Writing Resources
As seen in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Claudius is the King of Denmark and the main antagonist of the play He is a deceitful morally deficient and manipulative man Claudius has a significant effect on the outcome of the play because of his desire for fame and power Throughout the play Claudius s deception towards Hamlet his nephew and the whole state of Denmark reflects how greed and villainy can result in the death of many innocent people and ultimately the death of Claudius himself At the beginning of the Hamlet Claudius is introduced as a powerful and respectful King of Denmark In Act 1 Scene 2 he gives speeches regarding the grief of King Hamlet s death and the joy of his new marriage with Gertrude who is the widow of his dead brother When he sees that Hamlet his nephew still mourns for his beloved father he gives him a speech suggesting that Hamlet should cease grieving and get on with life He begins the speech by saying that Tis sweet and commendable in your nature Hamlet to give these mourning duties to your father But you must know your father lost a father that father lost lost his 1 2 87 89 The true intention behind Claudius s speeches to Hamlet and to his people in general is that he wants the mourning part to be over quickly As he lies about the true cause of King Hamlet s death to his people he fears that the longer king Hamlet is remembered the more people were to look into it Claudius confesses the murder of King Hamlet when he prays to God in Act 3 Scene
