This show of weakness, however, is swiftly reversed when Laertes hints at taking revenge independently, and the King immediately reacts by assuring him that he would not “let our beard be shook with danger / And think it pastime”, reverting confidently to the royal “we” to convey majesty and high status. The subtle personification of Hamlet as “danger” not only emphasises the gravity of the situation but also reflects well on the King as brave and commanding having ordered Hamlet’s execution so quickly.
After reading the letter from Hamlet confirming that the execution has not been carried out, the King does not lose his composure for long. He takes a different approach to his renewed attempts to persuade Laertes to conspire with him, however, claiming that revenge would merely help him to achieve “thine own peace” rather than any personal gain for the King himself: this show of sympathy and consideration is backed up by Shakespeare’s use of the familiar “thine” to again add familiarity to the relationship between the two men. The King confidently assures Laertes of the infallibility of his plan by stating that Hamlet “shall not choose but fail”, and to further press his point claims that “even his mother shall…call it accident”, reneging on his previous claim to act only according to what would please the Queen and therefore demonstrating his dedication and commitment to the plot.
Laertes indicates his interest in acting as “the organ” of Hamlet’s destruction, leading the King to intensify his ingratiation with him. He begins to compliment Laertes on “a quality / Wherein they say you shine”, cleverly using both the passive voice in line 70 and the deliberately vague third person pronoun “they” to make the praise sound more credible than if it had come from him alone. Shakespeare builds suspense for both Laertes and the audience by deliberately not mentioning the “quality” which is supposed to “pluck such envy from” Hamlet until line 97, by which time Claudius has already described how the lauded “Lamord”, whom Laertes clearly admires, “made confession of you”, implying that Laertes’ talent was so obvious that it had to be praised against the Frenchman’s will. Shakespeare deliberately leaves this report, like that of Hamlet’s envy open to interpretation: did this all really happen, or is it just an invention of the King’s designed to pander to Laertes’ vanity? His persuasion is further strengthened by means of a triadic structure, “neither motion, guard, nor eye”, which is closely followed by the alliteration of “envenom” and “envy”. The use of the verb “envenom” also neatly links into the main idea of the poisoned foils, giving both Laertes and the audience an insight into what will happen next. The attribution of the venom to Hamlet also implies that Laertes will simply be retaliating when he fights with the poisoned sword rather than it being an unfair fight, which Laertes eventually expresses qualms about. The King also gives Laertes higher status over Hamlet by claiming that all the Prince did was “wish and beg…to play with you”, likening him to a petulant child and therefore lowering both his status and his dignity.
The King concludes by insinuating that Laertes is false in his grief, “like the painting of a sorrow” in order to incite him to violent action, considerably out of character after his rational inquiries such as “What out of this, my lord?”. Beginning with a typically defensive “Not that I think you did not love your father”, but then continues to talk about people who fall prey to “abatements and delays”, ironically similar to Hamlet himself. Claudius ends with an uncharacteristically direct question reminding Laertes that he is “your father’s son”, which immediately provokes the younger man to swear to kill Hamlet, thereby achieving his aim and sealing his fate.
