“O wicked wit and gifts, that has the power so to seduce! – Won to his shameful lust.” Claudius also shows himself to be manipulative as he changes the mind of the “seeming-virtuous queen” by winning her affection towards him in many ways, such as sweet words and gifts. He makes a very clear image of the queen also being incestuous and adulterous with him, and hence destroys the bond of respect that Hamlet feels for his mother, as he knows Hamlet would drift further away from his mother due to the repulsiveness of the situation and also the disgust now shown from Hamlet to his mother. Hamlet also shows his anger to this situation (Act I, Scene 2), when he says, “A little more than kin, and less than kind!” A very dramatic comment and in this brief answer Hamlet delivers an answer of being unhappy with the relationship between Claudius and Gertrude, hence agreeing to come from the same descent but not to be like him at all.
Claudius is revealed next as a man who deceives. He casually says, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” This is very ironic, as Hamlet’s father has just died. Claudius knows that Hamlet would not like that comment and so asks him that just as well to clarify, for himself, whether the distance between the two of them exists. He also manages to persuade Laertes not to be enemies with him but to instead ally with him and plot against Hamlet. The king shows very strong deception in Act IV, Scene 5, when he says, “That, swoops take, you will draw both friend and foe, Winner and loser?” We see, hence the king’s capability of being able to mould a person into whichever form he wants. Hence we find the king is also very manipulative and also very untrustworthy.
Claudius also is very quick-witted and competent, as he conceives two plots to kill Hamlet. One of which leads Rosencrantz's and Guildernstern’s death, “By letters congruing to that effect, the present death of Hamlet. Do it, England.” and one of which leads to his own death as well as many others, including Hamlet’s too. Also in regard to his intelligence we see his treachery and ruthlessness displayed when he formulates the murders. His methods of murdering though are all very cowardly. This starts right from the first murder, which was of the king Hamlet. “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me – The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.” Thus we see that he doesn’t kill righteously but with deception and cowardice. He also shows this again when he sends Hamlet all the way to England to be executed and when he sets the cup of wine with the poisoned pearl for Hamlet to drink in. So we see that the king’s methods of killing are always silent and very underhanded.
Claudius is also very good with words and also quite calm and intelligent in though situations. He is a very composed when it comes to serious matters, regarding the kingdom and his court and also is very persistent, as he does all he can to get something his own way. He shows us a composed figure of himself when he deals with the situation of Laertes, and his rage towards his father’s death and sister’s madness. He also motivates us to think of him as a capable king, not one that is useless. Although being wrong in his way of becoming king, his reign on the throne of Denmark is not useless as he is a competent king and seems capable enough of handling the country’s situation. We see it when he justly allows Laertes to leave Denmark to study elsewhere. “Take thy fair hour, Laertes and thy best graces spend it at thy will.” We also see him flattering and very smooth talking, when it comes down to tricky and embarrassing situations. He deals with these situations in skill and perfection, hence showing the precision Claudius takes when dealing with his affairs.
Claudius is also a ruthless and brutal king, as he formulates plots to kill just for power. He shows his ruthlessness when he kills his own brother just for reign on the throne of Denmark, and also how he uses conniving tactics to kill his nephew, Hamlet. Hence we see Claudius to show very hostile characteristics to anyone who stands in his way of power. We can compare his power hungry attitude to that of Macbeth’s as he too also kills the king to be the next in line to the throne. Hence Claudius and Macbeth are alike in their flaw and are both motivated by uncontrolled ambitions. They will stoop to any level to get what they want. But it seems that Claudius also killed for love. This is evident as he truly shows affection to Gertrude, “Away my dear Gertrude” showing that he talks to her always in a kind and loving way.
Claudius is also a king of pretence and false origin. Hence we see his court to be spoilt and full of corruption. Everyone is “rotten” and is spies to the king. We see Claudius to be two-faced about his concern towards Hamlet when he deceives the two courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He flatters them, just to make them spy on Hamlet, to find out why he is acting mad these days. He makes us feel as if he is really concerned and his flattery seems so natural in its flow that the men and the queen are absorbed into him, without even a clue of suspicion. Claudius takes the full advantage of their belief in the divine right of kings and hence manipulates them in this way. When looking at the two courtiers we see that their belief that a king was “God-sent” and that he had divine right and no one could go against him. Claudius knows this, but yet takes advantage of the situation by flattering them and thanking them in very profound ways. This concept of the Elizabethans, that the king had divine right, is shown when everywhere when the courtiers always greet the king with, “Hail to your lordship – Good my lord.” So a very strong sense of respect is shown to the country’s king and important members of their court. Hence Claudius’ methods of deception are very underhanded and misleading.
