Reasons For The Anticipation Of Claudiuss Suicide

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Reasons for the Anticipation of Claudius's Suicide

In the tragic play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a particular deterrent in Hamlet's quest to be rid of his regal uncle is his procrastination. This act of murder intended to set the future right is Hamlet's sole responsibility, ordered by his deceased father. Hamlet's main target throughout the play is for Claudius to commit suicide. To achieve this goal, he produces a play chiefly for the king called the "Mousetrap." This play is used as one of many tools for Hamlet's indirect manipulation of Claudius's mind. Just as a mousetrap lures a pest to its own self-destruction while in search of ways to gratify itself, so does Hamlet use the play as a lure to trap the king in his own conscience. Claudius's possible suicide would be the result of the guilt traps Hamlet sets with the use of mental stratagem.

As Hamlet scolds his mother for her behavior toward the king's honor, he says many cruel things to her. Yet, among these are his pleas for her to repent. One of the last pieces of advice he gives his mother is not to let Claudius tempt her again: "Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mouse" (III.iv.200). Hamlet's uncle, besides tempting the queen, is also willing to let her be the mouse that gets caught in the mousetrap intended for him. He does not love Gertrude as Hamlet's father once did and probably never will. To the plotting king, his only regard for her is purely to serve his own selfish needs. Most of Hamlet's efforts to make the king want to kill himself fail because of Claudius's strong hold on his mother, which is Hamlet's weakness.

Hamlet puts off certain efforts to kill Claudius for various reasons. At one point, Hamlet does not go through with Claudius's murder because he does not want him to enter heaven at the time of his death: "Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven / And that his soul may be as damn'd and black / As hell, whereto it goes" (III.iii.97-98). If Claudius had killed himself, which in almost all religions is considered a sin, he would surely go to hell. Hamlet prefers Claudius's acknowledgment of the impetus behind his actions to be his method of self-destruction. The more that Claudius thinks about his evil deed, the more he will come up with reasons as to why he should not go on living.

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