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How does shakespeare develop claudius' character
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King Claudius
William Shakespeare brought to life an interesting character in King Claudius. On one side you see a kind and affectionate man toward the Queen. Yet on the other side you see a character that Shakespeare would have you believe is truly diabolic and will kill to get what he wants. I believe Claudius is not the bad person that most critiques would have you believe; rather he was a man who loved his country deeply enough to kill his own brother King Hamlet for it.
We enter King Claudius’s life with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s friends and very quickly we see how the King shows his compassionate side. He asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to check on Hamlet and see if they can find out what truly afflicts Hamlet thus causing Hamlets change in behavior. On the surface what the Kings is asking of Hamlet’s friends shows genuine concern or is it a way of finding out if Hamlet suspects Claudius of any wrong doing.
The cause of the change “ I cannot dream of.”
Some little time; so by your companies,
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather
So much as from occasion you may glean
Whe’r aught to us unknown afflicts him thus,
That open’d, lies within our remedy. (II,ii,15-20)
Later in the play we see how like everyone else in the kingdom of Denmark, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are deceived by the king and is costs them their lives. Is this the sign of a man desperate to hide his secret or someone that loves Denmark and willing to do whatever it takes to keep it strong?
Claudius, appears at first in the play as if he is a kind and gentle king however he can’t escape the chain of events that link him to his crime. He might have gotten away with it if it wouldn’t have been for Hamlet.
The story begins w...
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... man was one of complexity. He was compassionate toward the Queen and even Hamlet at first. An argument could be made that he truly loved the Queen and their relationship began as an unintended consequence of King Hamlet’s murder and the Ghost was jealous of Claudius’s relationship with the Queen thus planting the seed of murder into Hamlets mind.
Claudius was a master of manipulation by convincing several people within this story to do his dirty deeds. Or did the Claudius love Denmark so much and didn’t want to see it go to war and decided to take matters into his own hands by killing King Hamlet. Thus, in his mind saving his beloved Denmark.
In conclusion I believe Claudius did what he thought was necessary to protect his country and wasn’t a power hungry man that on the surface could be made out to be. I believe his character goes much deeper than that.
Hamlet also corrupted by the ghost of his father. After his father’s death, Hamlet mourned over his father and was left dark and bitter. Without even getting an adequate time to mourn he is approached by the ghost of King Hamlet. With Hamlet caught off guard by the ghost and its demands put Hamlet into turmoil. With thoughts of revenge and death, Hamlet is hesitate to make a resolve. The longer it takes for Hamlet to make a decision the greater the corruption takes control of him. The vengeance of the ghost sinks into Hamlet making is madness greater every moment that passes. Hamlet gripped with his own madness withdraws from the world. Unable to make up his mind, he hides from Claudius and won’t reproach him till his resolve is absolute. The crippling madness o...
Although playing what’s thought to represent a noble king, Claudius totally differs from that title. Claudius is a manipulative, under minding, selfish person: “That we wish wisest sorrow think on him,/ Together with remembrance of ourselves,/ Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen” (1.2.6-8). King Claudius kills the king of Denmark his own brother just to turn into the king of
... of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a false fencing competition and foolishly pushing the poisoned wine without considering the suspiciousness of the action. In his short-sighted and rash decision making, Claudius shows that he allows his inflated sense of regality and self-worth to cloud his judgment.
double take. I think that Prince Hamlet was a victim of the people around him. I.E. Rosencrantz,
Delving into the character of King Claudius in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, we find a character who is not totally evil but rather a blend of morally good and bad elements. Let’s explore the various dimensions of this many-sided character.
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 he loves Hamlet and wants to be a father figure from him, not knowing it is all part of his plan to kill him.... ...
Claudius is a villain because of his enormous greed, his overwhelming selfishness and his use of intelligence for evil purposes.
Claudius was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. He was clever enough to devise a plan to kill the king, he had spies all around watching Hamlet's every move, and he found a way to become king. In Claudius' case, killing the king without the entire world suspecting him took a lot of planning and work. He poisoned the king in a way that no one would suspect. The play does not say where he got the poison used for King Hamlet, but it is not likely that he could just walk down to the market and purchase it.
Claudius’ true nature is exposed; his treachery and heresy is fully recounted, and presumably he is sentenced to eternal damnation for his moral infractions. God’s will prevails in a fundamentally Christian tale of murder in the name of self-interest and revenge in the name of justice and morality.
Hamlet’s dogged attempts at convincing himself and those around him of Claudius’ evil, end up being Claudius’ best moments. The audience doesn’t have just one view of Claudius; the other characters favorable ideas of Claudius as king and person lets them see the humanity, good and bad, in Claudius. An allegory for the human soul, Claudius is many things: a father, a brother, a husband, and a king. He, like anyone else, has to play the role to the best of his ability, but is still very human and susceptible to the evils of human emotion ranging from concern to jealousy, all of which could have easily fueled his decisions. Page 1 of 6 Works Cited Hamlet, Shakespeare.
...3.57). Though Claudius appears to show remorse for his actions, he shows his true character by focusing on maintaining the power and rewards that came from murdering his brother.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play that tells of a young man, Hamlet, who wanted revenge for the death of his father. After speaking with his father's spirit, Hamlet was led to believe that the person who murdered his father was his uncle, Claudius. Claudius kills his brother mainly because of jealousy, the crown, the queen and a hatred of his brother. Therefore Claudius is guilty of the murder of his brother.
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...
Claudius has always been a jester from the minute we seen his appearance in Hamlet. While he is suitable for a king and does posses royal blood he is not worthy of taking King Hamlet's place. Traditionally it is worthy of passing the role of the King down to the Prince, but Claudius decided to defy those traditions and kill King Hamlet and take the position of King. Those moves are the moves of a jester and Claudius well exceeds that position. When Claudius is King he decides to throw banquets and get drunk and completely ignores his position as king. Many things make him more of a jester than a king, one reason is that he killed King Hamlet and stole his wife, the second reason is because he throws banquets and gets drunk, and the last and
cruel deed Claudius has done, the reader does not know yet but Claudius is the reason that King