Read the excerpt from Act IV of Hamlet. Gentleman: She speaks much of her father; says she hears There's tricks i' the world; an
d hems, and beats her heart; Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt, That carry but half sense: her speech is nothing . . . Horatio: 'Twere good she were spoken with, for she may strew Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds. Gertrude: Let her come in. [Exit Gentleman.] To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is, Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss: So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt. How does Gertrude’s reaction advance the plot of the play?
Gertrude's reaction suggests that Ophelia's madness is a sign of greater trouble to come.
Gertrude's reaction hints to the audience that things are going to get even worse, as foreshadowed by the depth of Ophelia's madness. Not surprisingly, things do get much worse for everyone.
