Claudius: The Complex Antagonist In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Claudius is a complex antagonist in the play Hamlet, whose main role is to create anger and confusion, especially towards Hamlet. He is one of the morally ambiguous characters, which is a character whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good. In many works of literature, past and present events have effects on the work as a whole and throughout the work. Claudius is a prime example of this, as he killed his brother, and then proceeded to go after the laid King Hamlet’s wife.

In the opening of Hamlet; the king of Denmark, Claudius is viewed as an intelligent and very capable leader for the nation of, Denmark, who has recently lost their King. The whole play revolves around Claudius killing King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear. He killed him seeing that he had a lust for Gertrude, King Hamlet’s former wife.

This action made by Claudius resulted in the tension throughout the play. Clues that Claudius was the individual to murder King Hamlet were first discovered when the ghost speaks in act one referring to him as “that incestuous, that adulterate beast” (1.5. 42) From that point on Hamlet sets out to uncover his father’s death.

Claudius also

sincere despair about losing his brother is displayed for a short period of time. His love for Gertrude is the backing behind his evil plans because of his immense love for her. Claudius is viewed as more of a hero than Hamlet surprisingly, although it is a tragic hero, which is someone who has the audience’s empathy and creates their own downfall. He is a tragic hero for the reason being that he has positive parts to him such as him being a father, husband and king. Another notable example of him being kind is how even though he knows Hamlet is out to seize him and has the opportunity to kill him, he does not want to because he knows the love Gertrude has for Hamlet and how great the people in Denmark care for