An analysis of:

CLAUDIUSBy: Sam Brown, Seth Brownmiller,

Stephanie Falasca, Cullen Flynn, Don

Isaac, Neilson Lam, JJ Lavoie, and

Megan Lauretti

Characteristics of ClaudiusFearfulDemandingManipulativeSchemerUncaring

FearfulHe’s never once been afraid of the consequences of his actionsHe killed his own brother and isn’t remorseful, but instead only briefly considers his punishment in the afterlife

Never again does he worry himself with such thoughtsNow we see him actively trying to get Hamlet out of the picture

Hamlet is an intellectual character and not intimidating in the slightest, but Claudius now knows that Hamlet is capable of murder and fears for his life

DemandingWhen searching for Polonius’ body, Claudius throws out commands at will and expects them to be followed

“Go seek him out; speak fair, and bring the body into the chapel. I pray you haste in this.”

Also, when instructing his servants to follow Hamlet to England

“Delay it not; I’ll have him hence tonight. Away!”

ManipulativeUses Laertes’ anger to carry out his plans to kill Hamlet

Claudius schemes with Laertes a duel in which Laertes will remove the protective tip of his sword and actually kill Hamlet- after Hamlet has been previously poisoned

Laertes is clearly angered by what Hamlet did to Polonius, but also by what the event has done to Ophelia and Claudius plays on that

SchemerLearning that Hamlet has survived his trip to England does not stop Claudius from formulating a new plan to ensure his deathWe could have previously inferred that Claudius was skilled at devising plans because he successfully got away with murdering his brother

However, since the play starts in medias res, we were not present when Claudius figured out how to murder his brother, so we were not informed of the intricacies of his plan

UncaringWe learn that Claudius is quite an uncaring character

He doesn’t feel bad for Laertes who loses both his father and sister, but rather just a pawn for his own schemeHe decides to kill Gertrude’s only child and she is completely unaware