“‘Forgive me my foul murder’! That cannot be; since I am still possess’d of those effects for which I did murder-.” (III.ii.52-6) The hypocritical Claudius proclaims the aforementioned prayer, but is Claudius’ prayer superficial? Shakespeare’s Hamlet is teeming with deceit, incest, and hypocrisy; all of which are clearly portrayed through Claudius. Shakespeare obscures Claudius’ sinister characteristics through hypocrisy, but as the play develops, Claudius’ Mephistophelian nature becomes evident.
In the early acts of Hamlet, there is no direct evidence of Claudius’ villainy.
Claudius’ first appearance depicts him giving a speech to Queen Gertrude, Hamlet, Polonius, and other attendants. Claudius explains, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death the memory be green, and that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe…therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, the imperial jointress to this warlike state, have we, as ‘twere with a defeated joy, with an auspicious and a dropping eye, with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole, taken to wife. Nor have we herein barr’d your better wisdoms, which have freely gone with this affair along.” (7)
The naïve audience is unaware of the truth of King Hamlet’s murder, therefore, are also unaware of Claudius’ hypocrisy. In the beginning of Claudius’ speech, he implores the attendants to mourn deeply the death of his brother, the former King, Hamlet. The underlying hypocrisy lies within his orders to mourn because Claudius is not actually mourning Hamlet’s death. Claudius also misrepresents his marriage to Gertrude by providing seemingly sound reasons and downplaying its awkwardness. Noted critic Joseph Bertram also relates Claudius’ hypocrisy to his devilish tendencies by stating, “Elizabethans viewed it (hypocrisy) as a particularly serious character flaw.
The king’s hypocrisy is perhaps most evident in his eloquent speech in Act I, scene ii in which he openly discusses his hasty marriage to Gertrude.” (Bertram 138-139) Claudius continues to mask evilness with sincerity when Hamlet refuses to obey the common theme: death of fathers. Claudius assures Hamlet that, “‘tis a loving and a fair reply. Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come; this gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet sits smiling to my heart...
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...Bertram explains, “Shakespeare makes Claudius a hypocrite in what he says and does as the action progresses, and when the last scene has arrived we have been able to understand the kind of villainy that lurk beneath his fair and smooth appearance. It is obvious then that he has been created by the playwright as this particular kind of dangerous person, the hypocrite, who by virtue of his position and of his seeming splendor can pervert not merely his queen, but the very land, which he has stolen from his victim. Claudius is not a mixture of good and bad, he is an evil man who seems good.” (Bertram 141) Shakespeare removes the obscurities of hypocrisy and portrays the real Claudius.
By the completion of Hamlet, the audience recognizes the Mephistophelian nature. Shakespeare provides the proof is Claudius’ true nature chronologically as the play proceeds. “Claudius dares to be both a villain and a hypocrite; his heart does not smile with his face; he is guilty of murder and incest, the smile on his face hides guilt and the planning of yet more villainy in his heart.” (Bertram 141) From Claudius the audience learns the dangers of such character flaws and traits that he possesses.
Again Shakespeare wants to show the audience the character although it is weakened, does still have a conscience. This scene also creates dramatic irony, as he tries to pray but cannot because of the guilt he feels, Hamlet thinks he is praying so doesn’t kill him Shakespeare chose to have this build up and this soliloquy to show the dramatic irony and another more guilty more humane side to Claudius. Shakespeare shows the character of Claudius as been a villain, yet he shows other sides to him which have feeling of guilt showing that the character is not entirely bad. Claudius is shown as an ambitious and ruthless king but also as the main source and theme of evil throughout the play.
Claudius feels much guilt about the death of his brother he also faces the desires of power. The guilt of his brother death drives Claudius to be on his toes around the kingdom. He remains very scared that someone like Hamlet Jr. might avenge his father’s death. Hamlet Jr. chooses to use a play to test Claudius’s guilt. He rewrites parts of the play to replicate the story voiced by the ghost. Hamlet Jr. watches Claudius carefully during the performance, and the king leaves during it (Gale). Claudius gets up and leaves because he cannot bear to see the reenactment of how he killed his own brother. The internal conflict of the guilt about his brother eats Claudius up and he goes to repent for the corrupt act he has done: “My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,/ And like a man to double business bound,/ I stand in pause where I shall first begin,/ And neglect; what if this cursed hand,/Were thicker than itself with brothers blood” (3.3.40-45). Claudius repents but knows his words will mean nothing to the heavens because Claudius is an insincere being whom
...here they need to go. This makes kids late, the times ranging from forty five minutes to two hours, if the bus comes at all. All of these are major concerns, the interference with summer plans, the length of our summer, and the conditions of the roads, are significant concerns.
