Why do people crave power, fortune, and lust when all it leads to is corruption, greed, and/or death? In the play of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one character's greed for power and fortune leads to tragedy. First, Claudius murders King Hamlet and attempts to kill prince Hamlet inorder to keep the crown to rule Denmark. Secondly, Claudius sets up a plan that involves putting a poisonous pearl in the winner's victory cup that eventually Gertrude drinks. He also puts poision on the tip of the sword that eventually kills Laertes in the duel. Lastly, Claudius sends Rosencranz & Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England to secretly be killed so that he can keep the crown. One may object that Polonius' death was not the fault of Claudius' greed because Hamlet killed Polonius. However, Hamlet was obsessed with killing Claudius because he wanted to seek revenge for his father. Claudius' Greed for power is to blame for all the tragedies in the play Hamlet.
First of all, Jealousy is a form of greed that resulted in multiple tragedies. Claudius is jellous and wanted what is brother had. An example of this is when he killed King Hamlet because he wanted the crown, he wanted to rule the kingdom of Denmark, he wanted money, and he wanted Gertrude. When the ghost tells Hamlet, "With witchcraft of his wit with traitorous gifts-- O wicked wit and gifts that have the power So seduce!--won to his shameful lust. the will of my most seeming- virtuous queen."(i.v. 44-46) this proves that Claudius actions came from his greed.
Secondly, When people are overtaken by greed for power they are determinded to do what ever it takes to get what they desire. For example, when Claudius sets up the plan of poisioning Hamlet in the duel he ends up killing Ger...
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...is uncle, Claudius for taking the throne, his mother, his money and the crown. Therefore yes, Hamlet is obssesed with wanting to kill his Claudius.
Claudius' Greed for power is to blame for all the tragedies in the play Hamlet. Claudius was jellous of his brother and did go through exstemes inorder to gain power through greed. Relying on others was another tragedy. Polonius' death was not the fault of Claudius' greed. Hamlet killed Polonius. Don't assume because assuming lead to sticky situalions. Nevertheless, Hamlet was obsessed with killing Claudius because Claudius had killed his father and Hamlet wanted to seek his father's revenge. Keep your nose out of other people's buisness and find another solution to making your fatther proud. The bottom line is that Claudius craved power fortune and lust therefore leading to corruption, greed, jeallousy, and death.
Ultimately the characters strive for power does not end well. In particular the story of Gilgamesh the main character Gilgamesh has power and abuses it. Gilgamesh is a greedy king who gets what he wants. He often has no consideration for his people that are looking up to him. The quote stated above about Gilgamesh can also speak for his power. Because Gilgamesh had a lot of power he is able to do anything he wishes. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu meets Gilgamesh is trying to sleep with a bride before her husband can. Gilgamesh has power but he abuses his power and his people are the ones who are punished. Claudius also thrives for power. It is ultimately Claudius’s need for power that urges him to kill his brother so he could marry his brother’s wife and become king. Claudius does not even stop his wife Gertrude from drinking the poisoned wine. He does say “Gertrude, do not drink” (Shakespeare. 5.2. 262). Claudius does not but tell her not to drink the wine but by the time he tells her that it is too late. Both Gilgamesh and Claudius have power. They do not use their power to benefit others. Both Gilgamesh and Claudius’s power harms their
...p; "So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr," (I.ii.143-144). Hamlet would not be regularly complimenting his father if he had ever been jealous of his relationship with Gertrude. Thus, Hamlet feels anger towards Claudius because he murdered Hamlet's father, not for feelings of rivalry.
Greed is the desire to have more of something than others, to the point of excess and selfishness. Envy and greed go hand in hand in Hamlet, and is represented through the character Claudius. Claudius murdered his brother, King Hamlet, because he wanted what his brother had. Claudius reveals why he murdered the King when he is overcome with guilt, he says “ I am still possess'd Of those effects for which I did the murder, My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.”( 3.3.53-55). Meaning he committed the act of murder to obtain the three things he was envious that his brother had: being king, the lifestyle and Gertrude. Claudius could end his envy of his brother and obtain the lavish lifestyle he so desired. Envy and greed intense lead Claudius to commit the condemning act of regicide. One definition of regicide is killing a person of royalty deliberately, in this case, it was King Hamlet. In history, most cases of regicide have been executions or court ordered executions, such as in the cases of King Louis the Sixteenth of France and his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. King Louis the Sixteenth was sentenced to death after being convicted of conspiring with foreign powers.This contrasts to the regicide in Hamlet because King Hamlet was not put on trial or found guilty of any crime. Claudius was not satisfied with his own life and longed for the life of his brother. Claudius killed his brother for his own personal gain, without justifiable
He is the major antagonist in the play and the story line is predominantly based around him. In Kenneth Branagh’s movie Claudius is seen as a very smart and crafty individual. He is always thinking of ways to make sure Hamlet does not find out what he has done. Claudius’s view of the good life is to have power, wealth and the lovely queen. This view affects how his character is portrayed in the story. Claudius loves power and will do anything for it. This is shown when he says “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.”(Act 3, scene 3, page 3) Claudius tells the reader that the reason he killed Hamlet Sr. was to get all these benefits. Claudius also shows that he is very manipulative and cunning. Claudius let’s Polonius spy on Hamlet, which ends up effecting Hamlet. Claudius’s sneaky and manipulative ways eventually lead to the death of Polonius at Hamlet’s hands. This killing of Polonius effects Hamlet, but no one knows it was truly under the influence of Claudius. Claudius acts as a foil for Hamlet, Hamlet is seen wearing dark black clothing in the beginning and it is because of Claudius, which is not yet discovered. The black clothing shows us that Hamlets worldview of the good life is family loyalty because he is focused on the mourning of his father’s death. The contradicting worldviews of Hamlet and
King Claudius is hamlet’s uncle. He is the king of the Denmark. He is a determined man who wants to spread himself in whatever way he can. He acts different from what’s inside him for example; when he was called the new king for the Denmark, he expresses his feeling in unhappiness and joy. He was happy because he’s getting married to Hamlets mom and acted sad for his brother death.
