Shakespeare discerns the character of man as an ego centered individual who desires control and power, and will unjustly deceive and degrade others to fulfil this. Hamlet begins in medias res, with the first words being “Who’s there?”. The use of the interrogative statement sets a scene that reflects the political and social uncertainty in Denmark. In this unsettling situation, Claudius has been revealed as an “adulterous beast”, one who is masked in murder due to his thirst for political power. In a soliloquy, he admits, “Of those effect for which I did murder- My crown, mine own ambition and my Queen”. This suggests he is only interested in the materialistic objects that offer him a position of dominance and therefore control over the kingdom. …show more content…
It juxtaposes with his real intentions- trying to keep his enemy within proximity to him, ensuring Hamlet will not interfere with his current authority and thus having control over him. Claudius’ greed for control demonstrates the dark and intrinsic desire that lies within all of us, and it leads him into pursuing the unethical method of killing old Hamlet and marrying his wife. Yet he justifies himself as only following the “corrupted currents of the world”. Clearly, he is trying to extend the desire for control to the whole of humanity in order to make his actions appear insignificant. Claudius illustrates the idea that when our wish for control approaches its extremities, accompanied by immoral acts, we still find ways to defend our unjust actions by projecting the sense of corruption outwards to a bigger scaled medium. As a result, Claudius continues to contentedly “dirge in marriage”, whilst superficially “mirth in …show more content…
One of the darkest segment of human nature is that we are willing to be led by this natural urge, even if it introduces disastrous implications. Hamlet, initially claims himself to be “very proud, revengeful, ambitious”, which show how he clearly defines revenge as an honourable and spirited act, making him keen to punish Claudius immediately. Hamlet chooses to put on an “antic disposition” as he plans the revenge, but for a long time he finds himself being stuck in “a kind of yeasty collection”. This metaphorical comparison reflects the bubbling, frothing process of fermentation that anticipates results but never happens because the “bubbles are out”. This demonstrates the struggle between Hamlet’s Id, that seeks immediate activity, and his Ego that is concerned about the potential repercussions of his actions and it eventually results in him descending into madness. Shakespeare draws our attention to the idea that vengeance is a subject that must be treated with utmost care and sensitivity because those who act on the unquenchable urges for revenge are defensive, sick and will not be far from their own downfall. Hamlet’s build up of internal frustration and psychological tension causes him to inconsiderately project these negative emotions outwards. For instance, Hamlet bursts in rage to Ophelia, “you make your wantonness your ignorance” accusing her as a frivolous being, and also tells
It (the indention of revenge) sensitise you to eruptible sensations of vile sense, dispensable hatred and rummage of nature; that you are clogged to the world in feigned madness even what’s more real is the actual insertion of provocation that ought be abused and rugged and motioned to speak for itself. The evacuation of connection, and hope, and love, makes Hamlet all the more bitter whereby for instance he alludes in a soliloquy to his mother as,
Hamlet’s actions also revolve around his mother. Superficially, his quest for revenge may seem only to be brought on by his love for his father, but this is not so. He is simultaneously angry with his mother, jealous of her attention to Claudius, and desperately wishing for her love. He berates her with sharp edged c...
An important factor of any fictional story is the antagonist, or a person who conflicts with the protagonist – the “hero” of the story (Encarta). As many have come to the realization already, Claudius is the main antagonist to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Uncle to Prince Hamlet, King of Denmark and Husband of Gertrude, Claudius is quite a character. Imagine the guilt and anxiety brought about by killing one’s own brother, claiming his kingdom as your own, and then going so far as to marry his widow. These were the crimes of King Claudius of Denmark, and one can see that he was pretty much written to be despised by the reader, a noticeable aspect of Shakespeare’s age-old work. Moreover, many often quickly assume, upon their first reading of the play, that Prince Hamlet ought to kill the king (Goddard).
Though written decades ago, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is still read, studied, and enjoyed by readers everywhere simply because it is still relevant. The seven deadly sins played a role throughout this play, particularly excessive pride and a thirst for wrath. But, these sins exist in the very same world the reader lives in, as examples throughout this paper have proven. Hamlet, who character in particular is extremely intelligent and also extremely prideful, has been designed to be dynamic, with conflicting feelings of cowardice and vengeance, of love and mistrust, and of pride and pity. This dynamic character was driven to his own downfall by his own excessive pride and need for revenge.
Throughout William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the audience attaches to the young protagonist Hamlet. Throughout the play, his wit, and his underdog situation, compel the audience to root for him, and thus wishing evil upon his foe, Claudius. As the play progresses, Claudius seems weasel-like as he rubs the situation in Hamlet's face, and indulges in decadent rituals while enjoying his scandalous throne. In act three, scene three, however, the humble side of Claudius is visible for the first time. As he prays for forgiveness in his soliloquy, we see that he truly regrets his spiteful crime. This soliloquy deepens the play as it pulls the audience's emotions towards the middle, creating more mystery and suspense.
