ipl-logo

Why Is Claudius Responsible For Hamlet's Downfall

539 Words3 Pages

Shakespeare’s tragic play “Hamlet” is indeed a reflection of the author’s times as it reveals the Machiavellian world that he lived in during that period. It was a time of deception, deviousness, and cunning. As represented in Hamlet by the character Claudius, some people would go to great lengths conjuring schemes and plans that helped advance their lives. They would do any and everything to ensure that nothing got in their way. In this instance, Claudius’ need for power ultimately contributed to Hamlet’s tragic downfall.
Claudius wanted to take control of the throne and would be sure to get it no matter what. He had no regards for anyone else or even his own personal honor. This was proven when he murdered his own brother by pouring poison in his ear. Knowing that Prince Hamlet would be next for the throne, Claudius married Queen Gertrude as a way to immediately implement his plan of taking over the throne. …show more content…

He tries to convince everyone that he is marrying the queen for the right reasons, but he has a hidden agenda. Claudius is a corrupt politician whose sole purpose was maintaining his own

Show More
Related
2399 Words | 10 Pages

Michaela Meserve Jester AP Literature 16 October 2023 Claudius’s Changing Perspective of Death Throughout Hamlet Out of the hundreds of plays and sonnets William Shakespeare has written, there are complicated and complex characters and themes in every single one of them. For example, in Othello, Othello is a complex character who battles himself in the aspects of his marriage and his jealousy similarly to how he grew up in war. Another example would be Hamlet from Hamlet. Hamlet is consistently battling with anger and the need for revenge against his uncle, Claudius. Claudius can easily be brushed into the background of Shakespeare because he is marked as a villain and therefore is not talked about a lot except in a sense of being a foil for Hamlet as an antagonist to a

Read More
481 Words | 2 Pages

After he did that he took the throne and married the queen. In the beginning of the play they are celebrating the marriage of gertrude and Claudius. Maybe it was lust that overtook Claudius when he decided to marry gertrude. Maybe he had always desired her and now was his chance. But that whole relationship comes to an halt at the end of the play when his plans to murder hamlet during a fencing match goes wrong and kills

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

Claudius’ route to power is brutal and vicious which provides the shortest route. Unlike Papa, Claudius is a goal driven character whose first priority is himself and does not choose his actions to promote the people around him. Hamlet in the beginning of the play characterizes Claudius as a “serpent that did sting my father’s life / [and] Now wears his crown.” (I.IV, 39-40). Hamlet describes Claudius as a manipulative and tricky guy who will not let anything get in his way to power.

Read More
1517 Words | 7 Pages

This first seed of deception planted by the new king causes almost the entire chain of events that take place in the Tragedy Hamlet to happen. All in all Claudius’s deception plays a major role in the the layout and plot of Hamlet. Claudius is a deceptive power hungry foil character in this Shakespeare play who has a great influence on the of the actions and events that led to the climax and falling action of the play.

Read More
204 Words | 1 Pages

I 'm a crazy person." He can 't even contain himself during his Mousetrap plot and almost wrecks it by making continuous offensive comments through the entire play. Claudius, on the other hand, shows every sign of being a great king. He 's calm, attentive, smart, courteous, and he pays attention to his advisors.

Read More
297 Words | 2 Pages

The path and journey that he chooses in order to become King is by killing his brother and also marrying his brother’s wife. Claudius kills his brother as he was the current King and after his murder,

Read More
547 Words | 3 Pages

Claudius uses logic, flattery, and action in order to justify marrying the late king’s wife days after he died and becoming king himself. Claudius uses “practical” logic to justify his marriage to his former sister-in-law directly after his brother’s death. While Claudius does state that it is “befitted To bear our hearts in grief” (1.2.2-3), he logically goes through his thought process in marrying his brother’s wife days after his death. He says that in the kingdom’s time of grief it makes sense for the new king to take care of himself and his feelings along with the rest of the people. He believes marrying Gertrude is the only way to make the both of them feel better in their time of loss and he convinces the people of this.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

It seems that Claudius was not happy with just taking his brothers throne, he also took his brother’s wife. Hamlet feels that the new king is full of greed and has taken over their lives. On top of his obsession with revenge Hamlet also appears to have sexual desire for his mother. The loss of his father along with his mother’s marriage to Claudius and his confusion to his feelings for his mother have set hamlet on a dangerous.

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

“ Considering the natural lust for power so inherit in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail to oppress the people.” - George Mason. In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, prince Hamlet discovers that his uncle Claudius killed his brother which is prince Hamlet's father, in order to gain power. Claudius is the antagonist of the play which is the villain. He is cruel and he uses his charm when he is suspected into killing his own brother.

Read More
1170 Words | 5 Pages

Though Hamlet may earn love from the people of Denmark, Claudius earns respect. Some may argue it is better to be loved than feared as a leader, but Claudius’ resilience in his quest to murder Hamlet proves

Read More
1074 Words | 5 Pages

Claudius is a manipulative and spiteful character in Hamlet that plays a large role throughout the play as the central antagonist. Claudius is the current King of Denmark and only achieved this title by murdering his brother, the former king. As the new ruler, Claudius leads as a cunning politician and grows his power while hiding his secrets. Claudius often uses this new power and manipulation skills to will others to do his dirty work and avoid blame or danger. As seen in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Claudius is a character that demonstrates a facade as he, a truly ruthless king with dark secrets, hides himself behind a charming façade in order to conceal his goals throughout the play.

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

Claudius had arranged an execution for Hamlet, to get rid of him permanently. Behind these acts of deception, we can see Claudius had wanted power, and would do anything to achieve it. This makes

Read More
1313 Words | 6 Pages

However, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.

Read More
736 Words | 3 Pages

In his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare uses themes of deception, greed, and revenge to showcase these recurring themes of human nature during the sixteenth century. Meanwhile, in present day the extent of these themes are still seen in a variety of ways. Hamlet is very relevant in today’s world. A key example would entail the parallels between current President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and master manipulator, King Claudius.

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

He marries Gertrude, so he could take away the crown from Hamlet and call himself King of Denmark. Claudius gains Gertrude 's trust by showing a concern for Hamlet craziness and tries his best to be caring to the queen. This shows this mock side to the queen so it would be easy for him to become king, and that he has control over how he uses the women

Read More

More about Why Is Claudius Responsible For Hamlet's Downfall

Related Topics

Open Document