#13: My Heart Aches for Thee, My Son

Please, dearest Hamlet, please understandeth that your Father-Uncle and I only want the best for thee. Understand I am that thou hath lost a father.A prince such as yourself shall not grumble and mope wearing the darkest of colours in our grand castle. After all, son, understand I do that thou hath lost a father but "Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die," (1.2.72). And yet, if it seemeth so common, "Why seems it so particular with thee?" (1.2.76). The greatest man was thy father, true be it, yet "I pray thee, stay with us" (1.2.119). We hath only beseeched Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to view your depression and informeth us about thou. As ye Queen, I plead thee, be he who is of man. Holdeth in tears of thee and be a man, Hamlet. For your mother am I, and "What have I done that thou dar'st wag thy tongue/In noise so rude against me?" (2.2. 40-41). Thou mustn't act out of haste in any instance, especially towards thine own mother. I do not doubt that the reason for thee gloom is "no other than...[thine] father's death and [my] o'erhasty marriage" (2.2.56-57). Yet, dearest Hamlet, remember thy morals, respect thy elders, if thou art to be King one day. Or not to be. These quotes highlight how Gertrude is dealing with Hamlet's sudden gloomy aura and her new husband. The quotes prove her general cluelessness and attempts at trying to understand what her son is going through, but disregard to actually communicate with him.