Character Analysis
Uneasy lies the Head that Wears the Crown…
Each Character's Super Objective In Hamlet Analysis
Especially if he got it through sibling-cide and quasi-incest. That's our man Claudius, the current king of Denmark. He's married to his dead brother's wife Gertrude, which makes him Hamlet's uncle and stepfather. Make that evil stepfather: Claudius murdered the previous king, Hamlet's father. Is it just us, or did it just get really cold in here?
Claudius is so evil that he's practically a cartoon villain. And we have to ask: what sort of man would murder his brother, basically usurp the throne, and then plot to have his nephew killed?
Claudius and Biblical Allusion
Let's take a look first at how Claudius went about his dastardly deeds. Fact #1: He murdered Old King Hamlet by pouring poison in Old King Hamlet's ear while the guy was sleeping peacefully in his garden. Hm. Brothers killing brothers sounds pretty familiar. Claudius is definitely aligned with Cain, the Biblical figure whose claim to fame is committing the first murder ever, when he offed his brother, Abel. Even Claudius admits his 'offence is rank [and] smells to heaven [because] / It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, / A brother's murder (3.3.36-38).
Claudius' murderous deed in the garden also recalls the Biblical story of the Fall. The Ghost (of Old Hamlet) says '[t]he serpent that did sting [Hamlet's] father's life / Now wears his crown. (1.5.46-47) The Ghost also goes on to say 'that that incestuous, that adulterate beast, / With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts […] won to his shameful lust / The will of [Old Hamlet's] most seeming-virtuous queen (1.5.49-53).
In other words, the Ghost is comparing Claudius to the infamous serpent who seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. (We talk more about gardens in 'Symbols, Imagery, Allegory,' so be sure to check that section out.) Our point? Claudius kind of is a cartoon villain. He's a distillation of the most basic, fundamental evil in a Christian worldview: Cain, the original murderer; and the Serpent, who got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden.
The King is Dead; Long Live the King!
Claudius is definitely a bad man: nice guys don't kill their brothers and steal their wives. But he might not be such a bad ruler. William Camden said in 1586 that Richard III—another of Shakespeare's tricky kings—was a 'bad man, but a good king' (source). Could we say the same about Claudius?
Well, he did do a pretty spectacular job of assuming the throne. As he says himself, he had to convince the nobles of the court to accept his bizarrely timed and probably sinful marriage to Gertrude, all 'discretion fought with nature' and talking about his 'wisest sorrow' (1.2.5; 6). In other words, he says, he really didn't want to marry Gertrude, but the kingdom needed him. Convincing? It convinced the entire court, everyone except Hamlet.
Aside from crown-stealing and wife-stealing, Claudius goes on to diplomatically avoid war with Norway. Remember that the trouble between Denmark and Norway began when Old King Hamlet accepted Old Norway's challenge to a duel in which the winner would walk away with some of the other ruler's lands. His willingness to gamble away part of his kingdom suggests he wasn't exactly the terrific king his son remembers. In any case, Claudius cleans up the mess with Norway when his negotiations prevent Old Norway's son (Fortinbras) from attacking Denmark in order to retrieve Norway's lost territory.
Later in the play, Claudius manages to talk his way out of Laertes' rebellion, too. Even at swordpoint, Claudius manages to calm the kid down and convince him that he is innocent of Polonius' death by telling Laertes to 'speak, man' and ordering Gertrude to 'let him demand his fill' (4.5.143; 147). He gives Laertes a voice and treats him like an equal—well, sort of. He pretends to listen to him, while really he's just manipulating the poor kid. But the point is that Laertes invades the palace with a bunch of 'rabble' (4.5.112), and still Claudius comes out on top —and wearing his crown.
Claudius as Machiavellian Ruler
There's a reason Claudius is so good at kingcraft: he seems to be a pretty diligent student of one Niccolò Machivelli, whose Prince (1532) was basically a self-help guide for rulers looking to get and maintain power. According to Machiavelli's theory, being a successful ruler has nothing to do with being a nice person or doing the right thing. Instead, it's about being inventive, charismatic, willful, and manipulative. Controversial, sure—but also super popular in Shakespeare's day.
The game could not be started 80010002. So it seems that the same characteristics that make Claudius a bad man are those that make him a successful king. He has no qualms about manipulating people, and he is unapologetically selfish. Hypocrisy barely bothers Claudius: he pretends to be a loving stepfather to Hamlet even while sending him off to be killed. Claudius doesn't let his conscience get in the way of the job that needs to be done. He also lets Gertrude drink a goblet of wine he knows is poisoned, since he'd rather see his wife die than risk ruining his plans.
Okay, let's give him a little credit. He does manage a 'Gertrude, do not drink'—but opts out of the perhaps more effective, 'Gertrude, do not drink, whatever you do, as the wine is poisoned because I'm secretly trying to kill your son, and even though I really would rather have him dead, I'm not willing to let you go down as a casualty of my despicable and unlawful scheming.'
Claudius' TimelineHamlet Character Analysis
What is arguably Shakespeare's greatest play, 'Hamlet,' is often understood to be a revenge tragedy, but it is quite an odd one at that. It is a play driven by a protagonist who spends most of the play contemplating revenge rather than exacting it.
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Hamlet’s inability to avenge the murder of his father drives the plot and leads to the deaths of most of the major characters, including Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And Hamlet himself is tortured by his indecision and his inability to kill his father's murderer, Claudius, throughout the play.
When he finally does exact his revenge and kills Claudius, it is too late for him to derive any satisfaction from it; Laertes has struck him with a poisoned foil and Hamlet dies shortly after.
Action and Inaction in Hamlet
To highlight Hamlet’s inability to take action, Shakespeare includes other characters capable of taking resolute and headstrong revenge as required. Fortinbras travels many miles to take his revenge and ultimately succeeds in conquering Denmark; Laertes plots to kill Hamlet to avenge the death of his father, Polonius.
Compared to these characters, Hamlet’s revenge is ineffectual. Once he decides to take action, he delays any action until the end of the play. It should be noted that this delay is not uncommon in Elizabethan revenge tragedies. What makes 'Hamlet' different from other contemporary works is the way in which Shakespeare uses the delay to build Hamlet’s emotional and psychological complexity. The revenge itself ends up being almost an afterthought, and in many ways, is anticlimactic.
Indeed, the famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy is Hamlet's debate with himself about what to do and whether it will matter. Though the piece begins with his pondering suicide, Hamlet's desire to avenge his father becomes clearer as this speech continues. It's worth considering this soliloquy in its entirety.
To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die- to sleep.
To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death-
The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns- puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.- Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia!- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins rememb'red.
Over the course of this eloquent musing on the nature of self and death and what actions he should take, Hamlet remains paralyzed by indecision.
How Hamlet's Revenge is Delayed
Hamlet’s revenge is delayed in three significant ways. First, he must establish Claudius’ guilt, which he does in Act 3, Scene 2 by presenting the murder of his father in a play. When Claudius storms out during the performance, Hamlet becomes convinced of his guilt.
Hamlet then considers his revenge at length, in contrast to the rash actions of Fortinbras and Laertes. For example, Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius in Act 3, Scene 3. He draws his sword but is concerned that Claudius will go to heaven if killed while praying.
After killing Polonius, Hamlet is sent to England making it impossible for him to gain access to Claudius and carry out his revenge. During his trip, becomes more headstrong in his desire for revenge.
Although he does ultimately kill Claudius in the final scene of the play, it's not due to any scheme or plan by Hamlet, rather, it is Claudius’ plan to kill Hamlet that backfires.