Commentary On The Antagonist's Prayer In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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HI. My name is Kristen Michelle Nader and my candidate number is 004673006. My commentary will be about the play Hamlet which was written by William Shakespeare and more specifically on the antagonist’s prayer. Claudius is confronted with the internal conflict of needing repentance and his hunger or greed for materialistic rewards that he received after murdering his brother. Shakespeare reveals Claudius’ internal struggle and guilt through the use of complex figurative language, vibrant imagery, and the dialect in total to which Shakespeare then relates to the major theme of religion.

Hamlet is a dramatic play that takes place in Denmark. Young Hamlet arrives home to discover his father is dead and suspect that his uncle is the one responsible-
The court does not judge by the titles that were given on earth but by the sins that were committed. Lastly, the Diction that Shakespeare uses helps the audience draw their final conclusion on Claudius’s future. Terms such as “cursed”, “bosom black as death”, “ O limed soul” , and even “ primal curse” shows the corruption of Claudius’s character and inevitably his death. Also, Claudius himself can be seen as a symbol of the Bubonic Plague that occurred at that time since every character associated with the new king, eventually dies. Shakespeare also uses words such as “foul”, “wicked, “wretched” and “curse” to emphasize a darker tone. The attitude then switches to sarcastic which is seen in phrases like
“Forgive me my foul murder”
Claudius does not believe that prayer can save him and thus mocks it. He is unable to pray due to the fact that he is unwilling to lose the rewards from the murder. This evidently shows that even when Claudius is presented with the opportunity for repentance, he turns it down due to his humanistic desires. Then, Claudius makes reference to angels and newborn babies which often symbolize purity and thus switches to a sweeter and lighter tone. Therefore, not even religion could save him from
He does not believe it can save him just as Cain was not forgiven for the murder of his brother. Initially, it seems as though Claudius is trying to repent for his sins. However as the soliloquy continues, it is revealed that the soliloquy is actually in the form of an anti-prayer. Rather than appearing cold and heartless, Claudius appears as vulnerable and weak. He is may seem truly worried about what will become of him in the after-life yet this worry is superficial since he is still unable to ask for forgiveness since repenting would mean giving up the benefits that he received “My crown, mine own ambition and my queen”. In the end, Claudius is a hypocrite since he is trying to pray yet he does not. Claudius’s attempt to pray confirms that he is entirely aware of his actions and his hypocrisy, but he is unwilling to ask for forgiveness or give up his

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