Claudius is seen in Hamlets eyes as a horrible person because he convicted murder and incest. Claudius had killed the king of Denmark, Old Hamlet, to obtain the position of the throne. He had been jealous of Old Hamlet’s wife Gertrude and wanted to marry her for her power. Although, such an act would be called incest and considered unnatural he did not care, all he had cared about was the power that he would be stealing from Hamlet and Old Hamlet, Gertrude’s son and husband (R). When Hamlet had talked to his f...
Revenge is a recurring theme in Hamlet. Although Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, he is afraid of what would result from this. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s unwillingness to revenge appears throughout the text; Shakespeare exhibits this through Hamlet’s realization that revenge is not the right option, Hamlet‘s realization that revenge is the same as the crime which was already committed, and his understanding that to revenge is to become a “beast” and to not revenge is as well (Kastan 1).
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is a common theme throughout the play. Almost every major male character in the play, whether it is Prince Hamlet, Laertes, the Ghost of King Hamlet, or King Fortinbras of Norway, is acting with purpose to avenge a death. The obvious exception to this trend in the play is Claudius, King of Denmark and brother of King Hamlet. Instead of possessing a noble or vengeful purpose throughout the play, Claudius is instead motivated by more evil qualities like his greed and deceptive natures. But despite his solidified role as the antagonist to Prince Hamlet, Claudius’ degree of true villainy is more so in question. Claudius shows traits that stray from traditional idea of a heartless, animal-like villain working for evil, while also representing villainous qualities of the foulest kinds that ultimately overpower his humane soul. This complexity in Claudius’ character helps Shakespeare transcend the traditional villain.
Theater audiences and literary enthusiasts are not spared of Shakespeare’s astonishing ability to capture the human spirit in his play Hamlet. The story of the tormented prince who desires revenge but is unable to take action delves deep into the human mind than plays before it. While some uninformed readers may write off Hamlet’s behavior to poor writing, it is clear that the Oedipus complex is the true driving force of Hamlet’s actions when delaying his revenge.
Throughout Hamlet, each character’s course of revenge surrounds them with corruption, obsession, and fatality. Shakespeare shows that revenge proves to be extremely problematic. Revenge causes corruption by changing an individual’s persona and nature. Obsession to revenge brings forth difficulties such as destroyed relationships. Finally, revenge can be the foundation to the ultimate sacrifice of fatality. Hamlet goes to show that revenge is never the correct route to follow, and it is always the route with a dead
In Hamlet Shakespeare is able to use revenge in an extremely skillful way that gives us such deep insight into the characters. It is an excellent play that truly shows the complexity of humans. You can see in Hamlet how the characters are willing to sacrifice t...
...with the sharpness of an experienced leader and decisively acting on every issue of importance. Therefore, the actor must have an imposing and confident presence on stage, for Claudius dominates Elsinore and is in full control of Denmark. However, by the third act, the King must be depicted as a man who is growing increasingly fearful of Hamlet, and during the play, Claudius is so startled that he must appear as though he has seen the ghost of Old Hamlet. But in my opinion, Claudius’ defining moment comes during his lengthy soliloquy in which he acknowledges his guilt. As he mourns his condemned soul, he should seem so helpless that the audience views him with intense pity, for the character of Claudius, like Macbeth, is not intended to represent evil but instead to show the universal ability of power to corrupt and to destroy lives in the process.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies. At first glance, it holds all of the common occurrences in a revenge tragedy which include plotting, ghosts, and madness, but its complexity as a story far transcends its functionality as a revenge tragedy. Revenge tragedies are often closely tied to the real or feigned madness in the play. Hamlet is such a complex revenge tragedy because there truly is a question about the sanity of the main character Prince Hamlet. Interestingly enough, this deepens the psychology of his character and affects the way that the revenge tragedy takes place. An evaluation of Hamlet’s actions and words over the course of the play can be determined to see that his ‘outsider’ outlook on society, coupled with his innate tendency to over-think his actions, leads to an unfocused mission of vengeance that brings about not only his own death, but also the unnecessary deaths of nearly all of the other main characters in the revenge tragedy.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Shakespeare creates characters such as Claudius, Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern that act genuine, but are deceitful. The purpose of this is to incorporate the theme of appearance vs. reality. Each of these characters untruthful actions create a sense of uncertainty throughout the play that eventually leads to deaths in act 5 scene 2 since all of the characters have suspicions about each other. This begins early in act 1 as Claudius seems to act caring, but is really trying to persuade Hamlet to forget his murdered father and treat Claudius as his true father. When Claudius addresses Hamlet and Gertrude, he says “’Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, / Hamlet” (1.2.90-91). Claudius acts as though he is