Conspiracy Theater

What if King Lear had chosen his third daughter? What if Juliet actually planned on Romeo killing himself because she wanted to escape her relationship? What if Shakespeare was a woman? All these conspiracies and more...

[conspiracytheater]

Loopholes and Loose Ends (Hamlet Q&A)

As is the norm on my blog, I like to answer a few questions that y’all have either messaged me or that I overlooked when analyzing, so here are a few of my answers to some holes left in my Gertrude-the-Evil-Mastermind theory!

Is Hamlet actually crazy or was he faking it?

Ok I answered this question in my “Falling apart or falling into place?” post, but I think Hamlet started off sane then went insane as time went on. At first he was following along with Gert’s plan to avenge his father, but somewhere along the lines he actually goes crazy because his actions were too frenzied and illogical for me to find a way to justify them in Gertrude’s master plan.

Did Hamlet love Ophelia or vice-versa?

I believe that Hamlet and Ophelia were in love but Hamlet’s love of his family, specifically his father that he idolized, was stronger than this romantic love which is why he ends their relationship. Ophelia is broken hearted because of this and goes crazy then commits suicide out of grief.

If Gertrude’s plan had worked, what would she have done about Fortinbras?

This question was actually a comment on my last post of the thread and it’s a really good one! In my ideal production, Gertrude would have married Fortinbras when he took over Denmark before eventually killing him off as well, so she could finally rule as the solo queen she was always meant to be.

Is there hope at the end of this play?

This final question is one I like to ask myself at the end of every play I read, and I think for Hamlet, my answer is a mixture of yes and no. While I do not think hope is necessary at the end of this play because I do not see who would be needing the hope as the play doesn’t really focus on the people of the kingdom, I think that hope is present at the end because the deaths of the whole royal court show that truth prevails above all. All the members lied or deceived in some way, even Laertes who had a strong moral compass, so their riddance from the world kind of washed the slate clean in a way, so Denmark can start over with a hopefully more honest king (or queen 😉!)

Until next time my fellow readers, stay suspicious!

-Detective S

[conspiracytheater]

Clever or cowardly?: The poisoned chalice and a queen's demise

Ok you all have spoken and want me to keep this Gertrude-centric and finish it up, so we are skipping most of Act 4 because she isn’t there very often and starting at the big showdown, Act 5 Scene 2. Prior to this point, Ophelia has committed suicide (I call it suicide because she did not try to save herself and I think because she was brokenhearted, she saw no point in going on any longer) which Gertrude predicted would happen after she went crazy from loss of Hamlet’s love, and Laertes has returned to avenge his father. Everyone is plotting everyone’s demise, and this is the moment Gertrude has been waiting for: she can finally sit back, relax, and watch the royal court burn itself to the ground. All is looking well except for one small mistake. Gertrude, who hadn’t been present when Claudius and Laertes were planning how to kill Hamlet, never predicted that they would use poison to kill him; as it is often said, poison is a woman’s weapon. She assumed that surely Claudius and Laertes weren’t so cowardly as to use poison, especially when Old Hamlet’s death by snake poison had barely escaped suspicion, but you know what they say assumptions. Usually they make an ass out of you and me, but this time, they resulted in a dead queen. Gertrude drinks from the tainted cup and falls, an ironic twist of fate and a cruel ode to the first death that started it all.

[conspiracytheater]

A brief interlude

I hate to interrupt my thread like this, but I’ve been reading everyone’s responses so far and I wanted to remind you all that I know this is not realistic! That’s why it’s a conspiracy theory!! I’m going out on a limb to theorize what I think could have happened! Furthermore, this thread is my opinion and meant to represent my ideal production of Hamlet, a play which some of you (cough cough you know who you are) wouldn’t be invited to!! For the rest of my lovely followers who said this is getting too long and have submitted requests of other plays for me to analyze, I promise I will wrap up soon but have patience my private eyes. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Gertrude’s master plan!

[conspiracytheater]

Falling apart or falling into place?

