king‚ Claudius. Questions have been raised because he does not kill the king after Hamlet’s first encounter with the ghost. The ghost had warned Hamlet that Claudius had murdered his father. As a result‚ there have been four theories that have been developed which try to discover the reasoning behind Hamlet’s procrastination. The average person would have murdered King Claudius immediately after the encounter with the ghost. However‚ it takes Hamlet almost the whole play to murder Claudius. The first
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HAMLET On Claudius: “A little more than kin‚ a little less than kind” “Smiling‚ damned villain!” “Keeps wassail” “drains his draughts of Rhenish down” “remorseless‚ treacherous‚ lecherous‚ kindless villain!” “what‚ frighted with false fire!” On Polonius: “these tedious old fools” “i’ll lug the guts into the neighbour room” “you are a fishmonger” “thou wretched rash‚ intruding fool‚ farewell.” On Gertrude/Ophelia/Women: “i shall in my best obey you madam” “Like Niobe‚ all tears” “incestuous
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decay through Claudius’ actions and behaviour. His thirst for power and possession leads to the destruction of other characters as well as his own tragic downfall. The political corruption of Claudius is evident as he kills his own brother to become king and marries Gertrude in an incestuous relationship. Claudius says‚ “This cannot be‚ since I am still possessed of those effects for which I did the murder‚ my crown‚ mine own ambition‚ and my queen.” (III‚ iii‚ 56-58) In this quote Claudius admits his
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In the third scene‚ Hamlet stumbles across Claudius praying‚ and implies that he is begging forgiveness for his murder. It would have been a perfect moment to seek revenge and strike him down‚ but for Claudius’s momentary closeness with God. Hamlet decides to do his deed when Claudius is committing a terrible act instead. As the events unfold‚ however‚ Hamlet’s nobility becomes questionable‚ to the point where he is arguably no better than Claudius the incestuous murderer. Hamlet kills Polonius
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The character that everyone who has read this play loves to hate has to be Claudius. His vendetta was with the world. He felt so cheated by his brother’s success as the king of Denmark that he was inclined to take the most desperate of measures‚ and commit murder and treason. I suppose he wanted to prove to the world that he was not to be seen in his brother’s shadow any longer. “Although there are no unequivocal referents supporting this proposal - a feature that is quite typical of the psychopath
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of his father’s death to his own death in the end‚ Hamlet experiences different feelings about dying and expresses his many ideas on the afterlife. By studying his soliloquies we can observe Hamlet’s character as well as find the climax in his urgent desire to die and his final resolve into complacency. Even before the first soliloquy‚ we know through the first scene that it is Hamlet ’s father’s death that triggers Hamlet’s interest in the afterlife. Having someone so important leave his life
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soon discover that he is dealing with the marriage of his mother Gertrude to Uncle Claudius. Hamlet is disillusioned with his widowed mother and the virtuous purity in which she previously obtained. Hamlet speaks of his bafflement to Gertrude through soliloquy in Act 3‚ Scene 4‚ “Rebellious hell‚ if thou canst mutine in matrons bones‚ to flaming youth let virtue be as wax and melt in her own fire”. Through soliloquy‚ Hamlet is disillusioned and questions his mother’s virtuous qualities and thus‚ questions
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Hamlet’s First Soliloquy text? Following is the explanation and summary of Hamlet’s First Soliloquy. The first soliloquy of Hamlet falls in the Act 1‚ Scene II‚ after the King Claudius and the Queen Gertrude urges Hamlet in the open court to cast off the deep melancholy which‚ as they think‚ has taken possession of his mind as a consequence of his father’s death. In their opinion‚ Hamlet has sufficiently grieved for his father’s death already. Prior to the soliloquy‚ the King Claudius and Queen Gertrude
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is the only person who questions the moral atmosphere of Denmark but is driven to act irritationally because of the distress placed on him by the world. Hamlet struggles with his duty to his father‚ his disillusionment with himself‚ his revenge on Claudius‚ his mother’s sudden remarriage‚ the purpose of the ghost and the corrupt nature of Denmark. By not informing the audience of the intentions of the ghost‚ Shakespeare keeps them engaged by creating disillusionment through Hamlet’s struggle for the
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facade or if over the course of the play it became genuine. Despite the play primarily following Hamlet’s quest for revenge‚ a great deal of his characterization comes from the opinions of other characters‚ such as Polonius‚ Claudius‚ Gertrude‚ (and so forth). This use of soliloquies leads the audience to question if Hamlet’s grief over the murder of his father is simply being misconstrued as madness due to the expectations the society is placing on him as a prince. Early in the play‚ the readers
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