Like Stavrogin Analysis

I disagree with G. Wilson Knight’s claim that Claudius was not a plausible villain. First, I disagree with Knight’s claim that: “Like Stavrogin, he [Hamlet] is feared by those around him. They are always trying in vain to find out what is wrong with him. They cannot understand him.” The character, Horatio, serves as an effective counter to Knight’s claim. Horatio faithfully remains by Hamlet’s side throughout the play; Horatio is with Hamlet before the play in Act 3, Horatio is with Hamlet in the graveyard in Act 5, and Horatio is with Hamlet during his fight with Laertes in Act 5. Knight’s claim that “Hamlet is feared” insinuates that people prefer to keep their distance from him. Yet, Horatio does the opposite. Therefore, it seems Hamlet is not as feared as Knight seems to believe. Furthermore, Knight claims that other characters do not understand Hamlet, but that is because Hamlet dissembles around them. “Good my lord, …show more content…
For example, when Gertrude mistakenly drinks the poison, Claudius attempts to frame her cause of death as something else: “She swoons to see them bleed” (5.2.304). Unfortunately for him, Gertrude quickly responds: “No, no, the drink, the drink!—O my dear Hamlet/The drink, the drink! I am poisoned (dies)” (5.2.305-306). Knight’s “chain of causality” is irrelevant in this example because his attempt at deception is unrelated to his original crime. When presented with a situation independent from his original crime, Claudius does what he knows best, and behaves like a snake. He only cares for his own wellbeing, which is underscored by how effortlessly he lies about Gertrude—the supposed apple of his eye. Ultimately, Knight’s claim is mistaken. Claudius is so far from being a “good and gentle king” that he needs two overnight flights to get