I find it odd that we’ve never discussed this one (I had to search my archives to make sure).  In the context of Hamlet, do you think that Gertrude knew what Claudius did or not?  Was she in on it?  When did the relationship with Claudius start – before or after the death of her husband? 

I’ve always taken the position that she “knows”, but she’s in a state of shock and denial about it. If she ever stopped to think about it, she’d have to admit what she knew to be true, so she gets around that by never thinking about it.  She shows no guilt, like Claudius does (“My offense is rank….”), so it’s unlikely that she is consciously aware of just how bad her actions are.  That’s why in the bedroom scene, her line “As kill a king?” is not so much an “Oh no, Hamlet knows!” moment, but rather the first time that she actually has to consider the reality of what she’s been a part of.

But then…if that’s true, and she realizes that Claudius is a murderer, she sure doesn’t seem too upset by it in the later scenes.  So, maybe I haven’t thought this through. Anybody else?  As I write this, I wonder if perhaps she does know right along and really does have no guilt about it because it was Claudius she loved, so she’s happy to have her husband out of the way.

I have to keep up on Savage Chickens more.  He’s been sneaking in a Macbeth series on me: http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2008/08/something-wicked.html http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2008/08/something-wicked-ii.html http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2008/08/something-wicked-iii.html Ninjas are like bacon, everything is made better with ninjas.

http://mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=385 Too easy, got perfect score.  I link it only because I like the format, where it simply shows a picture, gives a name of a person, and asks you to pick the play.  When the picture is from a recent movie production, it’s pretty hard to get it wrong.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/authors/from_shakespeare_to_ragnarok_elizabeth_bear_keeps_busy_91271.asp You know, I keep seeing Elizabeth Bear’s name, and I keep thinking I’ve read something by her.  But then I realize I’m confusing her with Greg Bear. But maybe I’ve been missing something, if this writeup is any indication of what she typically writes:
This summer sees the release of “The Stratford Man,” a long story published as two novels (Ink and Steel and Heaven and Earth) that reimagines the mystery of Christopher Marlowe’s death as an event that raises the stakes a secret war between factions of the Elizabethan court and the kingdom of Faerie. Oh, and Marlowe seduces William Shakespeare, inspiring him to write… well, that would be telling.   But if he’s inspired to write Midsummer, or the sonnets, I call shenanigans.  EVERYBODY who writes Shakespeare into their fiction seems to work Dream into it. Update: There you go, she’s got a Hugo-nominated short story up in podcast form as we speak.  She’s everywhere.

http://www.gettingpaidtowatch.com/2008/08/06/culture-archaeologists-find-ruins-of-early-shakespeare-theatre/ It’s early and I’m trying to fully understand this.  Apparently archaeologists have rediscovered the original footings of the Shoreditch theatre, where The Lord Chamberlain’s Men played before the owners dismantled it and used the timber to construct The Globe. Any historians in my audience want to fill in some details?  Sounds pretty cool!   UPDATE:  Alan is correct, Shakespearepost.com has much more detail.  Thanks for the heads up!