Claudius in William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Ans. 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark' is perhaps Shakespeare's best
tragedy. It was written between the years, 1600-1601. Hamlet's
character in the play is one of introspection and reflection. He is a
person who thinks too much before he acts and also expresses a lot of
his feelings before actually doing something. All of Shakespeare's
tragedies concerned people in high positions in a country and his fall
would affect every one in the country too. As we see in, "King Lear"
and "Macbeth". Hamlet's fall is due to one major flaw, which is his
tendency to postpone action. His fall leads to death and destruction
of such magnitude that the audience is moved by pity and terror.
Hamlets tragic flaw brings about his downfall due to the peculiar
situation he is in. This situation is revealed to the audience when
they discover about Claudius, the late king Hamlet's brother, killing
the king and then quickly taking control over the state of Denmark. He
also marries Gertrude, the queen of Denmark and starts to rule over
the country.
We find the character of Claudius in the play a very complex one,
which is woven by Shakespeare to play an important role in the play.
Claudius is a very cruel villain in the play, who also leads to the
death of many people, including himself, with his pitiless acts. He
proves himself to the audience to be a murderer, villain and one of
who indulges in incest and cruel actions. He also is the source of
corruption, guilt and deception, in the play.
Shakespeare gives the name "Claudius" to the character because there
was an emperor of Rome named Claudius who was the ultimate ...
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mind. He isn't trustworthy, nor does he trust many people in the
court, and expresses suspicion towards every thing that could be
hazardous to him being king. Claudius is a man who can't control his
greed or lust for something even if it goes against moral values. He
shows great calmness in tense situations and is completely capable of
getting himself out of them. He uses his intelligence to manipulate
people and also is quite courageous in this way. He is also very
affectionate at times when he shows real true love for the queen. He
also gives us the idea that he does have a conscience, but due to
temptation he can't follow his moral judgment. This shows that
Claudius is tempted too easily yet. He is not a "vice of kings" as he
shows himself to be completely capable of handling the court and its
issues.
Although playing what’s thought to represent a noble king, Claudius totally differs from that title. Claudius is a manipulative, under minding, selfish person: “That we wish wisest sorrow think on him,/ Together with remembrance of ourselves,/ Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen” (1.2.6-8). King Claudius kills the king of Denmark his own brother just to turn into the king of
An Exploration of the Ways Shakespeare Presents the Character Claudius From Claudius’s first speech the audience gains the impression the character is political and educated. Shakespeare uses metaphorical language to emphasis this. Claudius’s first speech in the script is full of metaphorical language, and it shows a manipulating, persuasive character who can convince a kingdom that it was perfectly acceptable for him to marry his brother’s wife just a few weeks after his death. It is the language Shakespeare has chosen to give Claudius that can convince others that he is morally correct. He uses imagery of facial features to represent the kingdom as one body.
An interesting comparison between King Hamlet and Claudius is a biblical reference between Cain and Abel. Cain was the first person to be born and Abel was the first person to be killed. Cain was jealous of his brother who was younger yet he became a shepherd while he was a farmer. Whenever they would give offerings to god, Abel’s offering would be accepted while Cain’s offering wasn’t. Cain was jealous of his brother and angered that he was allowed such a better life than him. Besides being a shepherd, Abel’s wife which was decided for him was much more beautiful than Cain’s wife. On one fateful day. Cain invites Abel to the fields and then there Cain murders his brother. This biblical story is commonly associated with Hamlet. One brother takes the life of the other brother because they think that they are more deserving than the other brother. In both cases, the murderous brother is left to walk to their doom in the future and in a sense gets justice inflicted upon them.
Claudius' soliloquy about his remorse over his murder of Hamlet's father is important to the play because it's the one place where we learn how Claudius feels about what he has done. The rest of the play is all about how Hamlet feels about what Claudius has done, and I think it rounds out the play to get it from a different perspective.
Far too often we see men and women with noble causes lose their motive because of their emotional behavior. Their emotions cause them to lose track. We see no finer example of a man with a noble cause whose emotions cause him to lose sight of his noble cause: the character of Laertes in the play Hamlet. Laertes has a vendetta against Hamlet for killing his father. Although Laertes meant well in avenging his father’s death, his emotional behavior overtook him in the process. If we look at other characters in the play, we find a similar struggle between a noble goal and one’s emotions. Hamlet fights the same battle as Laertes does; however, Hamlet is better able to control his emotions. To maintain a noble goal without faltering, one must be able to rid one’s self of emotions that lead to undesirable actions.
