Hamlet Essays (3568 words) - Characters In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet

Hamlet 1. Claudius begins and ends the act by lying to Gertrude. Name FOUR other aspects of his character that are provable on the basis of what he says and does in this act. Is he still wracked with guilt, do you think? Just a brief note on how Claudius lies to begin. In Act Four, scene one, he tells Gertrude that he refrained from taking action against Hamlet because of his love for the Prince. In actual fact, we know from the King's speeches at the end of III.i. and the opening of III.iii. that the King has been planning to send Hamlet away to England for some time. It seems likely that at this point, he decides that he wants the prince dead. In any case, the general tone of Claudius' attitude towards Hamlet has been one of suspicion and dislike, certainly not love. At the end of the Act, in scene seven, he tells Gertrude How much I had to do to calm his rage. This is deceitful rather than an out and out lie, because what Claudius has done is to direct and control Laertes' rage rather th an calm it. Other things one might say about Claudius in this act are how callous and selfish he is in his reaction to Polonius' death. The King shows no pity or sorrow at the death of his counsellor. Rather, his reaction is: It had been so with us had we been there (IV.i.). That is to say, he realises that Hamlet poses a direct physical threat to himself and must be disposed of immediately. A second, very obvious thing to say, is that Claudius' treatment of Laertes shows what a brilliant manipulator he is. He expresses no anger towards the rebel; he gives him everything he wants (Let him demand his fill IV.v.) Once he has thus deflated Laertes' rage, he begins to provoke it again in order to persuade him to take part in his plot to kill Hamlet through treachery in the fencing match. Before explaining the plan, he asks Laertes, was your father dear to you?. Thirdly, we may notice that Claudius doesn't mention his conscience once in this act. In Act Three, he desperately attempts to pray for the strength to repent his crimes. In Act Four, all of Claudius' actions are villainous, suggesting that he has come to peace with the idea of being unrepentant. Lastly, a few more positive, more human features become apparent. One might note Claudius' apparent love of horse-riding which is communicated in his unnecessarily lengthy speech about the virtues of Lamord in IV.vii. Alternatively, his lengthy speech to Gertrude in IV.i. shows his genuine worry about his kingdom. Or, Claudius professes deeply-felt love for Gertrude when he explains his failure to punish Hamlet in IV.vii. It may be, however, that he is using this as an excuse and the (alleged) popularity of the prince is a more genuine reason. 2. Has Gertrude reformed after her confrontation with Hamlet in III.iv.? In Act Three, scene four, Gertrude promises Hamlet she will stop sleeping with Claudius. There are two things to look at here in order to try to assess whether she has done this: Gertrude's aside at the opening of Act Four, scene five and her behavior around Claudius. What she says at the start of Act Four, scene five is that every event seems like an omen that something dreadful is about to happen to her sick soul, which she defines as a sinful soul. This seems to suggest that, like her new husband, she knows she is sinful, but is persisting in that sin. If she had reformed by this point, four scenes after having made her promise to Hamlet, she would presumably not be feeling so sinful. It is fairly difficult to draw any particular conclusions from the Queen's behavior around Claudius. We see them alone together in Act Four, scene one and briefly in Act Four, scene five. In the first scene, she lies to Claudius in order to protect her son. She tells the King that Hamlet killed Polonius in a mad fit. The Queen is apparently convinced of Hamlet's sanity by the end of Act Three, scene four and so we