The play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s, uses deaths to emphasize the idea of mortality throughout the play. The deaths that occur so frequently in the play are used to atone for wrongs done by the characters earlier in the play. Two major deaths that occur are the deaths of King Claudius and Ophelia. All of these characters did a wrong to one or more persons and in the end of the play they all paid for their wrongs by being murdered or committing suicide.
Claudius is the antagonist in this play, in easier words, the villain. He is the brother of the now dead King of Denmark, Hamlet. Claudius murders his brother and does it in a way that it seems as though death had claimed him in a natural way. He is then quick to marry Queen Gertrude, as a favor to the state of Denmark. Claudius throughout the play is calculating, and will do anything to stay in power: including murdering the son of his current wife, his nephew, Hamlet. During the play, Hamlet becomes a threat to the crown and power in his possession. To overcome this, Claudius confides in Laertes that Hamlet was the cause of Polonius’s death. In an act of revenge Laertes plans his act “I will do ‘t. And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mounteback, so mortal that, but a dip a knife in it, where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, collected from all simples that have virtue under the moon, can save the thing from death that is but scratched withal. I’ll touch my point with this contagion, that if I gall him slightly it may be death” (4.7.139-148). This works wonderfully in Claudius’s favor. With Laertes plotting to avenge his father, Claudius won’t have to get his hands dirty again, and...
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...lia was meant to be loyal to her love interest and instead was loyal to her father who told her to spy on Hamlet and discover if his love for her was the source of his madness. This deception is what led to her death. Claudius was meant to be loyal to several people in the state of Denmark, but most importantly King Hamlet, his brother. When Claudius murdered his brother for the crown, he broke the loyalty he had to Denmark. King Hamlet’s ghost appeared to Hamlet and told him that he was to be avenged, which was the overall motive for Hamlet’s madness. Claudius’s death was the resolution to the play because his death was the goal of the entire play. Those who died, died for the actions they had committed and in the end everything fell back into place when all of their wrongs were washed away with their deaths. Their mortality is ended and their wrongs were atoned.
...m to put his life in danger to find out more information about Hamlet, which ultimately leads to his death. Claudius also planted the idea of murdering Hamlet into Laertes’ mind, and this became the main goal of Laertes towards the end, which leads him to his death. Hamlet has hurt the women that he loves, both Ophelia and Gertrude die. Claudius and Hamlet also die, which is ultimately how the corruption of the nation of Denmark ends, through this it can once again be the great nation that it once was.
It is here that one begins to see the theme of revenge and the idea that power can cause corruption. A family is supposed to be loyal and trusting of each other without any doubts; or so it was thought. Shakespeare uses Claudius’ betrayal of late King Hamlet to disprove the notion that family is always loyal. Claudius’ jealousy of his own brother and his desire to be the most powerful in Denmark corrupted him. It led him to betray his own family, a bond that is supposed to be unbreakable, and all the while feeling no guilt while acting as if he had not committed the crime. In addition to this, Claudius also takes late King Hamlet’s wife. Hamlet is enraged by the crime and adultery committed by his supposed family and feels he must seek justice for his father by taking out revenge on Claudius and therefore betraying him. Subsequently, the play becomes a slippery slope of events stemming from betrayal and revenge. The betrayal of one character became the revenge and betrayal of many others as seen when Horatio says, “… violent and unnatural acts, terrible accidents, casual murders, deaths caused by trickery and by threat, and finally murderous plans that backfired on their perpetrators,” showing that each act committed by the characters were returned back to them. This can be supported through the deaths of Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet as these were just a
...nection with Claudius deserves to die and painfully if possible. Each character exhibits a tragic flaw that is fatal. Although it may seem unfair, Hamlet is the ultimate arbiter of life and death in the play. Because Hamlet is possessed by the Devil, he chooses to let Fate decide what happens. Thus Fate/Devil tells him to duel with Laertes. This is the first step of the beginning of the end. Hamlet and Laertes both are fatally wounded, the Queen is poisoned, and finally the King is poisoned and stabbed. Instead of only killing the King, Hamlet directly and indirectly kills everyone. Only Horatio is not affected, for he remains true with Hamlet even to the very end when he tries to poison himself in order to accompany his prince to death. Horatio is the epitome of fidelity, even his stoic nature melts away when he witnesses the poignancy of the tragedy of Hamlet.
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).