In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the confidant Horatio is created to serve a number of different purposes. Horatio is a flat character. He is a loyal, obedient, and trustworthy companion to Hamlet. His character does not undergo any significant transformation throughout the play, except that he serves as a witness of the death of Hamlet, Claudius, and Gertrude. Horatio's role in the play seems to be as a utilitarian character that Shakespeare created in order to heighten the suspense of the play. Also for Horatio to be Hamlet's ear so as to appease the audience's ear, and to communicate the moral of the play.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet there are many characters who can be accused of many sins – but not Horatio. Rightfully Hamlet compliments Horatio on his nobility and dignity; he is indeed a faithful friend. This essay will highlight this ideal friendship as part of a general consideration of Horatio.
Claudius is also a character who is neither true to himself nor to others: he is not being true to the rest of the kingdom. He does not want to give up his gains, so the people of Denmark do not know why their previous King has died and his brother taken over. While making an attempt to pray, he realizes that his sins cannot be forgiven.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play that tells of a young man, Hamlet, who wanted revenge for the death of his father. After speaking with his father's spirit, Hamlet was led to believe that the person who murdered his father was his uncle, Claudius. Claudius kills his brother mainly because of jealousy, the crown, the queen and a hatred of his brother. Therefore Claudius is guilty of the murder of his brother.
One main theme that arises in the Hamlet is the power struggle between Hamlet and Claudius. The main problem is between Hamlet and Claudius; they are in an ongoing battle throughout the play to see who will rise with the power of the throne. Claudius is the antagonist in the story and has multiple people under him that follow his every rule (Innes). He is a manipulative character who seeks revenge on Hamlet through other people he knows. On the other hand, Hamlet is the protagonist of the story, he is very unhappy after finding out the news of how his father had been killed (Innes). He is overtaken though by the ghost of his father, Old Hamlet, and is seen to become mad as a consequence. Although Hamlet seeks revenge against his new stepfather he procrastinates killing him. Hamlet has also considered killing himself beforehand because of the struggle of power between his stepfather and himself. In the last scene of the play the power struggle that had been between Hamlet and Claudius comes to a conclusion as Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and Hamlet die. Throughout the play Laertes, Horatio and Gertrude choose a side to be on, either between Hamlet’s and Claudius’s who both are trying to obtain the utmost power.
Nature versus nurture is a common sociological theory that has the ability to be used on anyone. Nature means the way someone was born or their genes, and nurture is someone’s environment. People argue which affects a person more. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there have been numerous arguments saying that his uncle Claudius is actually his father due to their similarities. With the argument of nature versus nurture one can argue that they act so much alike because Hamlet’s environment growing up was being around Claudius. By looking at both Hamlet and Claudius’; inaction/action, plots to murder one another, their diction, their relationships with Gertrude, the way they treat women and their advisors, it proves that Claudius is not Hamlet’s father.
How far do you agree that Hamlet’s hesitation to kill Claudius in Act Three is underpinned by religious reasons? Of all the different motives Shakespeare presents for Hamlet’s lack of action, which seems to be the most important?
The path one takes to seek a personal reward may result in the treacherous acts that causes devastation for others. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the moral corruption that occurs between family members causes animosity that results in their downfall, and eventually their ultimate demise. More specifically, the tainted view of an individual in a family may result in the downfall of the other family members involved. Evidence of the tainted view of a family member causing undue harm can be found in the relationship between Hamlet and Claudius, Hamlet and Old King Hamlet, and Hamlet and Gertrude
Claudius was motivated to take the throne for many reasons but one of the mains ones was his enormous greed. Claudius was not happy being the king’s brother, or being super wealthy, but rather he wanted to be the king himself, he wanted to be the wealthiest and most powerful man in entire kingdom. Claudius reflects back on what he has done when he says, “Forgive me my foul murder? /That cannot be; since I am still possessed/ Of those effects for which I did the murder-/ My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.” (Hamlet 3.3.52-55). Claudius knows that he has done wrong but his greed has consumed him and he cannot simply give up everything he has taken. The wealth and power he has acquired is what he has wanted his whole life and now he cannot imagine himself without it. He has committed a murder and he has married the queen he will now stick to his ambitions and not turn back. Greed is often when someone wants something in an extreme or an excessive amount above what is necessary. A certain amount of everything is
...3.57). Though Claudius appears to show remorse for his actions, he shows his true character by focusing on maintaining the power and rewards that came from murdering his brother.