Thoughts on Hamlet (In Progress)

After discussion in class on Hamlet, I think that he is sharper than people give him credit for.  When it was discussed on whether or not the ghost was really there, I felt compelled to side with Hamlet who seems to have way more going on than his mother.  I am disappointed with Gertrude's obliviousness throughout the play. She is a queen and yet she is as naive as a child! I am curious whether or not Shakespeare was trying to reflect anything with her flat character.  Her incompetence only highlights Hamlet's perceptiveness.  Reflecting back on the course of the play, Hamlet always seems to be a few steps ahead of everyone else. For example, he is constantly doling out insulting puns that fly over the heads of the people he is making fun of.  This demonstrates how much smarter he is than them, for he can carry a conversation and just toy with them while he is doing it.  In the remainder of the play, I certainly give Hamlet the upper hand in the battle that will inevitably come between he and Claudius.  If he uses his cunning correctly he is all  but sure to come out on top.