Claudius Character Analysis Essay

Claudius is a manipulative and spiteful major character (and antagonist) in the play “Hamlet”. Claudius is the new king of Elsinore after he kills the previous king, who was also his brother, king Hamlet, by pouring poison in his ear during his nap time. Hamlet is the only one that knows of Claudius’s deeds as the ghost of King Hamlet told him that, “The serpent that did sting thy father 's life Now wears his crown.”, in which the serpent that he refers to is Claudius. In the beginning, one could actually picture Claudius as a capable ruler as he fixes the tension with Norway and addresses his brother’s death. he was really manipulating his way to the throne as he convinces the court to accept his marriage with Gertrude by saying, “Yet so far …show more content…
He would be a sociopath because the characteristics of compulsive lying, which is something Claudius does all throughout the book, impulsive behavior and paranoia, a very obvious trait in Claudius as he constantly fears whether his crown will be taken from him, being a sexual deviant (kind of self explanatory since he married his dead brother’s wife), and having a cold, manipulative, calculating nature is what a sociopath is. The manipulative and calculating nature is the key point in what shows Claudius’s sociopathic tendencies, and one of the traits that seem be in every politician ever. Killing his brother and then marrying his wife and simultaneously the kingdom, reveals his calculating side because he planned out King Hamlet’s death. He found out that King Hamlet had daily naps and, using that as his gateway to fortune, poured poison in his ear. Convincing everyone that a snake bit King Hamlet and finding conniving ways to get rid of Hamlet, reveals his manipulative side.
If the media were to react to Claudius’s actions, they would be surprised and he would be everywhere on the news, as well as disdainful and disregarding. They would be surprised because they wouldn’t really expect someone to go so far because of their greed. They would have disdain because of how Claudius would generally be a scum of a human being and, after finding …show more content…
If Claudius never existed there would be no Hamlet. King Hamlet would have probably died of natural causes or something else and when he died, Hamlet would just take the throne without any problem. Claudius set up the whole play from the moment he poured the poison down King Hamlet’s ear. With the crown as his goal he tells the public that his “dear brother” died after being bitten by a snake, and proceeds to take Elsinore and Gertrude. After the ghost of King Hamlet tells Hamlet that, “that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts….won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.”, that is what starts the plot as Hamlet is now filled with anger and revenge as he says, “It is 'Adieu, adieu! Remember me. ' I have sworn 't.” Claudius is also the cause of the deaths of the characters. Hamlet is the one who physically slayed Polonius, but Hamlet only did that because he that Claudius was there, before he pulls the curtain he asks, “Nay, I know not. Is it the king?” Which he indirectly admits his wish that he had slain Claudius right there. After figuring out it wasn’t Claudius, he also shows his disappointment as “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thee for thy better.” He also provides more obstacles for Hamlet as he tries to send to England, which was particularly dangerous at that time, as a way to