How Does Shakespeare Present Claudius Selfish

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Claudius’s soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 3, demonstrates that he is a very ambitious, selfish and sorrow individual with a sense of guilt. Claudius is very ambitious to where his lust for power often drives his actions. His desire for power will often lead to horrible consequences. For instance, it was revealed in Claudius’s soliloquy that he did in fact murder King Hamlet, his own brother. There are no limits to what Claudius will surpass in order to achieve what he wants since killing his own brother was not crossing over the line and he saw King Hamlet as nothing but a barrier standing in his way of gaining power. For example, Claudius expresses that “My guilt is stronger than my intentions. And like a person with two opposite things to do at once, I stand paralyzed and neglect them both”, meaning that

This shows how corrupt Claudius is and how Hamlet handles the situation, which exposes his immaturity and lack of uncontrollable

King Claudius is Hamlet’s father/uncle. He is a wise and ambitious man. He knew how to manipulate certain characters. For example, “The other motive why to a public count I might not go Is the general gender bear him…” (Ⅳ.i.18-20).

“Tis unmanly grief”, sings Claudius, clearly demonstrating his unsympathetic intellect towards the loss of Hamlet`s father. While there are many ways to help one recover over a loss, it is evident that the hunger for political power really brings out the worst in one`s character. What becomes clear is despite the fact that Claudius has current power over the throne, it is evident that he still would do anything to achieve political power and destroy opposition; this is shown by his soulless character, infidelity, his diplomatic relations and involving others in his treachery.

  In the first three acts of the play Hamlet, King Claudius go through a subtle, but defined change in character.  Claudius role in the play begins as the newly corrinated king of Denmark.  The former king, King Hamlet, was poisoned by his brother, Claudius, while he was asleep.  Claudius, however, made it known to everyone that the king died of a snakebite in the garden, and thus no one knew of the murder that had just taken place making his murder the perfect crime.  The only problem that Claudius must deal with now is his conscience.

In Hamlet, the play written by William Shakespeare, he shows, and explains, multiple flaws, regarding some of the main characters. Some of these actions have led to cowardice, and death for an individual. Claudius, one of the main characters, known as the king, is well known to portray his underlying act of power, not for good, but to disregard any bad thing that comes towards him. Within the betrayal, and situations linked to him, readers can connect Claudius to being power hungry, openly cowardice when it comes to confrontation, and fearful of getting caught.

The ghost had said the soliloquy to show how the city of Denmark was affected by the Claudius’s actions. Claudius being called was a symbolic moment, it symbolizes the serpent as an introduction of sin into the world (R). He is now known to be causing sins to the world starting with incest and marrying the King’s wife. Although to others Claudius is seen as a serpent, he knows that he has done wrong. In his one and only soliloquy of the whole play he is praying and says:

One can deem Hamlet as an admirable character; King Claudius on the other hand, has several flaws. Most of the play, King Claudius is comfortable and great fortunes surround him. He has many excellent possessions because he murders Hamlet’s “father grossly, full of bread” (Shakespeare, III.iii.85). According to Martin Luther King Jr. you cannot measure greatness “in moments of comfort and convenience”; so is King Claudius great? He does however confess to his “murderous sins”, and hope that the heavens pardon him.

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, various characters manipulate others in order to gain power and fulfill their personal desires. The character who portrays the most immense manipulation is King Claudius, the brother of the late King Hamlet. Thus far, Claudius advertises himself as a sensible, honorable man who lives to serve the greater good, yet his manipulation exposes his dubious intentions, leaving him with an unfortunate fate.

The Ghost does not refer to Claudius as his name but by other words such as 'Ay that incestuous, that adulterate beast.' He is angry with Claudius because he lusted after his Queen and feelings, he thinks Claudius is inhuman. A lot of negative language is used in Act 1 by which Shakespeare gives us a sinister picture of Claudius. He comes across as selfish, calculating and greedy.

What do we learn about the characters of Claudius and Hamlet in this scene and their relationship with each other? (Act 1 scene 2) The speeches of Claudius and Hamlet are one of the main features of the play that focus on their own personal feelings and the ways in which the audience react to them and their actions. Claudius makes his speech in the Great Hall of Elsinore Castle surrounded by his lords and associates. The purpose of his speech is to make everyone aware that he is King and he is now the new ruler of Denmark.

     Claudius’ lies are effective enough to persistently deceive to play’s antagonist, Hamlet. Despite Hamlet’s disgust with Claudius for marrying Gertrude, and his view of Claudius as “a king of shreds and patches” (III.iv.104), Hamlet suspicion of Claudius as a murderer is preliminarily nonexistent. The appearance of a spirit claiming to be Hamlet’s dead father first alerts Hamlet to the actions of “that incestuous, that adulterate beast, /With witchcraft of his with, with traitorous gifts” (I.v.42-3). And yet still, Hamlet remains hesitant to believe that Claudius was the murderer, searching for complementary evidence. The play that Hamlet enacts -- designed to “catch the conscience of the king” (II.ii.562) --succeeds in revealing Claudius’ guilt, but does not provoke instant action on Hamlet’s part. So effective is Claudius’ manipulation of the royal circle that he manages to almost permanently stay the revelation of his guilt, and if it weren’t for supernatural intervention against an injustice, he may never have been exposed.

Hamlet and Claudius’ different moral views and actions serve as foils for each character’s development because Claudius wanted the throne for personal gain, Hamlet

It is in Act one scene two that we are first introduced to the character of Claudius. The impression made by him is that of a powerful and controlled man who is respected by most. His mannerisms of speech are graceful and are nothing less than the words of a king, 'to bear our heats with grief, and our whole kingdom.' Claudius is presented to us by

In the play Hamlet, Claudius is known as the villain of the play. He is the lead antagonist who is characterized as a cunning, incestuous, and vile, usurper. Many readers and critics of the play do not dispute this perception, especially after reading how Claudius became the King of Denmark; He steals the throne by poisoning his brother, the previous king, and quickly marrying Queen Gertrude his widowed sister in law (1.5.42, 60-74). The general reading of Claudius’s character paints him to be a corrupt, cowardly politician, in addition to being Hamlet’s (the protagonist) foe. This portrait engages first-time readers to judge Claudius immediately and although this perspective of his personality is proven to be true, it is limited. Claudius