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Hamlet And Claudius Influence On Hamlet

Decent Essays

William Shakespeare is one of the most influential figures in the development of modern literature. Many of his works have spanned over centuries and have laid down the foundation to how literature is interpreted by today’s audience. His works are considered to be true masterpieces because of his ability to bring characters to life through the use of various literary devices. William Shakespeare has written and directed many notable plays. One of his famous works includes the play Hamlet. This play displays a classic father and son conflict between the two main characters, Hamlet and Claudius. Tragedy and revenge fuel the conflict in this play and give the audience an initial impression that both Hamlet and Claudius are different in nature …show more content…

He also shares the ability to hatch elaborate plans by utilizing his cunning in order to obtain his goal, which is to kill Hamlet. He devises a plan to kill Hamlet by poisoning him. He plans it in such a way that if the first method doesn’t work, the second one will work. His primary method is to poison Hamlet through Laertes sword which is laced in poison and if that doesn’t work, he intends to poison Hamlet with poisoned wine. This can be seen when Claudius says, “….I’ll have him prepared him, A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, if he by chance escape your venomed stuck, Our purpose may hold there” (Shakespeare.4.7.line 176-179). This shows his ability to think ahead and plan Hamlets murder in such a way where his death is certain and there’s no room for …show more content…

He still tells Polonius to spy on Hamlet and this results in his death. This greatly impacts Ophelia’s mental state and makes her go mad and ultimately commit suicide. Claudius knows he’s to blame because he in a sense sent Polonius to his death. Upon receiving the news of Ophelia’s death, Claudius says, “How much I had to do to calm his rage! Now I fear that this will start it up again.” (Shakespeare.4.7.211-212). He does this all to obtain his goal which is to retain his power and stop Hamlet by learning about his intentions. He does not feel guilty for contributing to Ophelia’s suicide rather feels angered that Laertes is going to angry and this will delay in him obtaining his goal. This shows how far Hamlet and Claudius will go in order to obtain their goal even though it’ll lead to the death of some

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