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The exact reason why Gertrude drinks from the poison cup is not clear based on the text. Ultimately, there are two options 1) It's accidental - the cup was there, she was thirsty, she didn't realize it was poisoned.
2) It's intentional - she realizes Claudius is trying to kill her son, and drinks to keep it from Hamlet.


Olivier's 1948 film version leans towards option 2, as indicated by the shots of Gertrude before she drinks. Other Oedipal interpretations will similarly indicate that she knows what she's doing and why.


However, there is little in what she says that suggests she knows the cup is poisoned. The king asks her not to drink it, she says she will. He notes in an aside that it is the cup with poison, and when dying she recognizes what has happened. The simpler explanation is that she does not realize it until too late.

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14y ago
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11y ago

yes she was the first person to drink form the glass. Hamlet asked for the glass to be put aside and he would drink it later .His mother then picks up the glass and drinks from it .

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Q: Was gertrude the first person to drink the poisoned wine in Hamlet?
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How does Gertrude die in Hamlet?

Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup, which Polonius had intended for Hamlet to drink from during his duel with Laertes. (In some productions, Gertrude knows that the cup is poisoned and drinks it anyway, to atone for her involvement in her husband's murder, or to save her son's life, or both.)


Who says thy mother poisoned in hamlet?

She does. She says: No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,--The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.


How do the king and laertes intent to make triply sure that Hamlet is dead?

1. Laertes' sword is unbaited 2. Laertes' sword is poisoned 3. Hamlet's drink is poisoned


Who killed himself in Hamlet?

Polonius (stabbed from behind a tapestry), Hamlet (poisoned by Laertes' sword), Laertes (also poisoned by his own sword), Gertrude (drinks Claudius' poison)and Claudius (stabbed, and forced to drink his poison) all die onstage. Ophelia (drowned), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (hung?) all die offstage.


How did prince Hamlet die?

I think in a duel with Ophelia's brother. But Ophelia's brother died too, because of a poisoned sword. Maybe i should start from the beginning. Ophelia's brother chalenged Hamlet. Hamlet's uncle saw this as an oppurtunity to get rid of Hamlet. So he got Ophelia's brother to put poison on his sword. And just un case that didn't kill him, Hamlet's father also put poison in Hamlet's drink. But then Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, tried to drink the poison in a toast to her son. Hamlet's uncle tries to stop her, but it's too late. Meanwhile, the swords are switched in battle. Ophelia's brother dies, but forgives Hamlet in his last moments. When Hamlet's mother dies, Hamlet's uncle is revealed to be the murderer. Hamlet challenges him to a duel. They both die.

Related questions

How does claudis die in Hamlet?

Hamlet kills Claudius by stabbing him with the poisoned sword Laertes carried and by forcing Claudius to drink the dregs of the poisoned drink which killed Gertrude.


What does Gertrude do when it looks as though Hamlet will win the match?

She drinks a toast to him--with the poisoned drink.


In the movie Hamlet what characters died and how did the characters die?

Laertes dies by his own poisoned blade at the hand of hamlet hamlet dies from laertes poisoned blade Gertrude takes a drink of the wine intended for hamlet by Claudius that poisoned her Claudius is forced to drink the poisoned wine by hamlet Rosencrantz and Guildenstern take a letter to England that tells the king to kill them and it is signed by hamlet Ophelia drownds her self Polonius is stabed by hamlet


How does Gertrude die in Hamlet?

Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup, which Polonius had intended for Hamlet to drink from during his duel with Laertes. (In some productions, Gertrude knows that the cup is poisoned and drinks it anyway, to atone for her involvement in her husband's murder, or to save her son's life, or both.)


Who killed Gertrude in Hamlet?

Technically, King Cladius Kills Gertrude in Hamlet, but not intentionally. King Cladius poisons the wine for Hamlet to drink but he refuses it to keep fencing Laertes but when hamlet makes the second strike the Queen wants to drink to him and when she does she drinks from the poisoned cup and dies.


Who says thy mother poisoned in hamlet?

She does. She says: No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,--The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.


What is the main cause of death in hamlet?

