Hamlets Claude

A detailed Summary of Hamlets Claude

In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, the character of Claude is a near perfect example of a Machiavellian character. Claude began as the brother to King Hamlet, stepbrother to Queen Gertrude and Uncle to Prince Hamlet. However this situation obviously does not suite Claude so he takes measures to change it. After doing what he had to too become King, Claude's brother is dead, he is married to Gertrude and Prince Hamlet is now his son-in-law. In this fashion he has demonstrated the golden rule of Machiavelli. That rule is to obtain power by all means necessary and to keep that power by all means necessary. However after Claude gains his power he does not do a good job of keeping it. There are things Claude could of done to keep a grasp on the Kingship that he does not do and the result is his death. So in some ways Claude is a perfect example of a Machiavellian character, but in other ways he is far from it.

As the play begins, Claude has taken possession of the crown. "The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown."(Hamlet, 29) A ghost of Old Hamlet has told Prince Hamlet and the audience how he died. His brother poisoned him. This action alone is cruel but would not guarantee the crown to Claude, fo

Throughout the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Claude plays the role of a Machiavellian character. He does what he has to too obtain the desired power, and in the end does what he must to keep it, although to no avail. There are a few instances where Claude strays from the path, but he corrects his mistakes and does, or at least tries to do what he must to secure his position. So for the majority of the time Claude is the perfect example of a Machiavellian character.

The only problem is that Claude does not continue as strong as he began. He did do all that he must to obtain his power. He killed his brother, married his brother's wife and showed disrespect to his enemies in front of his people. However when the time comes to keep his power, he is not as decisive. "For your intent in going back to school in Wittenberg, it is most retrograde to our desire, and we beseech you bend you to remain here in the cheer and comfort of our eye."(Hamlet, 13) Claude requests of his new son that he stays in the palace with them. This was his first mistake. Claude took the thrown not only from his brother but from his nephew Hamlet as well. This means that Hamlet is in direct competition for the crown and thus an enemy of Claude. For those reasons he should of immediately killed Hamlet, or at the very least allowed him to leave the kingdom and never allow him to return. Claude however does not and from then on his days will be numbered. When Hamlet finds out about how his father had died, he sets a course to kill Hamlet. Part of this course is to pretend to be mad so as to throw his enemies off. "But since the King's conscious guilt and terror might reasonably have created a dist

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Approximate Word count = 1136
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English