2618/22, 0.08 Why didot Hamlet become king? | Willam Shakespeare | The Guardian Notes and queries Why didn't Hamlet become king? Readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts Wee 2 May 20121624857 How was it that King Hamlet's brother, Claudius, succeeded him to the throne when he died and not his son, Prince Hamlet? In Shakespeare's time, the Danish monarch was elected by their Thing or parliament (it lasted about 500 years, finishing in 1660). In practice, the crown usually descended as it would have under British primogeniture rules, but it was perfectly plausible that a cunning usurper could have stepped into the gap left by the dead king's grieving, depressed son and, with the support of the queen, won the necessary votes. ‘There's a line where Hamlet alludes to this process in Act 5 Scene 2: “He that hath killed my king and whored my mother, Popped in between th’ election and my hopes, ‘Thrown out his angle for my proper life MattKersley hitpswww theguardan.comiifeandstyei201.may/22iwhy’didn-hamlotecome-king 420122, 0.08 Why didnt Hamlet become King? | Witiam Shakespeare | The Guardian Gertrude is described as “our sometime sister, now our queen; the imperial jointress to this warlike state’, which means that she possessed a legal jointure: an invention of the Tudor legal system that allowed a man to leave his estate to his widow rather than his children. The line suggests, therefore, that there was some legal contract through which Gertrude would inherit the country after King Hamlet's death. In the same speech, Claudius says: “Nor have we herein barr'd your better wisdoms, which have freely gone with this affair along", which suggests that the marriage was approved, perhaps even encouraged, by the gathered nobility. So, in my completely uneducated opinion, a combination of King Hamlet's will, Gertrude's legal rights, and a supportive aristocracy led Claudius to assume the throne over Prince Hamlet. Rathko Gertrude may have been queen regnant (making her husband king consort). Power would then remain with her after her husband's death, There is a lot of Mary Queen of Scots about Gertrude (husband killed in a garden in dubious circumstances, hasty remarriage, disaffected son); Shakespeare was likely reflecting contemporary politics. ArcadianSorbet Because otherwise the story wouldn't work. CrypticMirror Why do spectators have to be silent at some sports (golf, tennis), but can be noisy at others (football, cricket)? It can't be about concentration -a batsman facing a fast bowler needs to focus as intently as a golfer. The most important factor is continuity of action, Where action is intermittent, the audience can be vocal between "moves"; where action is continuous, there would have to be permanent silence (not likely) or permanent noise. Snooker audiences can be noisy between frames, whereas football crowds tend to be fairly silent while waiting for a penalty kick, for example. ravenrider It's about crowd size relative to the intimacy of the setting, and the ease with which stewards could grapple with the transgressors. Imagine a chess match with just one spectator who howls his, encouragements at Kasparov but loudly boos Karpov's every deliberation. Or the same guy in an otherwise empty Wembley as England have just gone a goal down versus Germany. charliepiper Has the universe a top and bottom? If it has, which is the right way up? Who decided which way up the Earth was? Could they have said what we now call the south was the north and the north was the south? After all, they both have a magnetic pole. Is Australia at the top or at the bottom of the world? If an extra-terrestrial being came here, how would they know what was up or down, top or bottom? WatTylersSister hitps ihn sheguardan.com/feande'ye!201.imayl22Iwhy-didn-hamlet-become-king 24