Beyond Exposing Claudius: A Passage Analysis
Beyond Exposing Claudius: A Passage Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characterisation of Hamlet is very well produced through his reactions to the truth of his father’s death. As Hamlet must keep his suspicions of his uncle, Claudius, contained, he struggles to decide on how to properly bring these actions to light. Throughout this passage, Hamlet exposes his disgust with his mother’s new marriage to his uncle, making it clear to the reader just how painful it is for him to think about it. The transition of power to Claudius, as king as well as a father, is too much for Hamlet to bare. After seeing his real father’s ghost, and having revealed to him that his uncle is actually the one at fault, Hamlet is filled with the desire to expose his uncle for the man that he truly is.
Hamlet would rather die than be forced into a life dictated by his uncle as the new king. As Hamlet thinks about his mother’s new marriage he wishes, “Oh that this too, too sallied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew” (1.2. 129-130), …show more content…
His mother is forced into an incestuous marriage, which in turn requires Hamlet to be around Claudius more as the one next to the throne. This unwilling relation presents a challenge for Hamlet, as he knows what evil his uncle has done to create the situation in the first place. When Hamlet contemplates the idea of Claudius as his new father Hamlet states, “no more like my father than I to Hercules” (1.2. 152-153). He continues his deliberation saying that the difference is so significant between his father and Claudius that it is comparable to the difference between a “hyperion to a satyr” (1.2. 140). This comparison is significant because it shows that Hamlet imagines his uncle to the same likeness of a beastly creature when compared to the godlike figure that his father
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the characterisation of Hamlet is very well produced through his reactions to the truth of his father’s death. As Hamlet must keep his suspicions of his uncle, Claudius, contained, he struggles to decide on how to properly bring these actions to light. Throughout this passage, Hamlet exposes his disgust with his mother’s new marriage to his uncle, making it clear to the reader just how painful it is for him to think about it. The transition of power to Claudius, as king as well as a father, is too much for Hamlet to bare. After seeing his real father’s ghost, and having revealed to him that his uncle is actually the one at fault, Hamlet is filled with the desire to expose his uncle for the man that he truly is.
Hamlet would rather die than be forced into a life dictated by his uncle as the new king. As Hamlet thinks about his mother’s new marriage he wishes, “Oh that this too, too sallied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew” (1.2. 129-130), …show more content…
His mother is forced into an incestuous marriage, which in turn requires Hamlet to be around Claudius more as the one next to the throne. This unwilling relation presents a challenge for Hamlet, as he knows what evil his uncle has done to create the situation in the first place. When Hamlet contemplates the idea of Claudius as his new father Hamlet states, “no more like my father than I to Hercules” (1.2. 152-153). He continues his deliberation saying that the difference is so significant between his father and Claudius that it is comparable to the difference between a “hyperion to a satyr” (1.2. 140). This comparison is significant because it shows that Hamlet imagines his uncle to the same likeness of a beastly creature when compared to the godlike figure that his father