Not approving of Hamlet's wish to return to Wittenberg, Claudius implores him to remain at Elsinore. When the Queen also urges Hamlet to stay, he consents. Claudius here shows his manipulative nature as he uses the queen to persuade Hamlet to stay in Denmark. Claudius knows that he must keep the public image of a jointed, contented royal family to help his political career and to gain support. In this case, he is not feigning such happiness at Hamlet’s decision to stay, as he wants to Hamlet close by.
There are many examples of Claudius plotting against other characters, but it can be seen as to the audience’s discretion, either as a strong craving for knowledge or just a deceitful nature. He and Polonius contrive many times plans to spy on Hamlet, placing him in certain positions to observe him. After the prayer scene, Hamlet goes to visit his mother. He was instructed to do so by Polonius, who was under the instruction of Claudius. Claudius apparently does not consider spying on his wife to be a controversial matter, leading the audience to perceive him as an egocentric character, putting his political career and thirst for knowledge on Hamlet above love for his wife. Another example of his favouring political career above his wife is in the
Later, in “The Ghost Scene”, Hamlet’s deceased father appears as an apparition to inform Hamlet of how he met his end poisoned by his own brother, the current king, with the "juice of cursed hebona". The ghost is known to be Hamlet’s father, the previous king of Denmark. He is dressed in his battle armour, “Such was th’ very armour”.
This is the first alternate view of Claudius, it shows what he is suspected of, and it is the first hint to the audience of murder. Lowering the audiences perceptions of Claudius further in this scene is the statement by the ghost on Claudius, “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,” a hint that Gertrude and Claudius may have had an affair when the previous king was still alive. The language here is extremely derogatory of Claudius, the words “incestuous”, “beast” etc. are strongly repulsive when describing a person. Shakespeare is leading the audience in suspecting and reducing their perception of him in relation to the more public court scene with his use of language.
The prayer scene opens in a private room of the castle; it has been set in the chapel of the palace in some productions, with Claudius and Hamlet in the confessions box. This scene is the first totally private moment with Claudius that the audience have observed in the play. This scene is crucial for many reasons. It humanizes Claudius to a small
degree, showing that he is remorseful and afraid as he confesses his guilt and says his crime has "the primal eldest curse upon't, / A brother's murder!" He cannot pray, though he would like to; he is trapped in indecision. Claudius knows he should repent, but cannot while he is “still possessed / Of those effects for which I did the murder / My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.” The audience witness his realisation that in his world wealth and power can help him explain his crime, but there is no "shuffling" or trickery in heaven. He therefore calls to the angels for help, and kneels in silent prayer, hoping against hope that "All may be well." We can see that he is fearful of what his actions may have done to affect his chances in life, and after. The audience see a certain humanity about him that seemed to be masked behind his political camouflage in other, public, scenes. For example, in the earlier Act I Scene ii, Claudius must hide some of his meanings and feelings behind his public political self. When offering Hamlet the paternal advice on his drawn-out remorse, he is the reason for this remorse.
The Scene shows Claudius in another new light, showing his similarity to Hamlet, despite their antagonistic relationship, even in the way they think. If you look back at the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy you will see that Hamlet describes the state that Claudius is in now. Claudius has committed a hideous crime. Now, when Hamlet is finally convinced of the justice what his ghostly father has ordered him to do, Claudius is attempting to take his first steps toward repentance, though he fears this may be impossible, showing the confusion and indecision that Claudius is facing.
This Scene can be seen as a transition in the way the audience survey the character of Claudius. The scene is the first time that the audience know, definitely, that Claudius committed the murder, “A brother's murder!” and that the Ghost was correct. The transition is seen in the audiences change in feelings towards Claudius. At first he is likable, after the ghost scene he seems to be hiding a secret, and now that the truth is known he will be seen as a villain by the audience, they will have resentful feelings towards him. The langue used by Shakespeare in his confession, and his realisation at the futility of it “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; / Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”, could also have the audience feel a certain sympathy that Claudius’ thoughts are that his fate after life is sealed.
In a later scene in the play, Laertes and Claudius meet in private. This is another private scene of Claudius for Shakespeare to explore the idea that Claudius changes in the private domain. Laertes asks why the king didn’t take action against Hamlet. Claudius gives two reasons: First, because the queen dotes on Hamlet, and she is "conjunctive to my life and soul." He describes this condition, evasively, as "my virtue or my plague" as it shows a main character feature, his love for Gertrude contradicting another, his fear of the knowledge Hamlet holds; second, because the general public dotes on Hamlet so that attacks on him are turned against the attacker, show his public political mind coming into play. Another aspect of the character of Claudius, his ability to influence people is shown in the way he builds on Laertes hunger for revenge to bring the idea of Laertes making revenge and removing Claudius’ problem, Hamlet; “And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe”. In case Laertes needs encouragement Claudius asks of Laertes, “what would you undertake / To show yourself in deed your father’s son / More than in words?” This shows how adept Claudius is in manipulation, using the onus of family pride to goad Laertes into the act of murder. Claudius is seen to be planning and scheming again, in private.
The last scene in the play is the stage for Laertes’ and Claudius’ plan. Claudius’ obsession with ridding his mind of the worry of Hamlet is such that he has prepared a second method of dispatching Hamlet, a goblet of poisoned wine aswell as the poisoned sword used by Laertes. The goblet he uses in two ways as well, showing the public Claudius in offering the goblet to Hamlet and showing him to be a good public man. In a break in the fencing match, the poisoned goblet is lifted by Gertrude. Claudius attempts to warn her off the drink by saying “Gertrude, do not drink”, but he cannot risk his plotting to be found out and doesn’t take direct action to stop the Queen drinking from the poisoned chalice. This event shows the most important aspect of Claudius’ life, his ambition, ruling over all other emotions. He cannot lose the power he laboured to gain. Later, when the Queen collapses and Hamlet and Laertes are both wounded with the poisoned sword, Claudius’ irreverent ambition and fear at losing his power leads him to lie again, saying the queen “swoons to see them bleed” Shakespeare shows Claudius’ fearfulness in this scene by giving him very few lines to speak in the penultimate events of the play. Commonly in public scenes, Claudius is in the centre of public attention, the Wedding Scene, earlier in this scene also, and this difference shows how he has lost control of the situation and has no response he can see to save his political career.
The audience are taken through a multitude of feelings towards Claudius in the play.
After his introduction in Act II Scene ii, Claudius is seen as a cunning and ambitious politician and can be admired for his advice to Hamlet, control over his court and love for his Queen. The audience is led to doubt these feelings in the Ghost Scene, and then they are ultimately shocked by Claudius’ admittance of the murder in the private scene. The audience now view him as the villain of the play. This villainous characterisation by Shakespeare leads the audience to ultimately feel contempt for Claudius in the final scene where he puts his own seat of power before his queen. The audience may feel the character is completed when he meets his end at his own means, he moves from alive and admired early in the play to dead and despised at the conclusion.
Shakespeare has added this effect to cause a bigger drop in audience perception of Claudius when they do find the truth. It engages the audience, they want more intrigue in the characters. Shakespeare achieves the ultimate for a playwright, the audiences reflection on the characters.
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Bibliography:
Feingold, Michael. (1984) Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Barrons Booknotes.
Jefford, Jill. (1998) Shakespeare’s Major Tragedies. Philip Allan. 47-69
Wood, Jeffrey & Wood, Lynn (1998) York Notes Advanced Hamlet. Longman
Jenkins, Harold (Editor) (1982) The Arden Shakespeare: Hamlet. Arden
Hamlet Sparknotes, retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/
