This scene begins at the court of Claudius and Gertrude, the King and Queen of Denmark. They have just been married. This marriage has followed quickly after the death of the former King of Denmark, Old Hamlet, Claudius’ brother. Claudius addresses the quickness of the marriage, representing himself as in mourning for a lost brother even as he is joyful for a new wife, his one-time sister. Claudius also addresses the question of the young Fortinbras’ proposed invasion. He says that he has spoken to Fortinbras’ uncle, the King of Norway, who has made Fortinbras promise to halt any plans to invade Denmark.
Claudius starts by stating “But now, my cousin Hamlet and my son” this shows a change in the position that is mentioned above. In the past the word cousin also meant uncle, the shift from cousin to son is because of the marriage to Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet replies, "A little more than kin, and less than kind". What Hamlet with that statement is that although the King is now "more than kin" because he is kin both as uncle and as father, he is less than "kind." "Kind" implying "kindly," "caring," as it does now, but it also means "kind" as in our "kind of person." In other words, Hamlet is saying that the King, though "more than kin," is not kind, and not related to him at all, maybe even--as we might say--not even from the same planet. Whether the King hears this insult or not, his next speech is insulting to Hamlet. "How is it that the clouds still hang on you?" he asks. It's obvious that Hamlet is still in mourning for his father, therefore the real meaning of the question was to tell the Hamlet to stop mourning for his father and accept that Claudius is the new king and that he should stop living in a bubble-like world isolated from real life.
His squeakily-clean image can be seen as it is slowly changing. This is due to him not being able to justify why his mother would marry Claudius as soon as Old Halmlet died which leads him to think that she may have some part to play in the murder. In explaining why he wears black, he points out that no one will see in him "windy suspiration of forc'd breath / No, nor the fruitful river of the eye" This overly elaborate and detailed language has the effect of implying that those who did sigh and weep for his father's death were faking it. He's not faking it, but he thinks his mother may have been, which affects his image of his mother.
The king then attempts to turn Hamlet’s feelings around and to show everyone else what a kind and caring person he is. The King begins with seeming gentleness, saying "'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, / To give these mourning duties to your father" (1.2.87-88). But the King also wants to make it clear that Hamlet is being a jerk, and his kindliness soon evolves into fairly transparent insults: Hamlet's grief is "obstinate," and "unmanly"; Hamlet is displaying "A heart unfortified, or mind impatient, / An understanding simple and unschool'd" (1.2.96-97). The King concludes by showing how much Hamlet has to be grateful for: He wants Hamlet--and "the world"--to know that Hamlet is "most immediate to our throne," which sounds like a promise that Hamlet will be the next king. Furthermore, he loves Hamlet like a son, and he wants him to stay at the castle, "Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye." So, rhetoric aside, even though Laertes was allowed to return to France, Hamlet is strongly urged although not ordered to stay in Denmark, and not return to the university at Wittenberg. The feeling of hate between Hamlet and the king seems to be mutual and hence
This soliloquy shows the different changes of mood that Hamlet goes through when making his decision to kill the King Cladius before finally making up his mind. This soliloquy shows a wide range of emotions of different sides of hamlet.
