The ghost then goes on to agree with Hamlet and confirms our suspicions about Claudius “Ay that incestuous, that adulterous beast,” and revelas how he was killed, “juice of cursed hebona in a vial, and in the porches of my ears did pour…whose effect holds such enemity with blood of man.” Here Shakespeare uses Old Hamlet as another medium to shape the response of the audience to Claudius, thus the audience now view Claudius as the real villain of the play as it shows the dead man’s ghost who has been murdered by his own brother return to earth so that his death may be avenged by his son. There is also a damning testimony which is obviously true as the ghost has appeared three times before. Therefore, at this point, the audience are again sympathising with Hamlet and hate Claudius, as he “has made the royal bed of Denmark a couch for luxury and damned incest.” Hamlet describes him as “villain, villain, smiling damned villain!” This intensifies Hamlet’s and the audience’s hatred of Claudius as we see Hamlet become more passionate about his anger. Claudius can not only be seen as a cold blooded murderer, as his brother’s death was obviously pre meditated, but also as thief, as he has stolen the title of king. I feel that this would have certainly been the case when the play was performed to an Elizabethan or Jacobean audience, as in those times, the king was seen to be chosen by God and Claudius would have committed the worst possible crime, aswell as marrying his sister-in-law which would have been seen as incest, one of Hamlet’s main concerns.
Claudius next appears in Act 2 Scene 2, where he welcomes Rosencrants and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s friends who have agreed to spy on him for the king. Claudius has a mocking tone when he describes Hamlet’s change in behaviour and “What it should be, more than his father’s death, that thus hath put him so much from th’ understanding of himslef, I cannot deem of.” It seems here that Claudius fears Hamlet may know his father’s death was not natural as he talks about a “remedy” which may mean he also wants to murder Hamlet. Also, later on, Claudius talks about Hamlet being an “illness”. In this scene, the audience can see that Claudius, and even Gertrude are extremely corrupt and manipulative as they are bribing two of Hamlet’s closest friend. Another example of Claudius’ behaviour is in Act 4 Scene 5 when Laertes is ready to avenget the death of his father by wanting to kill rashly. Claudius, however, realizes that Laertes is in a fragile and vulnerable state of mind and takes advantage of that, further developing his villainy, even though Laertes is a willing accomplice. Claudius’ non-violoent attitude and rational talking disarms Laertes and his anger, Claudius’ grief for Polonius also seems contrived as he says, “…I must commune with your grief.” His tone when talking to Claudius is reminiscent to his speech earlier in Act 1, “They find us touch’d, we will our kingdom give, our crown our life, and all that we call ours,” as it sounds very formal and political, like he was addressing his court. In this scene, Claudius also proves Hamlet wrong as he says that thoughts are weak and taking action is the more courageous thing to do.
The play proper takes place in Act 3 Scene 2, and the audience have seen in the previous scene that Claudius is looking forward to it, but does not know the importance of his reaction to the play, as it could reveal all his guilt and lead him to admit to his crime, therefore proving the authenticity of the ghost’s story. “The Mousetrap” is about a king and a queen who have been married for thirty years and love each other unconditionally. However, the king’s health is failing and he thinks that after he dies his wife will remarry, she however says that such “love must needs be treason.” Hamlet gives the king and queen a running commentary of the play and reveals to Claudius that Lucianus (villain of the proper play) is in fact the king’s nephew, not his brother. By revealing this, I think the audience now feel that Claudius’ response will not be as genuine if Hamlet had not told him, as now, Claudius may think that Hamlet wants to stela the crown from him or knows how he killed his father and wants him to be killed in the same way. This is shown in the play proper, Lucianus pours poison into the king’s ear whilst he sleeps.