Although we quickly see through Claudius’s sham, his “bad” qualities might be the reason for his “good” Kingship. After all, a King who is ambitious, manipulative, and selfish would want to keep the throne, and since Claudius dislikes confrontation, he has evidently decided to remain in power by being a just and wise ruler. He might have had the wrong motivations and a terrible character, but royal policies were, on the whole, good for Denmark. But we must not forget his terrible choice; instead of giving up his sins’ rewards, he chooses to keep them and kill Hamlet to assure his crown. Make no mistake, Claudius was a bad person, but Denmark had experienced an extraordinary King, ended with poisoned drink in his throat and poisoned sword in his chest.
Claudius kills his own brother so that he can claim the crown and the queen. He disposes of a good and noble king to satisfy his greed. He sacrifices his brother, the good of the country, and the happiness of many to fulfill his ambition. He cares only for himself. Knowingly or not, most humans, at one point or another, will be driven by greed. Most, however, will not have the determination and desperation that Claudius displays. This is partly because of the differences of the times. In the time period that Shakespeare wrote the play, murder was heavily frowned upon as it is now. Greed is part of all people. They see something they want and they tell themselves that it is only what they deserve. It is inescapable, but we can control it to a certain degree.
[4, 1, 40] These idiosyncrasies are observed in the play when Claudius becomes concerned he will lose power as King and the likelihood Hamlet will murder him to avenge his father’s death. This is apparent when Gertrude informs Claudius that Hamlet is, “Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend which is mightier”. [4,1,6] With these thoughts daunting Claudius, he approaches Laertes in a Machiavellian manner to convince him to murder Hamlet, for he knows Laertes is angry, deranged and “Vows to the blackest devil” [4,5,131] after the death of his father. In doing so, Claudius has the intent to use Machiavellian powers over Laertes who is currently mentally unstable, with the objective being that Laertes will murder Hamlet to avenge his own father’s (Polonius) death. Claudius is able to successfully persuade Laertes in a manipulative speech, especially with his snide comment, “Not that I think you did not love your father, but that I know love is begun by time, and that I see a passage of proof.” [4,7,96] Claudius’ malicious comment indicates he is using his power over Laertes, so that the burden and repercussions do not rest on him, so that he may retain his authority as King. By utilizing his power over Laertes, Claudius is successful, as Hamlet is slain, however, as reflected in Claudius’
Both Claudius and Hamlet are similar in many ways. They both have trouble taking action and are very indecisive. This can be seen when Claudius wants to pray and repent for his sins but has trouble praying because he does not want to give up everything that he has gained from that sin. He refuses to let everyone know that it was in fact him that killed the king and deal with the consequences that would follow, like him losing the power and respect he gained from being king. This indecisiveness can also be seen in Hamlet when he has trouble deciding whether to avenge his father’s death or if Claudius even killed his father. Even though the ghost of his father came to him and told Hamlet that Claudius poisoned him to take his position as king, Hamlet has trouble acting
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...
But since he was elected, there was not much he could do. King Claudius was not a noble man. He just won his votes from parliament. This is portrayed in scene two of act five, when Hamlet says “He that hath killed my king and whored my mother, popped in between th’ election and my hopes, thrown out his angle for my proper life.” King Claudius has all the opposite qualities of moral. He states how he did all of the wrong just for his own personal gain in scene three of act one when he says “Of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.” He was selfish, and that is not what nobility of the mind is
The relationship between Hamlet and Claudius is problematic, largely due to the fact that they both wish death upon the other. For instance, they view each other as a threat, which is a foreboding sign within a royal family. When Hamlet learns that his father was murdered by his own uncle - Claudius, Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius when he is told, “But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown” (1.5.38-40). In other words, the ghost of Old King Hamlet informs Hamlet that Claudius has murdered him. He compares Claudius to a serpent, a large deadly
While Claudius is praying, Hamlet has an opportunity to slay him but doesn’t because if he kills him in his prayers he will make him go to heaven instead of hell. Another minor reason for Hamlet’s revenge against his uncle is his affection towards his mother. As the play progresses, we are able to determine that Hamlet’s relationship with his mom is close to incest status. With this information, we are able to imply that Hamlet is jealous of his Uncle Claudius for marrying his mother.... ... middle of paper ...
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
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