Comparasion of King Claudius' speeches in "Hamlet".

by rodinho1994 (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Rodolfo Martinez

King Claudius is seen in Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, as both an intelligent and well-spoken man, complementing his manipulative and dangerous nature. In fact, it is his conscience that makes Claudius such a multifaceted antihero. Even though his rise to the power seemed to have been carefully planned and executed, his conscience at later in the play some guilt tricks on him, leading the audience to a more unknown and mysterious plot, where the outcomes are still unknown for the country of Denmark. Still, by the very end of the scene we learn that in fact Claudius is still the same person, with his ambition for power being greater than his will to accept guilt and repentance.

In Act 1 Scene 2 Claudius starts by giving out a general speech about current events, however later focuses completely on Hamlet, probably fearing that the more his father was remembered the more people would suspect about him. Thus this speech appears to be very well planned in order to be effective on Hamlet, who had probably been mournful about his father’s death for quite some time now. The purpose of the king is to change Hamlet’s mind-set in order to keep his “crown, mine own ambition and my queen”, as he says later in Act 3 Scene 3. Everything Claudius does in the play, at least until now is driven by his ambition of power and supposed love to his Queen. For example, during his speech in Act 1 Scene 2 he attempts to convince Hamlet not to go to Wittenberg, “Leaving here is not something that we want, and we beg you to give into remaining”. Although Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, is the one who finally convinces him not to, showing how well Claudius is able to manipulate people to his own interests, even the ones he claims to love. Rather than love as we see throughout the play, Claudius’ ambition is also driven by his sexual desire not by love.

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However, in Act 3 Scene 2, Claudius attitude changes completely and starts by admitting that is was him in fact who killed his brother, “O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven”, it was a “primal eldest curse”, like the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Two religious references are made here, showing how close this man really is to church, he knows that he has committed a terrible sin, and is willing to pray and be forgiven but his “stronger guilt” does not let him do accomplish this. He asks if there isn’t room to be forgiven for his sin. This following metaphor is the image of water being used to free us from all our errors, “What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow?” This line could also be applied in other cases, such as, in baptisms and the great flood, where water was used also to cleanse all of our sins. Yet again making a reference to God and the church, showing how much Claudius is really close to religion, making his sins completely driven by his desire for the crown and the Queen, ignoring what he believed in.

Then he gives one of the most honest lines in the play, “May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?” He is aware that if he cannot leave the things he gained from his committing this sin, and then he cannot truly beg for repentance to God. Also he knows that there is no corruption in heaven, that “Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice” here on earth “but 'tis not so above”. This can certainly be contrasted with what he said at the opening of Act 1 Scene 2, “Though the memory of our dear brother, Hamlet’s death is still fresh, and that it was proper for us to grieve for him in our hearts, and our whole kingdom”, which was a total and complete lie, he was, in every way, acting this. This change in saying how he actually feels is a sign of what any human being would do, although, as we can from these two extracts it is very different to say something and then actually do it.

Claudius asks what repentance can do for him if he can’t truly repent in his heart. He tells his knees and his heart to bend and be soft so that they can humble themselves before God and ask for forgiveness. He calls for help from the angels and then he looks like he is praying and in direct communication with God. For a moment, at least, he wants to be like a new-born baby, someone with no sins on his head. He longs for his previous state of innocence. A comparison can be made with how he acted in Act 1 Scene 2, with such power, confidence and giving the impression he was better than everyone. Thus, we can really see a difference in attitudes at least; he does try to be more honest and humble, which are both good changes.

Even though, Claudius looks like he is praying, but he tells us in these lines that while he may be saying the right thing, his heart is not in it, and, therefore, his pleas are not reaching God. This apparent truth that he is acting out can be compared to when in Act 1 Scene 2 he tells Hamlet, “And with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son do I impart toward you.” And we see here that there is a difference between saying that one wants to repent and then one actually repenting, as well as in the same situation, telling Hamlet he will be like a father but actually transforming into his enemy. Claudius doesn’t want to feel guilty, but he also doesn’t want to go back to not being King and husband. He has made a judgment about what is more important to him, and it isn’t forgiveness and repentance. As he says “Words without thoughts never to heaven go”, thus God has not heard him.

In conclusion, we can see a change in attitude towards his deadly sin, killing his own brother and how has that affected his state of mind so much he has to admit to free some of the guilt, whereas in Act 1 Scene 2 he was completely false with this. However, in both cases, even though he is trying to repent for what he has done afterwards, his ambition of power and sexual desires overcome his will to be forgiven, he is aware of it. The audience is left with the doubt of whether the King has actually changed or not, but can probably deduce he will rapidly forget this guilt and continue on with whatever plans he has to stop Hamlet from taking his throne.

Word count: 1178