Does Hamlet Make a Good King?

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In the play Hamlet, the young prince never does have the chance to become king. Shortly after his uncle Claudius dies, so does young Hamlet. Therefore, many readers wonder whether the prince would have made a good king. Hamlet would indeed make a great king due to his compassion, loyalty, and intelligence.
Any great king must be compassionate, and Hamlet is the embodiment of compassion. He shows this through his great sadness after his father’s death. Unlike many others in the play, Hamlet continues to mourn long after his father’s death. In fact, he never stops thinking of his father, even though his mother rushed into a marriage with Claudius a mere two months after her husband’s funeral. Also, Hamlet shows the reader his compassion through …show more content…

He shows the reader this when he convinces the people around him that he is mad to confuse his uncle and hide his knowledge of the truth about his father’s death. After all, he knows that he must disguise his knowledge to avenge his father. Also, Hamlet demonstrates his intelligence when he uses double meanings to speak to others around him. A good example of this is in Act IV, Scene II, when Hamlet states, “the body is with the King, but the King is not with the body (4.3.23-24).” He means that Claudius is with his body but does not hold true kingship. However, the others do not understand this. Through double meanings, Hamlet tells the other characters in the play what he knows without them being aware of it. Finally, he demonstrates his intelligence through his play to observe his uncle’s guilt; a kind man, he knows that he could not seek revenge on Claudius without proof of his guilt. When the actors arrive, Hamlet comes up with his plan to have the actors perform a play which closely resembles the way he believes his father was killed. His uncle’s reaction to this play would, after all, show whether Claudius was truly to blame for the death of Hamlet’s late father. Prince Hamlet’s intelligence would have made him a great

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