches Hamlet, the blade has been laced with a fatal poison as part of a plot to kill Hamlet. Hover for more information. Who are the experts?
How does Queen Gertrude die in Hamlet?
Answer and Explanation: In the final scene of the play, Queen Gertrude dies by drinking a cup of poison that Claudius had intended for Hamlet. The dying Laertes then tells
How does Ophelia die in Hamlet?
Her death could be either interpreted as an accident or suicide. In this article, we’ll answer to the question ‘how does Ophelia die in Hamlet’ by looking at these varying accounts and analyzing the circumstances regarding her death.
Why does hamlet refuse to drink from the poisoned cup?
As a backup plan—in case Laertes fails to wound Hamlet—Claudius has laced Hamlet's drink with more poison. As Hamlet and Laertes begin to fence, Claudius offers Hamlet the poison-laced cup, but Hamlet refuses it. Unfortunately, Gertrude (Hamlet's mother and Claudius's wife) drinks from the cup instead, unaware it is poisoned.

Who Killed the Queen in Hamlet?
First, Laertes is cut by his own sword's blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen's death, he dies from the blade's poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine.
How does Queen Gertrude die in Hamlet?
In the final scene, Gertrude notices Hamlet is tired during the fight with Laertes, and offers to wipe his brow. 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! I am poison'd."
What happens to the Queen at the end of Hamlet?
The play opens after the death of Denmark's King Hamlet (his son, for whom the play is named, shares his name). The queen, Gertrude, has been remarried to King Hamlet's brother, Claudius, who is now the new king.
Is Queen Gertrude guilty?
Queen Gertrude is a woman observably guilty of poor judgment and weak character. Her decisions, based largely on desire, lead to her death and the casualty of others as well.
Does Gertrude commit suicide in Hamlet?
Although there is no definite guarantee that she committed suicide, the evidence is overwhelming that she knew that the wine was tainted. Prior to the opening of the drama, Gertrude was having an incestuous affair with her husbands brother, Claudius.
Who is responsible for Gertrude's death?
Gertrude and genre 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.
Did Gertrude know the wine was poisoned?
First of all, why does Gertrude take up a drink? Of course she does not know that the cup is poisoned, at all. She says, "The Queene carowses to thy fortune Hamlet."
Who dies in the final scene of Hamlet?
In the final scene, the violence, so long delayed, erupts with dizzying speed. Characters drop one after the other, poisoned, stabbed, and, in the case of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, executed, as the theme of revenge and justice reaches its conclusion in the moment when Hamlet finally kills Claudius.
What does Hamlet do to Claudius after Gertrude dies?
Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned blade as well. Gertrude dies, prompting Laertes to point out that this is all Claudius's fault. Finally, Hamlet seizes the opportunity and stabs Claudius with the poisoned blade.
How is Gertrude punished?
After eight hours of deliberation, the jury found Gertrude Baniszewski guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released on parole in 1985.
How long after King Hamlet's death did Gertrude marry?
two monthsA Marriage Built upon Lust Gertrude marries Claudius two months after the death of her husband. Hamlet believes that is too short for mourning and his famous charge forms in this context: “Frailty, thy name is woman.”
Do you believe that Gertrude knows that her husband was murdered?
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the general scholarly consensus is no, the Queen does not know that Claudius killed Hamlet's father until Hamlet tells her.
Who is Ophelia in Hamlet?
3 min read. Ophelia is one of the two female characters in William Shakespeare’s’ play Hamlet. She is portrayed as a young noblewoman of Denmark, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. She is also the daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes. The death of Ophelia is questioned due to different accounts regarding the circumstances of her death.
Who announced Ophelia's death?
Ophelia’s death is first announced in the play by Queen Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother) in Act IV, scene vii. This death announcement is considered to be one of the most poetic death announcements in literature. According to Gertrude, Ophelia had climbed into a willow tree, and then a branch had broken and dropped her into the water, where she drowned.
What tree did Ophelia climb into?
According to Gertrude, Ophelia had climbed into a willow tree, and then a branch had broken and dropped her into the water, where she drowned. “There is a willow grows aslant a brook. That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream. There with fantastic garlands did she come.
What is the meaning of Hamlet and Death?
Hamlet and Death. All Shakespearean tragedies involve the death and/or ruin of some or all of the main characters. Hamlet, which is a play about a Danish royal family, is no different, but as family dramas go this one is ripe with mortality-laced meaning. Prince Hamlet and his family struggle through the death and possible murder of a king, ...