In his disoriented state, he kills Polonius and bids “thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell” and that he “took thee for thy better.” (III.iv.37.39). Although Hamlet realizes that he did not kill his father’s murderer, in a twisted mood he still says that he is glad that Polonius is dead. At this point, he is so enraged that he would take the death of anyone close to Claudius as a success. He also becomes more impulsive as he does not even think about looking to see who was behind the curtain. As he has not really accomplished anything directly with Claudius, Hamlet decides that “from this time forth [his] thought he bloody or be nothing worth!” (IV.v.68-69). As Hamlet acknowledges that his time is running out, he truly becomes mad and begins to resolutely target Claudius. This is a stark contrast to the earlier Hamlet who did not necessarily want bloodshed. After finally accomplishing his goal of killing King Claudius, he “prophes[izes] th’ election lights on Fortinbras; Hamlet has [his] dying voice” (V.ii.392-393). In his last effort to rid Denmark of corruption, he decides to pass on the crown to Fortinbras. Since Fortinbras is the only leader present that is not of the corruption, it makes sense that he is seen as a worthy successor to the Danish
Claudius greedy intentions take him to his murderous action. Claudius says, “The whole kingdom/to be contracted in one brow of woe”. (Shakespeare1.2.3-4) Claudius killing old king Hamlet knows that was the only way to have the kingdom. He gives the kingdom a new start under his new government and things that favors him but he still has those devious ways. He also gives the people a speech to represents how good of a ruler his is going to be and he even acknowledges his brother’s death. He gets to maintain the country affairs in his own way. The
William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is one of the most influential plays of all time. It has been retold numerous times in multiple genres due its popularity. Set in Denmark, the kingdom mourns the death of King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet returns from school to find his mother, Gertrude, marrying his uncle, Claudius. The ghost of Hamlet’s father reveals that he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet feels the need to avenge his father’s death. Ophelia overcome with grief at the death of her father, Polonius, kills herself and Gertrude’s death by the poisoned cup of Claudius. Shakespeare uses Gertrude and Ophelia to exemplify the themes of grief, betrayal, and compassion.
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
[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’
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.
Claudius is the king of Denmark, who is a very powerful and assertive man. He is the type of person that will do anything to get what he wants and everything in his power to stay king. He will do what it takes to get his way, even if that means betraying the person he is supposed to be committed to and love, his wife Gertrude. Gertrude is the mother of Hamlet, who she deeply cares for and loves. She is convinced that Claudius does as well. In order for Claudius to stay as king he must keep Gertrude happy and pleased. 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...
... the only way to honour his father Polonius is by killing Hamlet. In addition, as Claudius reads the letter from Hamlet to Laertes he says “'Tis Hamlet’s character. “Naked” And in a postscript here, he says “alone.” Can you advise me?” (IV, VII, 52-53). This shows that Claudius takes advantage of Hamlet’s return alone as an opportunity for Laertes to kill him. Through Claudius’s actions the readers observe how he deceives Laertes into killing Hamlet for his own benefit without getting blood on his hands. Furthermore, Claudius’ desperation to kill Hamlet leads to him losing sight of what is important, which is being the king of Denmark, what he originally wanted, instead the lies he told and the manipulation he spread is now taking over. To conclude, it is evident through the play that the words and actions of Claudius have only lead to the spread of deception.
Since Hamlet does kill him, it is clear that Claudius’ forced appearance through his social status and temperament make him hide and reveal his crime, ultimately leading to his death. Furthermore, Claudius uses a fearless appearance to hide his intimidation of Hamlet. After discovering Hamlet killed Polonius, Claudius talks to himself, revealing the anxiety Hamlet has bestowed upon him. He says, “I have sent to seek him and to find the body. How dangerous is it that this man goes loose!” (4.3. 1-2). In comparison to that fear, Claudius’ demeanour is firm when Hamlet is brought to him. As king of Denmark, Claudius abuses his power to banish Hamlet to England. Alone again, Claudius reveals the letter he sent to the king of England, requesting Hamlet’s execution. These actions favour Claudius, as killing Hamlet in a separate country by a different leader makes Claudius avoid political controversy. A consequence of this firm appearance however, is losing sight of Hamlet and losing two of his henchman. Within the intensity of the moment, Claudius insists the courtiers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern accompany Hamlet. However, Hamlet rewrites the letter, requesting that the courtiers will killed instead
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, revenge intertwines to bring about the deaths of most of the main characters. Hamlet’s course of revenge initiates the first fatality when Polonius gets caught spying on him and Gertrude (III. iv. 24-25). By pursuing revenge, Hamlet killing Polonius paves the way for more lives to be lost. Claudius sees the murder as an opportunity to eliminate Hamlet, because Laertes’s obsession with revenge leaves him vulnerable. Laertes’s and Hamlet’s revenge lead to the deaths of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and finally Hamlet (V. ii. 287-357). The revenge of each character ironically ended their own life. By acting upon revenge and having inimical intentions, the individuals brought fatalities that were unnecessary.
The final scene draws the greatest sympathy towards Hamlet even though he is not even in the scene. The forces of Claudius and Laertes have combined against Hamlet. Claudius states, To an exploit now ripe in my device, Under the which he shall not choose but fall, And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe; But even his mother shall unchange the practice, And call it accident. (IV, vii, 65-69) Claudius is willing to undertake any measures necessary to eliminate Hamlet, to the point that it does not matter whether or not it hurts Gertrude in any way. This scene depicts Hamlet as the victim, much like two bullies picking on a smaller child in school, since the king, with the aid of Laertes, is out to kill Hamlet, this time with a passion. Much like a political revolutionary, Hamlet has the system against him and is facing death because of his loyalty and honour towards his father.