An exploration of the ways Shakespeare presents the character Claudius

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An exploration of the ways Shakespeare presents the character Claudius

 From Claudius’s first speech the audience gains the impression the character is political and educated. Shakespeare uses metaphorical language to emphasis this.

Claudius’s first speech in the script is full of metaphorical language, and it shows a manipulating, persuasive character who can convince a kingdom that it was perfectly acceptable for him to marry his brother’s wife just a few weeks after his death.

 It is the language Shakespeare has chosen to give Claudius that can convince others that he is morally correct. He uses imagery of facial features to represent the kingdom as one body. An example of this is ‘in one brow of woe,’ which refers to the kingdom as all having one joint eyebrow. Again he is giving his opinion and views but insinuates it is what everyone else should be thinking too.

 The situation Shakespeare has created of the king being married to the wife of his brother who has died, automatically shows the audience that Claudius is an unpleasant, immoral character. This is not allowed according to the Bible and goes against many people’s views; this would be more shocking for an Elizabethan audience considering that many more people were religious at that time. He makes the character appear more sinister by showing a sly, manipulating side of Claudius justifying himself in his first speech; ‘our sometime sister and now queen.’ This is the way the character refers to the grief of his dead brother; he convinces the court that he is very grief stricken and assumes others think in the same way showing them that he has the higher status and he should not be disagreed with.

 Shakespeare expresses what the other characters think of him and what kind of person he is by having him compared to his brother ‘here is your husband, like a mildewed ear, blasting his wholesome brother.’ This comparison shows how the old king should still be on the throne rather than Claudius.

 The speech also includes several oxymoron ‘defeated joy’, ‘mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage,’ I feel that Shakespeare has included these again to show Claudius’s political skills as it would be allowing the kingdom to focus on whatever emotion they needed to at the time. The characters that are mourning will notice the words, defeated and “funeral,” therefore making them think that Claudius cares for the fact he hasn’t totally ignored the death of his brother; the ones who are celebrating the wedding would focus on the words ‘joy, mirth and marriage; I feel Shakespeare has allowed Claudius to say these things to show them that the character is clever and a very good politician.    

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The closing of his speech says ‘for all, our thanks,’ I believe this is said in a way to close the subject and to stop any members of the court questioning Claudius on it. I feel Shakespeare expressed it in this way again to show Claudius’s status as the new king. It also makes him seem cowardly as he exits from the rest of the court. By making this first speech, which is the first impression of Claudius, fast moving, the audience has already seen he is a vindictive and manipulating man automatically making them more in favour of ...

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