Why is Hamlet's murder so remarkable?
Since Hamlet usually overthinks all aspects of a death, his murder of a senior advisor, Polonius, is that much more remarkable because it is an accident. When Hamlet visits his mother in her room, he hears someone hiding behind a tapestry.
What would happen if Hamlet won the sword fight?
If Hamlet won, he would drink from a cup laced with a poisoned pearl.
What happens on the last page of Hamlet?
The last page of the play, The Tragedy of Hamlet. Like all Shakespearean tragedies, death is prominent in the last Act of the play. With characteristic Shakespearean twists, Hamlet and both his parents are killed in a lively scene of murder and mayhem.
What does the ghost tell Hamlet about his father?
Hamlet might just be a petulant, displaced inheritor, until he is visited by the Ghost of his father who tells him that the new king (Claudius) is the one who murdered his father and that Hamlet must avenge his father's death by killing his uncle. The Ghost explains to Hamlet how the murder took place, and even though Hamlet questions the validity of the Ghost (it could be the devil trying to trick him), he accepts his late father's challenge to avenge his murder. Thus, the king's death sets the stage for a play filled with questions about mortality.
What is the theme of Hamlet's The Ghost?
Good night, sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'. The Ghost, Hamlet's contemplation of suicide , his girlfriend's suicide, his missed opportunity to kill Claudius, and his brutal murder of Polonius all contribute to Shakespeare's intense exploration of death and mortality in Hamlet.
What degree does Crystal have in Hamlet?
Show bio. Crystal has taught middle school, high school, and college-level English and is finishing her Master's degree in Rhetori c & Composition. In this lesson, you'll learn about the theme of death which runs throughout the tragic Shakespearean play, Hamlet by exploring murder, suicide, and the after-life within the play. Create an account.
What happened to Gertrude in Hamlet?
After a few hits, Laertes and Hamlet end up in a scuffle, and Hamlet inadvertently ends up with Laertes's poison-tipped sword, injuring Laertes with it after being injured himself.
What does Hamlet confess to Claudius?
Hamlet isn't aware of the gravity of the situation until Laertes, aware that they are both about to die, confesses what he and Claudius have done: It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain. No medicine in the world can do thee good. In thee there is not half an hour of life.
Why did Claudius and Laertes lace Hamlet's sword?
They have laced the tip of Laertes's sword with poison to ensure that even the smallest scratch will be fatal. As a backup plan—in case Laertes fails to wound Hamlet—Claudius has laced ...

A Funeral, A Wedding, Or Both?
- Death in the play Hamlet is very prevalent--almost all of the characters succumb to it. Before the play even begins, Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark, has died. Hamlet has returned home for his father's funeral which is followed soon after by his mother's (Gertrude) marriage to the king's own brother, Claudius, which Hamlet identifies as: ''But two months dead, nay, not so much, not t…
The Ghost
- Hamlet might just be a petulant, displaced inheritor, until he is visited by the Ghostof his father who tells him that the new king (Claudius) is the one who murdered his father and that Hamlet must avenge his father's death by killing his uncle. The Ghost explains to Hamlet how the murder took place, and even though Hamlet questions the validity of the Ghost (it could be the devil tryin…
Hamlet's Suicide
- Hamlet goes on to question his own mortality, and in Act III he delivers his famous soliloquy: ''To be or not to be.'' (A soliloquy is a speech spoken aloud by a character when there are no other characters present.) Here, Hamlet considers at length taking his own life. While he's feeling melancholy, we might even say depressed, over the death of his father, he's still hesitant to go s…
Ophelia's Suicide
- Hamlet's girlfriend, Ophelia, did commit suicide, however. Hamlet mistreats her (ignores, insults, and scares her) throughout the play and in Act IV her death is reported by Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. She describes how Ophelia fell into a river and allowed the weight of her clothes to pull her under. Ophelia's death is significant in that she did n...
Overthinking
- Shakespeare has his main character analyze mortality in other situations, too. In fact, you might say that overanalyzing is Hamlet's critical flaw. For instance, when he takes up the Ghost's charge to avenge his father's death, he sets out to murder his uncle and now-king, Claudius. He finds Claudius alone and vulnerable and considers killing him right then. But, he thinks about it too mu…