King Claudius Motivation In Hamlet

One of the qualities of Shakespeare’s plays that have allowed them to remain interesting to many generations is that the motivations of his characters remain undistinguished allowing for much debate on whether or not to sympathize with, hate, or even love characters. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark there is a multitude of characters in which their motivations and inner turmoils are not revealed to the audience, one of which is King Claudius. Claudius shows the audience two apparent sides of him, an effective ruler who values his queen, and the treacherous villain who killed his own brother to become king. Although there is much debate about which side represents Claudius most accurately his constant attempts to control Hamlet, his inability to make a prayer for forgiveness, and

One of the largest indicators of this is by Sending Rosencrants and Guildenstern to spy on Hamet displays the master manipulator that Claudius is. By Hamlet's own admissions Rosencrants and Guildenstern are his “dear friends” who he’s known and trusted since he was a child (2.2.294). By sending Rosencrants and Guildenstern, Claudius shows to the audience that he has a great understanding of people and what will be able to manipulate them. Hamlet is able to easily see through this plot as he understands that Cladius is only serving his own desires as he “plays the king” and knows that Claudius will do anything to protect that act (2.2.343). Another way that Claudius attempts to control Hamlet is by not allowing for him to leave Denmark and to go back to school. He insists that Hamlet must get over his fathers death as it is the sons job to “persevere” afterwards not grieve forever (1.2.96). This allows him to keep a close watch on Hamlet and attempt to control him so that he can ensure that nothing will come between him and the