William Shakespeare's Famous Quotes
"Leave her to Heaven"
What does this quote mean?
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, towards the beginning of the play, Hamlet and the Ghost are on the platform of the castle at Elsinore, Denmark. After Horatio and Marcellus told Hamlet about the Ghost that resembled his father, King Hamlet, Hamlet insisted on going to the platform to meet the Ghost and see for himself. Once the Ghost appears, his serious tone simply warns Hamlet of the revenge he must take against Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. The Ghost explains that Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, had sexual relations with Claudius where both ended up plotting to kill Hamlet's father and Gertrude's husband, King Hamlet. Hamlet becomes furious with his mother but the Ghost tells Hamlet to "leave her to Heaven" (Act I, Scene V, Line 9) and take revenge on Claudius instead. This quote means to leave his mother's guilt to God and and to take care of what is most important now and deal with the rest later.