Claudius: A Fictional Narrative

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, better known just by Claudius, was the fourth emperor of Rome. Born to the Roman general, Nero Claudius Drusus and his wife Antonia, Claudius was never seen as being capable to rule anything (Momigliano, 2017). This view was seen by many of his relatives, including his grandmother. According to ancient.eu, “When it was predicted that Claudius would rule the empire, she ‘prayed aloud that the Roman people might be spared so cruel and undeserved a misfortune’” (Wasson, 2011).

In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare there are many characters that stand out to me. The one that caught my attention the most was Claudius. He is Hamlet's uncle and the antagonist of the play. He stood out the most to me because of his vicious and manipulating personality. Claudius is a strong minded individual that wants what he wants.

Throughout history, literature has been able to captivate and enchant audiences of all backgrounds. Words have an undeniable ability to sway a crowd’s emotions and truly affect them. William Shakespeare, one of the most revered writers of all time, had such skills. His plays are timeless pieces of art considered the foundations of the English literature. Shakespeare’s most dramatic and infamous tragedy, Hamlet, has earned its place as a cornerstone. In the play, Shakespeare poetically writes speeches that show the true colours of the characters, whether good or devious. The main antagonist, Claudius, shows his treachery to the Elizabethan audience, through his speech to his wife Gertrude. Claudius’ conversation with Gertrude in Act 4,

Born on 1 August 10 BC in Gaul, Claudius had a reign that would always represent a turning point. Claudius Nero Germanicus had been the third emperor for the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Claudius stuck out from other Roman Emperors because of the things that he'd decided to do during his reign. Claudius had promoted administrators who he knew did not deserve senatorial classes. For a man with such high powers, Claudius did not seem to mind the fact that his relationships with his wives and children were not he best. It was very simple to tell how many difficulties Claudius had faced during his reign. Although, Claudius had faced mant hardships his reign had been mixed with success and failure which had lead into the end of the Julo-Claudian line.

Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (b. 10 BC, d. 54 A.D.; emperor, 41-54 A.D.) was the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. His reign represents a turning point in the history of the Principate for a number of reasons, not the least for the manner of his accession and the implications it carried for the nature of the office. During his reign he promoted administrators who did not belong to the senatorial or equestrian classes, and was later vilified by authors who did. He followed Caesar in carrying Roman arms across the English Channel into Britain but, unlike his predecessor, he initiated the full-scale annexation of Britain as a province, which remains today the most closely studied corner of the Roman Empire. His

When Hamlet seeks revenge, he begins the inter­generational strife, but Claudius takes a less than direct method of fighting back. Rather than confront Hamlet with either words or weapons, Claudius attempts to turn Hamlet’s piers against the prince. In so doing, Claudius seems to believe that change the war from an inter­ generational one to a intra­generational one which involves only the young would leave him inculpable and safe in the throne. His methods are extraordinary, but Hamlet’s familiarity with his own generation protects him from this generational treason until the final moments of his life. After killing the elder Hamlet, Claudius attempts to restore order in his generation, and hopes to prevent conflict between him and the young.

In this essay we are going to discuss whether Claudius was an effective ruler. In order to achieve an answer to this, we will also discuss how he governed his empire and how he went about administrating laws and provinces.

Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) was a Roman emperor from 41 to 54. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul on 1 August, the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. He was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and he was also the son of Drusus and Antonio Minor. His family kept him from the public eye because of the fact that he had a limp and slight deafness due to being sick at a young age.

I can’t control myself. My legs carry me into the dining room. I pick of the lamp and go back into the living room, then shut the blinds, and finally approach my mother with my lamp in hand.

Within the close proximity of his father’s death, Hamlet’s mother has remarried to her late husband’s brother, Claudius. In this monologue, Claudius insults Hamlet’s continuous misery for his father frequently in order to improve his self confidence. He accuses Hamlet’s “obstinate condolement” (1.2.93) to be “of impious stubbornness” (94). Claudius believes Hamlet’s stubborn and constant grief is insulting to God’s natural cycle of life and is a “will most incorrect to heaven” (95), meaning that his grief is not out of true sadness, but instead defiance. It is ironic that Claudius accuses Hamlet of being disrespectful to both God and heaven, while he is married to his dead brother’s wife.

Claudius has just revealed in his soliloquy that he had murdered his brother, and does not expect to be forgiven, since he has no willingness to leave the luxuries of the throne. Claudius expresses guilt, and pity for himself, for the actions he had taken to acquire this wealth. Ironically, he griefs the death of his brother, but he is content with the outcome, as he was able to acquire all his brother’s powers and processions after death. Performing this soliloquy, I imagine a relatively intoxicated Claudius, who is disorientated in appearance. He would be delivering this lines, while on his knees bowed down to pray, and as soon as he folds his hands, he would began to cry. I believe that he would deliver these lines with an uneasiness and

King Claudius serves as the primary antagonist in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the play, Claudius is the recently-crowned King of Denmark after murdering his brother King Hamlet and taking the throne. Shortly after King Hamlet’s funeral, Claudius went on to married his brother’s widow. Throughout the play, Claudius’s only concerns are himself and maintaining power. Claudius will stop at nothing to preserve his authority whether it be spying or murdering allies and family members.

This letter represented a very strong sense of authority that Claudius has on his people and the recognition that he receives from his people. Claudius signifies the respect he has for Jewish culture by stating, “The Alexandrians show themselves forbearing and kindly toward the Jews, who or many years have dwelt in the same city” ((Letter of Claudius 62). He speaks on behalf of Jewish people by allowing them of their rights to live freely and practice their religion in Alexandria. While Claudius protects the Jews in a sense, he does maintain peace within the empire by limiting the status of the Jews by restricting them of their ability for citizenship as it will only contradict the beliefs of Alexandrians. Claudius still enables the Greeks

In an attempt to make his characters seem more realistic and active, Shakespeare concocted complex, brilliant characters with three dimensional personalities. As such, most of his characters are neither all good nor all bad. This is exemplified through King Claudius, who at first appears to be a power hungry tyrant, but later shows us his soft side.

is said in a way to close the subject and to stop any members of the