You are here

"ten times our mother"
Discussion
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 307-309

An explanation of the phrase “ten times our mother” in Act 3, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

Rosencrantz

She desires to speak with you in her closet
ere you go to bed.

Hamlet

We shall obey, were she ten times our mother.    

In this passage, Hamlet uses the royal we for the first time, reminding the audience of his royal blood. His use of the phrase “ten times our mother” also recalls his previous use of the term “aunt-mother” to refer to Gertrude, reminding the audience that Gertrude is now his mother and his aunt, as a result of her decision to marry Claudius.