Hamlet's Attitude Towards His Mother

       In the beginning of the play, Hamlet seems to be an obedient character towards his mother. For instance, when his mother asks him to stay in in Denmark, as appose to going back to school, Hamlet responds, “I shall in all my best obey you, madam.” Hamlets obedience towards his mother is a sign of respect that was expected from a son during the era. However, as the play continues and Hamlet’s “mental” state begins to change, we notice a shift in tone towards his mother. Instead of a respectful tone towards his mother, Hamlet begins to disdain his mother. He feels that “to marry only two months [after]” King Hamlet’s death, especially to Claudius, is extremely disrespectfully and disloyal. For example, when Hamlet first meets the ghost, instead of fusing over the traitorous Claudius, the two accuse Gertrude of being incestuous. Furthermore, Hamlet verbally abuses his mother by calling her acts “incestuous.” In the scene when Hamlet kills Polonius, he forcefully sits his mother down and tries to reason with her. Although he believes he has won his mothers trust and enabled her to understand the errors of her ways, in reality, his verbal and physical abuse of her in that scene further proves to his mother that Hamlet is “mentally” unstable. As Hamlet’s “mental” state throughout the play changes, so does his attitude with his mother. This enables William Shakespeare’s to draw the reader into the play and create for a more interesting story with changing personas. Thus, this technique has enabled William Shakespeare to create a work of art that has transcended time.