Quote Analysis

Gertrude interrupts Polonius's elaborate explanation of Hamlet's madness, asking him to get to the point.

Gertrude's blunt monosyllables cut through Polonius's inflated rhetoric. The antithesis of 'matter' and 'art' implies that ornate language obscures rather than reveals truth, and her impatience signals that even those who rely on Polonius find his style exhausting.

Use this to argue that Gertrude, often read as passive, actually has sharper judgment than the men around her—she sees through Polonius's performance in a way Claudius does not.