“He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found the head and source of all your son’s distemper”. This phrase brings out Claudius’ devious nature. He used to consider Hamlet as his own son earlier, but now he says “your”, hence proving to the audience his real lack of care. “A cut purse of the empire and the rule”, “A king of shreds and patches-” accuses Hamlet. Hamlet also seems to know that Claudius is a king who stole the love of the Queen and also the respect of the people. Hence he seems to think that not even Claudius can make up 1/200th parts of his father. Hamlet says that Claudius is not even worth the love of the queen and also is not fit at all to be a king. Hence we see Claudius to be nothing more than a menace and a traitor to both Hamlet and his fathers ghost. Hamlet compares his father to Mars (mythological god of war). “See what grace was seated on his brow – A combination and a form indeed where every god did seem to set his seal”. He also accuses his mother that her choice of the new husband looks like a game of blinds man buff – “That thus hath cozened you at hoodman-blind?” In this way proving that the existing king was nothing compared to his own father.
We also see Claudius to be an excessive drinker, and one that indulges in all kinds of pleasure. He also proves his habit when he blasts a cannon to each glass to tell people symbolically, that the king is drinking. “No jocund health that Denmark drinks today, but the great cannon to the clouds shall tell.”
Claudius deals with Hamlets melancholia with sarcasm and very tricky questions. When Hamlet was mourning for his dead father in the beginning we see Claudius repeatedly asking him if he was over his depression. Even towards the queen he says, “Our son Hamlet”, even though he knows Hamlet isn’t his own son so we also see Claudius to be an intense liar.
The play constructed by Hamlet, “The Mousetrap” portrayed the whole action of Claudius and how he took over the throne of Denmark. Claudius didn’t like this at all and hence showed a bit of conscience when he exited the play briefly, “The king rises; Give me some light. Away!” This shows that even though Claudius was a killer, he wasn’t a cold-blooded one that liked being reminded of the murder committed. Claudius although being manipulative, deceiving and so on, also shows signs of having a conscience. Hamlet also now attains evidence that Claudius was guilty, as by the way he reacted to the play. Thus after the play Claudius shows us a no longer polished, know it all king, which we saw in the beginning, but instead a contrasted character, which is one that is uncertain, paranoid and shaken. Earlier he had admitted to Polonius that spying is wrong. “Spying is like a painted smiling face.” Saying that you are really just covering up what you are really feeling. Hence Claudius shows us some trace of a conscience too in this phrase.
Lastly in Claudius’ soliloquy in Act III, Scene 3, he admits himself to be sucked into sin so deep that the only way that might be possible to attain forgiveness might be repentance. He uses the quote “-sweet heavens” that was also used by Shakespeare in the soliloquy of Portia in “ The Merchant of Venice”. Thus he seems to believe that the drop of mercy from heaven could relieve him of the sin but in order to be pardoned he should also repent, and that was hard to do due to the benefits he got from killing his brother. “In the corrupted currents of the world” In this line, he says that bribery is wrong but people use it to enjoy the benefits of their crime. Then he says, “But ‘tis not so above. There is no shuffling.” Hence we see that Claudius to himself is quite reasoning, and also not that evil. With all this on his mind Claudius makes an effort to pray, “Help, angels! Make assay. Bow, stubborn knees, and, heart with strings of steel, be soft as sinews of the new-born babe” He tries in this line to humiliate himself and this shows us that he tries to repent and turn away from sin and to make his soul be free of all sin. Thus Claudius isn’t always “a villain” and “a murderer” but instead shows us a good side of him when he tries to pray and talks truly to himself. But in the end he rises from kneeling and say, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” We see him get even more hardened after this scene and instead of repenting he goes back to his old track. He cannot let go of the earthly gifts tempting him, which shows us another flaw of his, which is to give in to temptations. Thus is the character of Claudius in the play ‘Hamlet’.
In my personal view I see Claudius to have a very complex character. He has a lot of emotions mixed up at times and proves to be quite unsettling at times. He is all in all a murderer and a villain with the sly, manipulative and unreliable characteristics present in him, but also is very shrewd and intelligent. He too like Hamlet, plans very carefully for every decision involving his kingdom. In this way we see Claudius at a very alert man, never letting his guard down. He makes it his business to know exactly what’s going on in other peoples mind. He isn’t trustworthy, nor does he trust many people in the court, and expresses suspicion towards every thing that could be hazardous to him being king. Claudius is a man who can’t control his greed or lust for something even if it goes against moral values. He shows great calmness in tense situations and is completely capable of getting himself out of them. He uses his intelligence to manipulate people and also is quite courageous in this way. He is also very affectionate at times when he shows real true love for the queen. He also gives us the idea that he does have a conscience, but due to temptation he can’t follow his moral judgment. This shows that Claudius is tempted too easily yet. He is not a “vice of kings” as he shows himself to be completely capable of handling the court and its issues.
