A refresher; this is the speech that Claudius first gives after becoming the new king of Denmark, a position we come to find out he gained through regicide.
Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death
The memory be green, and that is us befitted
To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom
To be contracted in one brow of woe,
Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature 5
That we with wisest sorrow think on him
Together with remembrance of ourselves,
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen,
Th' imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have we (as 'twere with a defeated joy, 10
With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,
In equal scale weighing delight and dole)
Taken to wife. Nore have we herein barred
Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone 15
With this affair along. For all, our thanks.
Analysis: This is a mouthful of paradoxical b.s., which, as the plot unfolds, becomes quite clear that Claudius isn't as royal nor as noble as he pretends to be. Although not in this specific moment, we find out it's b.s. because he does tend to break from this ordered stanza structure, especially when alone or nervous (like when watching the meeting between hamlet and Ophelia in Act 2. While his lack of consistent form is a recurring theme, his use of aforementioned paradoxes is more important. We've been over the sometime sister, now our queen line before, but not so much the "With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage". We know why it's a paradox because it means happiness at a funeral and sadness in marriage.... but this is an interesting line that sheds light on how he feels about the death of the former King (his doing). To get philosophical for a moment, if I may, perhaps he is feeling like singing a good dirge for his marriage to guilt, something which he will never escape until death do them apart - because he's a murderer!
Next up: Claudius gets stealthy
Act 2/Scene 2/ Lines 9-17
So much from th' understanding of himself
I cannot dream of. I entreat you both 10
That, being of so young days brought with him
And sith so neighbored to his youth and havior,
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time, so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather 15
So much as from occassion you may glean,
[Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus]
That, opened, lies within our remedy.
Analysis:
Claudius.... the devious, backstabbing, life poisoning, king killing... I think you get it. Well he can add spying to his resume of nefarious activities now! He, in all his splendid guilt, is becoming a little paranoid, and perhaps worried, that Hamlet is discovering the truth. To fix this he sends two men, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern(with classic Shakespeare names if I may add) to do his dirty work and spy on poor Hamlet.
Failure!
The failure of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to see the obvious makes Claudius a little grumpy
Act 3/ Scene 1/Lines 1-4
And can you by no drift of conference
Get from him why he puts on this confusion,
Grating so harshly all his days of quiet
With turbulent and dangerous lunacy?
Analysis:
This is the same as the above analysis. OH WAIT I'M LYING, just like Claudius is for most of the play. I just wanted to throw that in there. This would be the same, except it has one little difference; that one little word: dangerous. Dangerous makes Claudius seem a little afraid, or at least more afraid than before, which is understandable seeing as how the son of the King he just killed is onto his plot. However, it shows while Claudius may not feel guilt, he definitely feels fear and demonstrates that even soulless creatures like him feel emotions sometimes... sometimes.
Last but not least: Claudius' Guilt becomes even more noticeable!! Hip Hip Hooray!
Act 3/ Scene 2/ Lines 178-181 and Line 202
Concerning how Hamlet acts around Ophelia
Was not like madness. There's something in his soul
O' er which his melancholy sits on brood,
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose 180
Will be some danger; which for to prevent,
I have in quick determination
Madness in great ones must not <unwatched> go. 202
Analysis:
The deviousness of Claudius continues as he watches Hamlet use the absolute worst pick up line in history on Ophelia.. well maybe that's not what's happening but the point is Claudius is watching. In fact, by even being there without Hamlet knowing in the first place gives us a peak at Claudius' personality; he's still paranoid that Hamlet knows something he shouldn't, and uses deception to find out what. But it is this moment when Claudius truly realizes that all is not good in the neighborhood when he says ," was not like madness. There's something in his soul". He goes on to say in the rest of that stanza and the last line of the scene that Hamlet is to be watched carefully, so that Claudius can be positive that Hamlet doesn't stay schemin'.
The actor I would choose to play King Claudius is none other than the wonderful O.J. Simpson, whom I choose because he is a mediocre person and actor, like Claudius, but isn't afraid to get his hands dirty when the time comes. He also played a king in an RC commercial one time in the 80's.
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| See, it doesn't fit! Clearly it's too small. |
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