A communal philosophy among political theorists has been the distinctive association between morality and power. According to the Italian humanist and politician, Niccolò Machiavelli, sustaining power is not correlated with maintaining virtuosity. In William Shakespeare’s renowned play, Hamlet, King Claudius is a textbook illustration of this concept. A critic of the play once said, “He is a good king, but a bad man.” It is achievable to provide beneficial supremacy and yet possess inadequate morals. In Hamlet, King Claudius demonstrates these two personas together impeccably. As the leading antagonist in Hamlet, King Claudius struggles to present as a respectable character. However, his wrong doings and faulty behavior succeed in concealing his rather reputable traits. Claudius manages to be an adequate king despite his obvious flaws. For example, King Claudius declares, “Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, The imperial jointress of our warlike state” (1.2.8-9). In this quote, Claudius is reassuring the people that his marriage to Gertrude was deliberately intended to preserve stability for the kingdom. His constructive intents for the kingdom are exposed and help shape his reputation as a good king.
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In Act 1, Claudius says:
Now for ourself and for this time of meeting Thus much the business is: we have here writ To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras—Who, impotent and bedrid, scarcely hears Of this his nephew’s purpose—to suppress His further gait herein, in that the levies, The lists, and full proportions are all made Out of his subject; and we here dispatch
In Act 1, Claudius says:
Now for ourself and for this time of meeting Thus much the business is: we have here writ To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras—Who, impotent and bedrid, scarcely hears Of this his nephew’s purpose—to suppress His further gait herein, in that the levies, The lists, and full proportions are all made Out of his subject; and we here dispatch