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Shakespeare's presentation of Claudius
Motifs of Claudius in Hamlet
Hamlet's relationship with Claudius
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Recommended: Shakespeare's presentation of Claudius
The Character of Claudius in Hamlet
It is easy to overlook some of Claudius' villainy. He may not rant and rave, nor pluck out eyes on stage or hands, or tongues, nor does he conspire with crafty rationality like Edmund or Iago in Othello, nor bake little children in a pie. But as the murderer, usurper, and incestuous step-father, Claudius is one of Shakespeare's greatest villains. His distinguishing features are hypocrisy and subterfuge. He is clever in a worldly sense, a flattering strategist, good at manipulating his courtiers, at double-speak. His fawning address to Hamlet in I.2 ('Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet ...') shows him to be a master of persuasiveness. He encourages Polonius to practise subterfuge; his favourite weapon is poison. This recourse to poison, initially against his own brother, nauseously poured into the ear of the sleeping king, is repugnant; and in the final act, poison is used both on Laertes' sword and in the cup of wine that is to be offered to Hamlet. But from the start, his very words are like a drug, aimed at deflecting Hamlet away from his grief. In a wider sense, the state itself is 'poisoned' by Claudius. He uses Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as his tools; he employs spies and underhand methods. He tries to make Hamlet 'disappear' by sending him to England (where his madness is less likely to attract attention!) in the company of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern rather than by any process of law or a direct challenge. Polonius is a good example of the usurper's pernicious influence: a 'faithful retainer' of the old sort, much given to spouting words of wisdom ('to thine own self be true ..': I.3.78), yet stooping to all manner of intrigue against his own son (II.1), his daughter and Hamlet.
Yet even Claudius is not so wicked as not to be pricked by pangs of conscience. He does at least know what he has done ('O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven': III.3.36). Shakespeare actually shows him kneeling down and praying in this scene, hoping for forgiveness and wondering if he can repent and still retain the effects for which he committed the murder: 'My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen' (III.3.55) - a question many villains have periodically asked themselves. Claudius is wise enough to recognise that this cannot
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
The Romantic era writers, Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe, had many similarities but even more differences, in both writing theme and style. This is very evident in their works, “Rip Van Winkle”, by Irving, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, by Poe.
Claudius is very paranoid towards Hamlet. While Claudius and Gertrude are introducing themselves to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Claudius has an idea how to find out what is causing Hamlet’s behavior, so he asks them to spy on Hamlet. Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern “And to gather/ So much as from occasion you may glean,/ Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus” (Shakespeare II.ii.15-17). Claudius is so paranoid that he has to resort to asking Hamlet’s friends to get information on him so he can know if Hamlet know the truth about him. Claudius constantly thinks of Hamlet as a threat and wants to keep an eye out for him constantly, so Claudius is paranoid that Hamlet will do something eventually.
In a novel, the theme is the insight of real life. J.D. Salinger’s initiation novel, The Catcher In The Rye, describes the adventures of 16-year old Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and first person narrator, who refuses to grow up and enter manhood. The most important theme developed by Salinger is Holden’s problem of dealing with change; he has trouble dealing with death, he refuses to accept children’s loss of innocence as a necessary step in the growing-up process, and has difficulties with growing up.
For the most part Mrs. Price ''forces'' Rachel to put on the ugly red sweater accusing Rachel that the sweater was hers. ''You put on that sweater right now and no more nonsense.'' -Mrs. Price -pg.47. This shows that Rachel was accused of the red sweater being hers because everyone in the class said it was not theirs so Mrs. Price is now telling Rachel to put on the sweater. Rachel is now crying in front of the class because she was accused of owning the red sweater on her birthday. ''...............all of a sudden I'm crying in front of everybody.''-pg.47. This shows that Rachel is embarrassed because she had to put on the ugly even though it wasn't hers and Mrs. Price acted as though nothing had ever happened. Overall, Rachel had an impact in her life by being accused to put on a sweater and consequently crying in front of the class because growing up can be
Claudius is the antagonist in this play, in easier words, the villain. He is the brother of the now dead King of Denmark, Hamlet. Claudius murders his brother and does it in a way that it seems as though death had claimed him in a natural way. He is then quick to marry Queen Gertrude, as a favor to the state of Denmark. Claudius throughout the play is calculating, and will do anything to stay in power: including murdering the son of his current wife, his nephew, Hamlet. During the play, Hamlet becomes a threat to the crown and power in his possession. To overcome this, Claudius confides in Laertes that Hamlet was the cause of Polonius’s death. In an act of revenge Laertes plans his act “I will do ‘t. And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mounteback, so mortal that, but a dip a knife in it, where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, collected from all simples that have virtue under the moon, can save the thing from death that is but scratched withal. I’ll touch my point with this contagion, that if I gall him slightly it may be death” (4.7.139-148). This works wonderfully in Claudius’s favor. With Laertes plotting to avenge his father, Claudius won’t have to get his hands dirty again, and...