The main cause of death in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" is the result of poison. King Hamlet dies after being poisoned by his brother Claudius, and later Queen Gertrude also dies by consuming a poisoned drink intended for Hamlet. Ophelia's death is also indirectly caused by poison, as she drowns in a river after losing her reason due to Hamlet's actions.


How do the eight die in Hamlet?

Polonius is killed when Hamlet is arguing with his mother Gertrude and Polonius is hiding behind an arras. When his mother calls for help, he also calls and Hamlet stabs him through the arras beliving that it is Claudius hiding behind it. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are recruited by Claudius after Hamlet kills Polonius to escort Hamlet to England along with a letter for the King of England to have him killed. Hamlet finds and rewrites the letter instructing them to be killed instead. Their ship is attacked and Hamlet returns to England leaving them to go to their deaths in England. Ohphelia, Hamlet's girlfriend, commits suicide when she discovers that Hamlet killed her father Polonius. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned cup that Claudius had prepared for Hamlet to kill him. Laertes takes part in a duel with Hamlet and scratches him with a poisoned sword - poisoned by Claudius. However, later in the duel the swords are switched and Hamlet stabs Laertes with the poisoned sword, killing him. Claudius is forced to drink poison by Hamlet for revenge of killing both his mother and father. Hamlet dies after being scratched by the poisoned sword.


What is the storyline to Hamlet?

Hamlet is the son of King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude of Denmark, but his father has recently died and his uncle Claudius has become king and married Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is taken to a battlement where the ghost of his father appears and tells him that he was murdered by Claudius and commands Hamlet to revenge him by killing Claudius. Hamlet decides to act crazy while looking for a chance to get at the king. His crazy behaviour induces the king to set spies on him, first his school pals Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and later his girlfriend Ophelia. Hamlet, still unsure of the ghost's veracity, gets some travelling players to put on a play which mimics the murder. Claudius's reactions confirm he is the murderer all right. Hamlet then has a chance to kill him, but holds his hand because he is praying. He then visits his mother in her room and kills the king's advisor who is also his girlfriend's father and who was spying on him for the king. The king then sends him to England to get him out of the way with instructions to the English to kill him. The death of her father drives Ophelia crazy and she drowns. Her brother arrives, desperate for revenge. Hamlet's ship gets attacked by pirates and he ends up back in England. Ophelia's brother Laertes and the king plot to kill Hamlet by staging a fencing match in which Laertes will have a poisoned sharp sword, and Claudius will give Hamlet a poisoned drink. But it all backfires. Hamlet gets hold of the poisoned sword after Laertes cuts him with it and kills Laertes. Gertrude drinks the poisoned drink and dies. Hamlet stabs Claudius and gives him the remains of the poisoned drink and then dies himself in the arms of his best friend Horatio.


How do the king and laertes intent to make triply sure that Hamlet is dead?

1. Laertes' sword is unbaited 2. Laertes' sword is poisoned 3. Hamlet's drink is poisoned


Who killed himself in Hamlet?

Polonius (stabbed from behind a tapestry), Hamlet (poisoned by Laertes' sword), Laertes (also poisoned by his own sword), Gertrude (drinks Claudius' poison)and Claudius (stabbed, and forced to drink his poison) all die onstage. Ophelia (drowned), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (hung?) all die offstage.


How did prince Hamlet die?

I think in a duel with Ophelia's brother. But Ophelia's brother died too, because of a poisoned sword. Maybe i should start from the beginning. Ophelia's brother chalenged Hamlet. Hamlet's uncle saw this as an oppurtunity to get rid of Hamlet. So he got Ophelia's brother to put poison on his sword. And just un case that didn't kill him, Hamlet's father also put poison in Hamlet's drink. But then Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, tried to drink the poison in a toast to her son. Hamlet's uncle tries to stop her, but it's too late. Meanwhile, the swords are switched in battle. Ophelia's brother dies, but forgives Hamlet in his last moments. When Hamlet's mother dies, Hamlet's uncle is revealed to be the murderer. Hamlet challenges him to a duel. They both die.