Hamlet #6: Interaction between the Queen and Hamlet

In Act III scene iv Hamlet interacts with Queen Gertrude, his mother. Right from the beginning of the interaction Hamlet takes a condescending tone toward his mother. Hamlet mocks his mother by using practically the same structure that she uses and most of the same words, but changing a few words to attack her and make fun of her. When the Queen says "Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended" (III. iv. 12), Hamlet immediately responds with "Mother, you have my father much offended" (III. iv. 13). Hamlet practically says the same thing his mother said but instead of the addressee being "Hamlet", Hamlet changes it to "Mother," and instead of saying "thou hast thy father," Hamlet says "you have my father." The latter sounds less intellectual, and it can be inferred that since Hamlet is a philosopher he chose to sound less intellectual to make fun of his mother. By using simplistic words that sound less intellectual, Hamlet makes the subtle statement that his mother is stupid. The next two lines follow a similar pattern; the Queen first says, "Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue," (III. iv. 14) and Hamlet responds with, "Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue" (III. iv. 15). Hamlet again follows the exact structure of his mother and the words he changes are changed to their opposites: "come" to "go," "answer" to "question," and "idle" to "wicked." By copying the structure and changing words to their opposites, he again insults his mother by taking her words and turning them on her, essentially saying that he can use her words better than she can. This condescending tone that he takes toward his mother in the beginning of their interaction sets up the dynamic of their entire interaction.