In Act 3, Gertrude’s plan is unintentionally kicked into high gear when Hamlet alters the play. Gertrude knows that slow and steady wins the race, but Hamlet clearly doesn’t get the memo as the actors, pantomime Claudius’ murder strategy which is waaay to obvious. To the audience she appears composed if not disinterested at the subtle digs toward her infidelity (get over it Hamlet!), but on the inside her gears are whirring. This is the point in the play where I believe Hamlet goes from faking his insanity to actually going crazy. If Gertrude is actually the evil mastermind I think her to be, then Hamlet’s following actions are too illogical and frenzied for him to be sane and still following her plan. Logically, Gertrude is aware that the cat is out of the bag and Claudius now knows that Hamlet suspects him of murder. She knows that he will go to the church to gather his thoughts and reflect and realizes this is the perfect opportunity for Hamlet to finish him. She flees to her bedroom and brings Polonius with her, just in case things get dicey (literally). However, Hamlet doesn’t kill the king, throwing a wrench in Gertrude’s initial plans and supporting my suspicion that he is going mad for real. He instead chooses to storm into Gertrude’s room in a rampage, ranting and raving like the madman he probably is. Gertrude’s cry for help results in the death of Polonius which works in her favor, but her carefully laid plans seem to be falling apart…

[conspiracytheater]

Devoted to deception

The next time we see Gertrude is in Scene 2.2 when she and Claudius instruct Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find out why Hamlet’s behavior has changed so dramatically (well more dramatic than he is already), but a lot more has happened before this point. Hamlet now knows that his father’s death was actually murder, Laertes, son of Polonius has left Denmark, and Hamlet’s (potential?) love interest Ophelia is introduced. So where does good ol’ Gertie factor into this? Well, we don’t know explicitly how much time passes between Hamlet speaking with the ghost and him starting to act crazy, so what if there’s an additional scene where Gertrude secretly meets with Hamlet to tell him that Claudius killed Old Hamlet and threatened to kill her to if she didn’t marry him? She is unaware that Hamlet already knows because of the ghost, but he confides in her his plan to fake insanity to catch Claudius off guard. Logically, Gertrude knows this isn’t a great plan, but she goes along with it because if it backfires, it will still later aid her in her case to send Hamlet away. Furthermore, if Hamlet wants to do her dirty work, she won’t stop him. For all intents and purposes Gertrude must pretend to be completely unaware, which is why she also agrees with Polonius’s conclusion that Hamlet is crazy in love with Ophelia. She knows that while Hamlet does truly love Ophelia, his love for her and for his late father is stronger. Ophelia’s rejection of his advances is just a convenient cover up for the incoming storm…

[conspiracytheater]

And so it begins...

Gertrude first appears in Act 1 Scene 2 (Scene 1.2), as the new wife of King Claudius, brother of the dead Old Hamlet. Hamlet, who is still publicly mourning the loss of his father, seems to bemoan this quick remarriage. Now by convention, Hamlet is justified to be upset with Gertrude as her first husband has not even been dead for a few months, but she has already moved on. Hamlet is upset and the royal court is gossiping as well. If Gertrude is a mastermind, how could she already make a blunder such as this? So many unknowns already, but first let’s tackle how Old Hamlet died. In Scene 1.5 Hamlet meets his father’s ghost who informs him that he was murdered by Claudius. This fact is confirmed later in Scene 3.3 when Claudius confesses his guilt yet is unable to repent. But who planted the idea in his head in the first place? Gertrude. What if Gertrude knew that Claudius had always been jealous of Old Hamlet for his position and was secretly in love with her, so she convinced him to kill his brother, so that they could be together? One down and four to go… So why does Gertrude marry Claudius so quickly? As a distraction and to lay down the next steps of her plan. Gertrude knows that if the court is busy gossiping about her quick remarriage, then they won’t look closer into Old Hamlet’s death. She also knows that her son will be enraged with the matrimony, and hopefully act out, giving her reason to banish him later, though she doesn’t realize the ghost will help her with that later...

[conspiracytheater]

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark? or Getrude: Queen Supreme?

Hello again, my fellow Shakespearian Sherlocks! I just finished reading Hamlet and as usual, there were so many questions left unanswered. Is Hamlet crazy crazy or just fake crazy? Does he really love Ophelia or was it all a ploy to get in her pants? Is there hope at the end of this play? All these threads left untied, but the most important question of all in my opinion: Did Gertrude know? As Hamlet’s mother and the wife of the new king Claudius who killed Old Hamlet, Gertrude is central character in the play, yet is also one of the most ambiguous. Shakespeare never clearly states whether Gertrude knew of Claudius’ involvement in the death of her first husband and largely leaves it up to the audience to figure out her role in the story…that means it’s time for another #ConspiracyTheory: What if Gertrude was actually the mastermind behind the entire play? What if she orchestrated the killing of Old Hamlet and had plans to finish off the rest of the royal court to because she wanted to have the power all for herself? She knew she would never rise to a dominant position if she always remained as the wife so what if she decided to take matters into her own hands…. This is the story of how Gertrude almost got away with murder.