Hamlet wants to kill Claudius throughout the play. Claudius is the guiltiest character in the play. Old "Claude" did murder his brother (the king of Denmark) and marry his wife (Gertrude) shortly after. Gertrude isn't all squeaky-clean herself, though; she tries to put on that mask. Gertrude died accidentally in the end, I think Shakespeare wanted to show that Gertrude was at fault and was guilty of betraying her loyalty to her husband King Hamlet.
Is Gertrude guiltless? That's a good question. Hamlet evidently thought so in the bedroom scene when he gave her a nice talking to. He took his anger a little too far, and that was when the ghost appeared. The ghost gave Ham specific directions to leave her alone; "leave her to heaven" were his words. Hamlet was very disturbed by Gertrude's hasty marriage to Claude. Another action, or lack of, that might've been fuel for Hamlet's fire was how Gertrude did not mourn for slain husband. She did this all with disregard on how her own son would react to such a scandalous act that is frowned upon in their society, an act which Hamlet even describes "incestuous". So is Gertrude guiltless, I wouldn't bet on it. .
Does Gertrude have virtue? She doesn't seem to have much in the play. She did show some compassion for Ophelia during her madness, and spoke of her death during one of the most poetic parts of the play. "Frailty thy name is woman", Hamlet's words about the weak state of his mother, By that I mean that she is powerless, she seems to have a man present with her at all times. She is the kind of woman that has been relying on a man all her life. Where would she be if she hadn't married? Well, she wouldn't be in royalty. Gertrude is weak and thinks of herself before anyone else.
Gertrude died at the end of the play, the irony of that is the ghost said "leave her to heaven" and that's exactly what happened. If she hadn't died and the ghost did not tell Hamlet to leave her alone, I think Hamlet would've taken care of her.
Is Gertrude a bad person, or as Hamlet would say "woman thy name is frailty"? ... Gertrude love's Hamlet dearly and would do anything for him. ... To Gertrude Hamlet seems happy, but than she sees the play. ... Gertrude excepts because she only wants Hamlet to be normal again. ... Her only fault is she cared too much for people and never could believe anyone to be bad. ...
In the play Hamlet, Gertrude is faced with a similar situation. ... As in most cases, Gertrude sides with the "worser", but more powerful man. ... Ophelia had drowned, by accident or on purpose, but either was it was mostly Hamlet's fault. ... The eventual downfall of Gertrude was caused directly by her own husband Claudius. "Gertrude, do not drink" ( King - V, II, 280). ...
Gertrude, the queen, notices a change of character, and asks Hamlet. ... His anxiousness to find Claudius at fault is being translated to madness for others. Gertrude wanted Hamlet to sit by her, but instead he lies near Ophelia's feet. ... (Act III, scene ii, pg 107) After the joyous celebration, Gertrude calls Hamlet to her closet. ... He then confronts Gertrude, and caught by his inner turmoil he tells his mother how he truly feels. ...
Less than a month after his death his brother Claudius married his wife Queen Gertrude. King Hamlet's son Hamlet is extremely displease that his mother Gertrude remarried and also that she remarried with his uncle. ... Even though I judge that Hamlet does have his faults in the play at the end he is considered the hero. One of these faults is when he repeatedly insults Ophelia who is Polonius daughter. ... Also an additional fault that Hamlet has is that he kind of rubs it in too much to his mother Queen Gertrude that she remarried not even a month after his father's death. ...
Another character who died and not by her own fault, was Gertrude when she drank the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet [V:ii]. ... A character who realizes that deceit might be reason is Gertrude when she says, "His father's death and our o"erhasty marriage" (II:ii, 57). Gertrude is poisoned by Claudius greedy obsession for power. He wants a queen for himself so he subdues Gertrude with temporary happiness but it eventually wears away as Hamlet grows mad. ...
The description Gertrude gives of Ophelia's death seems to ironically mirror their lives. ... The way Ophelia died can be paralleled in the last section of Gertrude's verses as well. ... In Gertrude's case, there could have been many reasons for accepting Claudius. He could have appeared to Gertrude as such a perfect person she found him irresistible. ... As a result, Ophelia could be seen as dying for her virtues while the other characters, Gertrude included, perished as a result of their faults ...
However, others may argue that Polonius's death is Gertrude's fault for screaming for help. But it is Hamlet's fault for not believing the ghost. ... Ophelia dies when Hamlet is away but her death is still his fault. ... Unfortunately Gertrude drinks in celebration after Hamlet gets a second hit on Laertes. ... Before Gertrude dies she tells Hamlet "the drink, the drink!...
In fact, Hamlet urges Gertrude not to have intercourse with Claudius at all; and even to curb her sexual desires entirely, when he says: "Good night. ... Claudius also admonishes Hamlet of continued grief or mourning over the death of his father, but saying that excessive mourning is morally corrupt and even against God when he says: "But to persevere in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness, 'tis unmanly grief, it shows a will most incorrect to heaven, a heart unfortified, a mind impatient, and understanding simple and unschooled; fie, its a fault to heaven...