...the people. Today’s believers are set apart by spiritual birth to be priests in order to minister atonement to others. 1 Petrus 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (NIV). As the priests were consecrated by putting blood on their ears, their right hand thumbs, and their right feet great toes, so we as believers are consecrated to render service with our hands, to hear the voice of God, and to walk a holy life. The oil that was poured on the priests and their garments indicate that we as believers should be daily filled with the Holy Spirit.
When Claudius spoke this astounding speech, as the new king, he made it quite clear that he was sympathetic for this horrific tragedy. He seems to use this speech to address his marriage with Queen Gertrude. “With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,” (1.2.12) One second he is talking about the Queen’s former husband, his own brother, and not even two seconds after the fa...
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolves around Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s murder. Claudius’ first speech as King at the beginning of Scene 2, Act 1 introduces the themes of hierarchy, incest and appearance versus reality and plays the crucial role of revealing Claudius’ character as part of the exposition. The audience is left skeptical after Horatio’s questioning of King Hamlet’s ghost in the first scene of the play. By placing Claudius’ pompous speech immediately after the frightening appearance of Hamlet’s ghost, Shakespeare contrasts the mournful atmosphere in Denmark to the fanfare at the palace and makes a statement about Claudius’ hypocrisy. Through diction, doubling and figurative language, Shakespeare reveals Claudius to be a self centered, hypocritical, manipulative and commanding politician.
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...
According to SEER Statistics, 23,380 people are estimated to get a brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis. Out of those people, 14,320 people are estimated to die from their brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is a type of dangerous tumor, or a buildup of extra cells that form a mass of tissue, that can be life threatening (National Cancer Institute). The term for a tumor that is cancerous is a malignat tumor, whereas a benign tumor does not contain cancer cells (National Cancer Institute). According to the National Cancer Institute, the causes of brain cancer are unknown, but risk factors include family history and excessive radiaton exposure. Although they are not always due to a brain tumor, comon symptoms include headaches, nausea, speech, hearing, vision, and mood changes, problems with balance and mamories, seizures, and numbness in arms and legs (National Cancer Institute). MRI and CT scans as well as surgical biposies (or the removal of part of the tumor to be examined) are used to diagnose brain cancer (National Cancer Institute). Different types of treatment options include radiation therapy, surgery to remove the tumor, and chemotherapy. According to Charles Davis, MD, PhD and Nitin Tandon, MD of WebMD.com, chemotherapy is “ the use of powerful drugs to kill tumor cells”. There are a few different types of chemotherapy, but all of which bring out the same kinds of side effects. Although the physical side effects of chemotherapy are commonly known, few people know of the emotional toll chemotherapy can take on a patient and his or her family as they go though this process.
When King Claudius enters for the first time in the play he begins by acknowledging the death of Old King Hamlet. He describes his elder brothers sudden death as, “green” and, “that it is befitted/To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom” (1.2.1-2). Claudius is attempting to sound melancholy as he paints his brother’s death as recent and fresh in his mind. He furthers a portrayal of innocence by declaring that he thinks it is proper to mourn the old king throughout the kingdom. However, Claudius continues to say that although he believes it is “wisest” to mourn him he must also do it with “remembrance of ourselves” (1.2.5-6). Though Claudius appears to exhibit profound sorrow for his “dear brother’s death”, he fails to depict real sorrow for him as he quickly states that he must not forget about himself and his own well being (1.2.30). Claudius solidifies this conception when he speaks of grief as “fitting”, though he fails to mention that he himself is or has experienced any form of grief for the death of his brother. Claudius also uses the plural pronoun “ourselves” and “our” rather than the personal pronoun “me”. This separates Claudius emotionally from his brother’s death because he t...
Claudius feels guilty about killing his brother. We can see Claudius;s remorse when he is talking to God and gives his monologue about his his murder. Therefore, Claudius says, "My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent(pg.165)." This quote proves that Claudius realizes that he made a mistake and he also realizes that he cannot put everything behind him as mich as he wants to. Everything reminds him about his brother, the kingdom, the queen and the crown.
In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death. For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)
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...
... 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.
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
Cancer is a disease of abnormal cells in which they divide uncontrollably and can eventually metastasize throughout the body. Cancer actually is not just one disease; there are over 100 types of cancer and are usually named after the type of cell/organ that they began in. Brain cancer can be classified into two groups: metastatic and primary brain tumors. Metastatic brain cancer begins in another organ and ultimately spreads to the brain. Primary brain tumors begin when malignant cancer cells arise in brain tissue. The long term prognosis of brain cancer varies from less that 10% to 32%. Children usually have a better projected outcome as 75% will survive longer than five years. Without proper treatment of the cancer it can result quickly in death. Brain cancer is a very harsh disease and only has a few effective treatments.