This causes Claudius to rise and leave the court, the audience at this point may have mixed feelings about Claudius as we do not know why, or how much the play has affected him as he does not say anything. However, his character could be played in many ways, for example, the actor could feel that Claudius is affected but does not show it, and conceals his real feelings, or feel that he has to leave straight after the play otherwise his true feelings of guilt may come through. The audience’s response is also manipulated by Hamlet’s reaction to Claudius as he feels that the play has indeed touched Claudius’ conscience as he says “I’ll take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound.” However, in Act 3 Scene 3, Claudius talks to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about the threat that Hamlet poses as he is a danger that must be removed. This may also show Claudius realizes Hamlet knows he was responsible hor his father’s death and needs to have “fetters put about this fear”. Claudius now delivers his soliloquy later on as in this scene, thus the audience get a very honest insight into Claudius’ mind and thoughts. Although Claudius is portrayed as the villain of the play, his soliloquy is sincere and dignified, unlike Hamlet’s troubled soliloquies earlier. In his soliloquy, the king tries to pray and repent of the murder. However, it can be argued that this is not true repentance, as that would mean Claudius admitting everything about the murder to the court at Elsinore, which he does not want to do, as he has gained so much , for example, the throne, the queen and a luxurious lifestyle. Thus, the audience may feel a certain degree of pity for him as he is being sincere and honest. His soliloquy also shows him to be more human due to his main faults which are greed and ambition, which he abmits to, “Of those effects for which I did the murder- my crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.” The fact that the queen is the last thing mentioned in his list, may show that he does not really love Gertrude, but had to marry her due to hrt position. Or, it could be seen that by mentioning her last, and saying “my queen” could show that his love for her is genuine. This also shows Claudius as a mystery as we only partly get his view. The audience can also see that Claudius wants to repent and tries to, but “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”
This therefore makes Claudius seem more likeable to the audience as he does not that he committed murder for his own selfish reasons which makes his character seem more realistic and human. As the audience now feel pity for Claudius, they may now feel that Hamlet is the cold blooded murderer as he is debating wether to murder Claudius while he prays to god, Here, Claudius’ soliloquy and Hamlet’s actions (or thoughts) to shape the audience’s response to him.
However, any pity the audience may have felt for Claudius quickly evaporates as he reveals the real reason for sending Hamlet to England, which was “the present death of Hamlet”. However, his plans fails as Hamlet returns to Denmark alive, and writes Claudius a letter informing him of this. In Act 4 Scene 7, Laertes now wants revenge by killing Hamlet, and he and Claudius hatch a plot to murder Hamlet as if by accident with a poisoned sword in a fencing match, and by offering him a poisoned drink. Claudius has now manipulated the gullible Laertes who has agreed to their plan, “Will you be rul’d by me? And Laertes relies, “Ay my lord.” Claudius then asks Laertes what he would do to avenge his father’s death and he replies, “cut his throat i’ th’ church”. Claudius also wants Laertes to stay revengeful and angry as he says, “A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it.” Here, the “it” refers to Laertes’ love for his father.
The audience here can see that Laertes is vulnerable and is in a fragile state of mind and is therefore susceptible to suggestions from Claudius as he is the king. The audience also know that Claudius is manipulative and calculating, and hatched this self serving plot, as killing Hamlet would avenge the death of Polonius, and remove a potential threat to Claudius and the throne and can see that Claudius takes advantage of this situation by securing Laertes’ trust.
In Act 5 Scene 2, Hamlet and Horatio are visited by Osric who informs them of the fencing match which is going to take place. Here, Osric is a ridiculous version of Polonious, and a satirical caricature of a typical obsequious coutriter. This exchange between Osric and the witty Hamlet who ridicules him is relevant for the audience to see what the court of Claudius is like and who thrives there.
Before the fencing match starts, Hamlet apologizes to Laertes who accepts, however still wants the fight to be played so he can restore his credit in the eyes of the court. As they start to play, the audience see Claudius being extremely devious and shrewd, as he drinks to Hamlet’s success. However, we also see Claudius’ plans start to fall apart as he says “Stay give me a drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine; here’s to your health.” When Hamlet refuses the drink, Gertrude shows her loyalty to her son by drinking the wine for him, despites Claudius’ attempts to stop her, “Gertrude do not drink.” We can see her that it would depend on how Claudius’ character was being acted as he could either be extremely calm and conceal any emotions or show more feling as he says it. Gertrude’s defiance here show that her loyalty lies with her son, not with Claudius who is now proved to be the real villain of the play. As Gertrude warns her son of the poisoned drink, Laertes also betrays the king and says, “Hamlet, thou art slain…The king, the king’s to blame.” Hamlet now stabs Claudius who recieves no help form his court, which shows that everyone realizes he is the traitor and he dies. Here, Laudius dies due to the accussations of the fencing match, not through Hamlet avenging his father’s death as that is not mentioned during this scene.
The audience’s response to Claudius’ death is one of justice and satisfaction. However, I feel they have a degree of respect and admiration for him due to his calculating and shrewd ways.
Shakespeare uses many different techniques to shape the audience’s response, these include ; the other characters, and what their opinions are of Claudius, the tone of voice Claudius uses when he talks and what action he takes.
