Claudius And Hamlet Comparison Essay

2. 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

upon these allegations without proof. This is why Hamlet created that play in order to see if Claudius will show if he is guilty or not.

Another way in which the two are similar is in the way that they use their intellect to manipulate others. This can be seen in Claudius when he manipulates Laertes into agreeing to kill Hamlet. Claudius tells Laertes that Hamlet is not only the one responsible for his father’s death but he is responsible the death of his sister Ophelia. This can also be seen when Claudius gets Hamlets friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to work for him and on Hamlet. Hamlet’s manipulation skills can be seen in his plan to use a play that reenacts the murder of his father as a way to get Claudius to reveal his guilt. Another instance where Hamlet uses his manipulation skills to his advantage is when he changes Claudius’s orders from putting him to death to putting both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to death.
There are also many ways in which Claudius and Hamlet differ from each other. The most prominent and visible difference between the two is in the roles they play as characters. In Hamlet Claudius plays the role of the antagonist, while Hamlet pays the role of the protagonist. Another difference is the fact that

Claudius craves power, and will do anything in order to maintain his power. Claudius also has the ability to no be influenced by morals, whereas Hamlet has a difficult time trying to carry out acts that are immoral. This is why Claudius had the ability to kill Hamlet’s father without hesitation or remorse until after the deed was done, while it took Hamlet a long time to finally kill Claudius because he had to make sure that he was guilty. Hamlet also acts irrational and sometimes reacts off of impulses. This can be seen when Hamlet stabs through the tapestry with his sword thinking that it was Claudius spying on him when in fact it was Polonius. Instead of checking to see who was hiding behind the fabric, Hamlet reacted off of his impulse. This differs from Claudius because he is very methodical in his actions, and he always thinks of back up plans. This can be seen when he tells Laertes to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword but also poisons the goblet just in case the plan doesn’t work. Claudius also get s others to do his dirty work for him while Hamlet gets the help of others to get to his actual goal. When it came to getting rid of Hamlet, Claudius tried to order the King of England to execute Hamlet and had both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet there. Claudius also tried to get Laertes to kill Hamlet with a poison sword. Hamlet on the other hand knew that he was the only one that could kill Claudius, but he employed the help of others like Horatio to help him figure of if Claudius was truly guilty. Hamlet also has high morals which are why he couldn’t kill Claudius while he was praying, while Claudius never gave Hamlet’s father the chance to repent for his sins before killing him.