And what about Gertrude in Hamlet? To what extent does evil reign in the heart of Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet? This essay will delve into her character and the repository of literary criticism regarding her, in order to analyze her character in depth. “The Ghost: Messenger of a Higher Court of Values?” by Philip Edwards. expresses the need for the Ghost to leave Gertrude's guilt in the afterlife: The final injunction, "Leave her in heaven," must temper our feeling of the Ghost's personal vengeance. It is more important, however, in giving a religious context to the punishment of Claudius and Gertrude. Gertrude's earthly punishment is to be her conscience: 'those thorns that lodge in her bosom / To prick and prick her'. Whatever further punishment or exoneration she may receive belongs to the afterlife. With Claudio it's different. With his words 'Leave her to heaven', the Ghost must imply that a higher justice requires the exemplary punishment of Claudius on earth, at the hands of a designated human being. (67)At the beginning of the tragedy Hamlet appears dressed in solemn black. His mother, Gertrude, is apparently troubled by this and asks him: Good Hamlet, cast away thy night-colour, and let thy eye look like a friend upon Denmark. Do not search forever for your noble father in the dust. :You know it's common; everything that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity. (1.2) The queen obviously sees her son's despondency as a consequence of his father's death. Angela Pitt considers Gertrude “a kind, narrow-minded and rather self-indulgent woman. . . .” (47). Joining... halfway down the sheet... is Kenneth Branagh's Into' Hamlet." Early Modern Literary Studies 6.1 (May 2000): 2.1-24 http://purl.oclc.org/emls /06-1/ lehmhaml.htmPitt, Angela “Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies.” Ed. Clarice Swisher: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt from Shakespeare's Women: np, 1981. Shakespeare, William The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark http ://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.htmlSmith, Rebecca “Gertrude: Meddling Adulteress or Loving Mother?” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt from "Hamlet": A User's Guide: Limelight Editions, 1996. Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.