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The Manipulator: An Analysis Of Claudius In Shakespeare's Hamlet

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The Manipulator: An Analysis of Claudius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Claudius, the king in the drama Hamlet by William Shakespeare, was a manipulative, power-driven, mastermind. His dream of becoming king came true when he supposedly murdered his brother, Hamlet Senior, and married the queen Gertrude. Frightened by Hamlet’s insanity and strange allegations, Claudius manipulated Gertrude, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Laertes through his heinous scheme to kill Hamlet.
Weak from the murder of her husband and the threat of Fortinbras’s army reconquering Denmark, Gertrude was easily manipulated into marrying Claudius, the man who fabricated his protection and her peace of mind. Having the ability to influence Hamlet’s actions, the queen provided …show more content…

Under Claudius’ influence, Gertrude instructed, “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,/ And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark” (Ham. 1.2.70-71). Then, Gertrude went on to accuse Hamlet, "I doubt it is no other than the main-/ His father's death and our o'erhasty marriage” (Ham. 2.2.59-60). Always agreeing with and obeying his orders, Gertrude easily became Claudius’ puppet. Blindsided, her mentality was set as a woman, one who followed her husband with loyalty, no matter the cost. Mid performance of the Players, Hamlet asked Gertrude what her thoughts were so far, and she solely replied, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (Ham. 3.2.254). Brainwashed to the max, Gertrude believed that the woman should subject to the husband more than her own thoughts. Claudius persuaded her so much that she lost her true self and who she cares about. The queen even forgot that her son was about to aboard a ship departed for England. “Alack, I had forgot! Tis’ so concluded on” (Ham. 3.4.223-224). Only, she did not know that Claudius sent a letter with the crew to murder Hamlet. Claudius did not broadcast the trip, so she would not investigate further to discover his true plot.

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