Question

et, part 7: plot and character
the tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark
act iv, scene v.
elsinore. a room in the castle.
enter gertrude, horatio, and a gentleman.
gertrude: i will not speak with her.
gentleman: she is importunate, indeed distract;
her mood will needs be pitied. (5)
gertrude: what would she have?
gentleman: she speaks much of her father; says she hears
theres tricks i the world; and hems, and beats her heart;
spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt,
that carry but half sense: her speech is nothing. (10)
yet the unshaped use of it doth move
the hearers to collection; they aim at it,
and botch the words up fit to their own thoughts;
which, as her winks, and nods, and gestures yield them,
indeed would make one think there might be thought. (15)
though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.
horatio: twere good she were spoken with, for she may strew
which words best describe gertrude in act iv of hamlet?
shrewd, devious
brave, authoritative
kind, compassionate
nervous, defensive

Explanation:

In Act IV, Scene v of Hamlet, Gertrude initially refuses to speak with Ophelia ("I will not speak with her"), showing defensiveness. Her questioning ("What would she have?") and the context of Ophelia's disturbed state also suggest she is nervous about the situation, fitting the "nervous, defensive" description better than the other options (shrewd/devious, brave/authoritative, or kind/compassionate don’t align with her cautious, resistant tone here).

Answer:

nervous, defensive