King Claudius Analysis Essay

      Hamlet and Claudius both have very different ways and methods in the way they manipulate their family and friends. Claudius and Hamlet both manipulate to get what they each want. Claudius tends to work on people and get their support and gain trust. Then, the individuals will go out of their way to please Claudius and help in any way. Claudius even goes as far as to get Hamlet's childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on their dear friend Hamlet. Not only does he work on Hamlet's friends, Claudius killed his own brother to marry his wife, Gertrude, so he could claim the throne. As Shakespeare writes, "A brother's murder, Pray

There are many similarities between the characters Claudius and Scar. One of those similarities is how they are both very cruel, especially to the people that they are supposed to love. One example of this from Hamlet is when the ghost says, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown,” exposing Claudius. (I.V.44-45). This quote shows just how cruel Claudius really is. He killed his own brother so that he could be the king and rule over Denmark. Also, Claudius never admits what he did and he doesn’t feel any remorse after doing it. Throughout the entire play we see Claudius doing cruel things that affect the other characters. One example of Scar being cruel is when he also killed his own brother. Just like Claudius killed Hamlet Sr, Scar killed Mufasa so that he could take over the Pridelands. He was jealous of Mufasa and wanted to be king so that the other animals would respect him. Instead, Claudius remained unliked by the other animals and didn’t gain from his cruel actions. Ultimately, they are both very cruel characters that were willing to kill in order to get what they wanted.

the people, causes him to lose many dear family members. And he doesn 't like to

His impulsive actions makes his character, not only revengeful, but also demonic. His goal in life was to take revenge on those who have victimized him.

     Shakespeare presents Claudius as a character with many faces yet the audience can clearly understand his motives and ambition throughout the play. His character does however change and we clearly see how his evilness and weakness increases as his need to escape discovery and his clandestine nature in doing so, is revealed.

Power and control are overbearing characteristics for some individuals in the works of literature. Claudius killed his own blood blood brother to gain the crown, kingdom, and

In Claudius’s confession, Shakespeare is able to expose a sharp alteration to his character; he goes from being a fraud to a

controls he had over his victims, to the point of death , and even after."

When Claudius came to power he already held many skills that qualified him for his position. Claudius was able to read voraciously. He was a scholar of ability and composed work on all subjects having to do with liberal arts, and he was the first person who could read Etruscan. All the skills listed, plus government knowledge were able to place him in good stead when he became powerful.

his own hate, as he traveled to Geneva to mete his maker.  All he wanted

realizes that his outside wants to seek forgiveness but his inside can not give up the positions that

     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.

How he acts towards his crew, for example, appears to be out of a jealously – they are whole and he is not. For this reason, he feels that he must make up for it by being stronger and more powerful than they are. He tries to control the men, for if he can control them then he is greater than they are, though they are complete and he is not.

Claudius and Hamlet are both very selfish men. Claudius wants to be the king of

I feel like a heavy anchor sinking helplessly in a violent and thick sea; waves of a blood-stained clarity batter and bash my fragile body mercilessly and relentlessly. First, I see my mad son slay my husband’s dearest advisor through the tapestry of my own bedroom, and just now my once thought mad son has confessed there had been a method to his most distasteful lunacy, that it was nothing but a mask he donned to fool a, supposedly, equally imprudent King. “A murderer and a villain, a slave that is not twentieth part the tithe of your precedent lord.” That is what my dearest son said about Claudius.