Claudius is unable to pray even though his inclination is as sharp as will, and his determination is overpowered by his stronger guilt which defeats his strong intent to find peace with God. This illustrates society’s view of this crime as being unholy.
"My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent." Neither he nor Hamlet can find a suitable expiation for a crime of such enormity. The rest of the passage might have been spoken by Hamlet himself. Claudius 'double business' is the expiation of his guilt without losing his grip on state, queen and crown. Hamlet's 'double business’ is the avenging of his father's death without destroying the reputation of the royal family, his mother in particular.
“And both neglect. 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? Whereto serves mercy”
Claudius is saying that his hands are covered with the blood of his brother and asks “Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow” he is saying that he cant get it off, that his hands are stained forever with his blood and he will never be forgiven for his sin as it was a terrible crime to commit. He asks “whereto serves mercy“ he is saying when will he be free from the sins that he has committed and he knows the answer, he will never be so it is kind of a hypothetical question put in there by Shakespeare.
“But to confront the visage of offence?
And what's in prayer but this two-fold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,”
Claudius is saying that he must confront his inner demons head on by prayer between him and god the two fold force coming together in a prayer. But as he cannot pray he is having to wait maybe until he dies for his final judgement by god until things come to fall.
”Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up;
My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?”
Claudius says that his deed is done and that no form of prayer can forgive him of his foul murder, nothing can cleanse his soul of the sins that he has commited
“That cannot be; since I am still possess'd
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.”
He says how can he be forgiven as he still has the things that he committed the crime for and that he is still possessed by the ambition that made him do the crime
“May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?
In the corrupted currents of this world”
Claudius asks if he can be forgiven for the crimes that the y have committed and still have the offence against their name.
“Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law: but 'tis not so above”
Claudius tells of how the rich may give money to people to keep them quiet for a while and they buy the law but he says that they are not so above it really and how he did the crime for the wicked prize itself I think that this may be either Gertrude or the crown.
“There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature; and we ourselves compell'd,
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence. What then? what rests?”
He says that there is no getting away from the fact that he killed his brother and he feels that sooner or later he will get found out as he says that in our very nature even at the top, the front of all our faults we are compelled to tell the truth by god. Shakespeare puts this in to show that Claudius is a devout Christian and although he has committed a terrible crime he still fears god and maybe even more so now.
“Try what repentance can: what can it not?
Yet what can it when one can not repent?
O wretched state! O bosom black as death!”
He cannot repent for the sins that he has committed and no matter how hard he tries he cannot get through to god so he does not know what else to do. Claudius says what else can I do if I cannot repent he is fearful because he wants to repent so he can go to heaven. He says that he does not know why he did it because he was mad for power at the time and that he weishes that he had not done it.
“O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,
Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay!”
His conscience is struggling to be free as he is the sole bearer of his terrible crime he asks for the angels help to help him repent and get rid of his sins. Shakespeare shows that Claudius is desperate by showing that he will try anything so as not to get the wrath of God upon him.
“Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel,
Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe!
All may be well.”
Claudius kneels and tries once more to prayer to god and repent for his sins but he knows that it will not succeed but he kneels and tries anyway and pretends because he thinks that it might still happen.
Claudius is very clever and devious as when he is with everybody else he portrays a man of assertiveness and confidence but when he is alone he shows that he is really scared of god and that he will try anything to repent for his sins so that he does not go to heaven.
By
Craig Thompson 10TRM