... 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.
Claudius decieves everyone in different ways and at different times , always and only to protect himself from everyone else finding out that he killed the king. We can't truly say that he deceived Gertrude or not because we still don't know if she knows about Claudius killing the king or not because that is part of her own deception , but we know that he deceived the people and Hamlet himself (before he talks to the ghost). This next quote comes from the ghost of the king convicting Claudius of the murder ,"If thou didst ever thy dear father love- revenge his foul and most unnatural murder(p.57, act1,scene5 ,lines29-31). This quote proves that Claudius actually did commit the murder. This next quote is from Claudius himself after the funeral and the wedding giving a speach about the death of the king and the whole deal with Fortinbras,"To our most valiant brother-so much for him(p.21, act1 ,scene2 ,line25)." This quote shows that Claudius obviously doesn't have much remorse for his dead brother and might be covering up the fact that he killed him. And we all know what that means...What does it mean?! It means that he actually is the rat and is the evil one in the play.
The attitudes portrayed in Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man and Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” towards mankind is strikingly similar. Both acknowledge the view that man has dominion over the earth, as created and instituted by God. However, the difference is seen in their approaches to this subject. Pope primarily focuses on man’s pride and place in society, whereas Swift discusses how man deals with certain situations reasonably or unreasonably. Pope and Swift present situations that man has to face in conjunction with illogical conclusions. Besides exhibiting illogical conclusions, they also show the selfish, prideful, rebellious, jealous, and the ungrateful characteristics of man.
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 play, "Hamlet", Shakespeare needed to devize an evil character, a villain that is ambitious, and has the ability to scheme to get what he wants. The character would also have to contain some good qualities, such as kindness and contriteness. These good qualities make the character seem more human and thus, more believable. Claudius is this character. Shakespeare uses Claudius in his revenge theme in this play. Without the acts of Claudius, this theme just would not be. The entire play revolves around what Claudius has done, or will do.
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revenge is a common theme throughout the play. Almost every major male character in the play, whether it is Prince Hamlet, Laertes, the Ghost of King Hamlet, or King Fortinbras of Norway, is acting with purpose to avenge a death. The obvious exception to this trend in the play is Claudius, King of Denmark and brother of King Hamlet. Instead of possessing a noble or vengeful purpose throughout the play, Claudius is instead motivated by more evil qualities like his greed and deceptive natures. But despite his solidified role as the antagonist to Prince Hamlet, Claudius’ degree of true villainy is more so in question. Claudius shows traits that stray from traditional idea of a heartless, animal-like villain working for evil, while also representing villainous qualities of the foulest kinds that ultimately overpower his humane soul. This complexity in Claudius’ character helps Shakespeare transcend the traditional villain.
Claudius is one of the main characters responsible for his own death in the play because he portrays himself to be untouchable; not thinking clearly of the consequences to his actions. He starts off by killing his own brother and marrying his queen, Gertrude, only because he lust power and sex. His cold-hearted actions make him the antagonist of Hamlet and most deserving of death. Through all of his malicious actions, he plans a duel between Laertes and Hamlet assuring Hamlet’s death as well by poisoning a drink and the end of Laertes’ sword. He definitely got a taste of his own medicine because he died a rightful death by the sa...
King Claudius, as illustrated in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, displays both charm and eloquence. Claudius is an intelligent person and is able to deceive people into believing he is innocent and morally guided. He is adept at manipulating people in order to advance and maintain his own power and fails to show any remorse for his actions. Claudius utilizes his linguistic skills to portray himself as an innocent and prudent leader; however, upon further inspection his diction is a mere smoke screen that hides his manipulative and cunning nature.