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Character development of hamlet in hamlet
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He murdered the king married the queen, took the crown, plotted to do away with Hamlet, but in all, guarded himself from blame. King Claudius was a mad psychopath who wanted power. He wanted his brother 's wife and his kingdom. His ex-sister-in-law is now his new wife and queen of the kingdom. King Hamlet, the ghost return from hell, he wanted them brutally killed by his son Hamlet. In the end, King Claudius had to pay the price, he lost his new wife and his stepson/ nephew and his own life. I 'm sure by now you’re confused. As crazy as this sounds there is more to the story. Most know how the story evolved at the end, with blood and poison wine and a toast. A brief introduction to Niccolò Machiavelli, is necessary for a better understanding
Claudius is a Machiavellian ruler because he plots for power, he lies, he manipulates and he controls Gertrude. In the first few scenes of hamlet, the political aspirations of King Claudius are shockingly evident, even though it 's only been a few months since his brother 's death. He knew to get the power of the kingdom, his brother had to die and he had to control hamlet because he was the firstborn. So, he marries Gertrude. Regardless of the fact, Gertrude was King Hamlet 's wife, in other words, the wife of the brother he murdered. It seemed like he was tired of standing in his brother 's shadow and would do anything to gain the power. Gertrude was only Queen because she was married to King Hamlet, and does not continue being Queen after he dies. When King
Hamlet died, Hamlet would have been succeeded by his son, Prince Hamlet, under normal
Primogeniture rules. However, his brother, Claudius, usurped the Throne; his marriage to
Gertrude was for political reasons and mostly to strengthen his position as King. His uncle could do this because he had a Machiavellian personality and Hamlet, however normally takes a more passive-aggressive stand of dealing with problems. Hamlet did not want to be disobedient and
King Claudius, is intelligent and well-spoken. Which are traits when put together, intensify his manipulative and dangerous nature. If you notice, he will modify his strategy and language to match individual people, so he can get them to solve problems his way, not providing choices in situations where
Maldonado 6 there is another way to go. This takes a plotter, conniving, and manipulating person. Because he goes undetected, he can wreak havoc throughout the kingdom, using people to take whatever he wants, regardless of who he hurt or the consequences, without any remorse or feeling any guilt. “To thine own peace. If he be now returned, as checking at his voyage, and that he means No more to undertake it, I will work him,
To an exploit, now ripe in my devise, Under the which he shall not choose but fall. And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe,
But even his mother shall uncharged the practice And call it accident.” (Act 4, scene 7, line, 60-65) Claudius is trying to manipulate Laertes ' anger against Hamlet, so he will kill him, but this time it will lead to his own death. Everything he does or says is to benefit himself. He makes
Heilbrun, Carolyn G. (2002). Hamlet's Mother and Other Women. 2nd ed. West Sussex: Columbia University Press.
After all of this, he knew that even if someone did suspect him of a murder, he would have to play it cool no matter what. Killing the king was incredibly wrong, but I must give Claudius credit because he had to put much effort and thought into his situation.... ... middle of paper ... ... Claudius would have to be a worthy adversary if Hamlet felt that he deserved to suffer also in the afterlife.
Hamlet does not take the opportunity to slay Claudius as he prays because he believes it will save his soul. His contemplative nature takes over regarding the ghost’s revelation and he decides to devise a play to pique Claudius’ conscience and make sure he is really guilty.
...e murder of his father, Hamlet Sr. After Hamlet killed Polonius, and stored his body, when first asked of him the location of Polonius' body, and Hamlet replied with a riddle; "The body is with the King, but the King is not / with the body. The King is a thing-" (Hamlet - 4.2.27-28). This riddle strange in itself was evidence to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Hamlet's insanity. Once the King banished him to his death in England, Hamlet replied with "Farewell, dear mother." (Hamlet - 4.4.58). Shocking to the King, being his father and or uncle, and Hamlet forgave an explanation to the King of why he called him his mother; "My mother. Father and mother is man and wife, / Man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother" (Hamlet - 4.4.60-61). Hamlet's mask of insanity had fooled the King, the Queen, Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Though he had fooled these people he always kept a full grasp of reality and his true convictions.
Seen from the early scenes of the play until Claudius’ last breath, Claudius’ only concern is gaining and maintaining power by any means necessary. His introduction into power begins with his own manipulative plot—that succeeds—to kill his brother, which the ghost tells Hamlet within the first act of the play (Shakespeare 59, 61). Claudius’ entrance into the position of king is centered around crime, murder, and manipulation, which in return is the basis of his reign. Further along into the play, readers notice that majority of the men portrayed in the play are concerned about justice or moral balance. However, the man in the position of absolute power is preoccupied with lust and schemes. As the play progresses, Claudius’ malfeasances become more apparent once Hamlet’s “insanity” reaches its peak and kills Polonius (171). More concerned with preserving his seat in the court, Claudius resorts to a plan
one will suspect him of doing anything such as that. To many critics the “whole
[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...
He accomplishes this by pretending to love Hamlet in front of Gertrude when in reality he wants to kill Hamlet. Claudius faces the truth that his secret got out and Hamlet knows he killed King Hamlet. Not wanting to ruin his reputation and of course stay king, he plans to have Hamlet killed. He lets Gertrude believe he loves Hamlet and wants to be a father figure from him, not knowing it is all part of his plan to kill him.... ...
In the beginning of the book, Hamlet behaves as any normal person would when he mourns the untimely death of his father, the King. He is dreary and depressed and also contemplates suicide. On the other hand, Gertrude behaves as though her husband’s death did not even occur, not in such a way that she is denying it happened, but as if it was insignificant and trivial. She marries her husband’s brother a month after his death. She continues to live on in a blissful world, while Hamlet is repulsed by his mother’s decision to remarry so quickly. Hamlet refers to it as an incestuous marriage. “She married:--O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 156-157, page 33). He appears to be the only one in the entire kingdom affected by the death of his father and it makes him feel more alone.
Claudius, using his wits, convinced Laertes that Hamlet should be killed, “To show yourself your father’s son in deed/ More than in words? / To cut his throat I’ the church!” (Hamlet 4.7 125-127). Claudius learns that Hamlet is still alive he thought of a master plan to use Laertes to kill Hamlet. Claudius has already turned Laertes against Hamlet by saying that he murdered his father in cold blood and has gone unpunished because the queen and all the kingdom is in love with him. Laertes who is fueled by misguided anger is prepared to do whatever it takes to get his revenge against Hamlet. Laertes simply suggests that he kill Hamlet in cold blood, but Claudius uses his superior intelligence to come up with a truly dark and evil plan to kill Hamlet. Intelligence is mostly thought of as an admirable quality but a select few choose to use it for the wrong reasons. It can sometimes lead people to think they are above the law and can simply get away with whatever terrible crime the commit (Nyborg 344-345). This was the case with Claudius he thought that he had planned the murder carefully and meticulously enough that no one would ever ask questions. Even once Hamlet knew his evil secret Claudius did not give up he came up with plan after plan to kill Hamlet. Claudius, in his mind, had thought that he had earned everything he had acquired. He may have
to the people of Denmark, it was Claudius who killed King Hamlet, and stole his crown
King Claudius, as illustrated in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, displays both charm and eloquence. Claudius is an intelligent person and is able to deceive people into believing he is innocent and morally guided. He is adept at manipulating people in order to advance and maintain his own power and fails to show any remorse for his actions. Claudius utilizes his linguistic skills to portray himself as an innocent and prudent leader; however, upon further inspection his diction is a mere smoke screen that hides his manipulative and cunning nature.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.