Character Project Claudius

7/31/2019 Character Project Claudius

1/48

Emily Chen, Sean Lerkvikarn,

Emily Kelley, Courtney Timmins


2/48

What new information did you learnabout your character in Act 4 that would help

an actor or actress understand him better?


3/48

Claudiuss guilt is turning into fear. Fear for his own safety

Fear for reputation Fear of public opinion

Fear of Hamlets antic disposition

Suppressed guilt reemerging Claudius sees the consequences

of regicide Hamlets madness

Polonius murder Laertes anger

Ophelias death


4/48

Authority

Assert control as the king of

Denmark. Reassure his people and

himself.

Decisiveness

Sending Hamlet to

England.

Hamlets execution.

Confrontational Reasoning with Hamlet.

Searching for information.


5/48

Fear of Religion

Unclean conscience.

Cannot be truly forgiven.

Biblical reference to

Abel and Cain

Hesitation Never faced consequences

of murder

Seeks advice of Rosencrantz

and Guildenstern

Hamlets good reputation

with the public.


6/48

Split personalities Inner conscience

(praying when alone, evidentin his asides, full awareness ofconsequences)

Outward appearance

(confident, caring father andhusband)

Mixed emotions to portray Guilt

Anxiety Intimidation

Greed


7/48

In each scene where your character appears, what ishis or her motivation and objective? In other words,

what does he or she really want?


8/48

Claudiuss objective is to send

Hamlet off to England. His motivation is to protect

himself.

Hamlet is a more threateningpresence

Physical Danger

Psychological Danger to Claudius

and People of Denmark


9/48

Claudiuss objective is to obtain Poloniuss body.

His motivation is to remain in control and maintain hispublic appearance.


10/48

Claudiuss objectives are still to obtain the corpse, and

also to reason with Hamlet and inform him that he isgoing to England.

His motivation is to kill Hamlet, which is revealed in his

aside on page 199.


11/48

Claudiuss objective is to make

Laertes murder Hamlet. His motivation is the

restoration of order.


12/48


13/48

How does your character feel about the events in Act 4?About Hamlet?


14/48

Poloniuss murder

Ophelias insanity and death Laertes returns from France

Hamlet being sent off to

England


15/48

Claudius plotting to kill

Hamlet with LaertesWicked plans consisting

of poisons, sharp blades

(guaranteeing death for

Hamlet)

Hamlets letters back to

Claudius/Gertrude,

Hamlet evading Death


16/48

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

report that Hamlet is

completely mad.

Had Claudius been behind the

arras, then Hamlet would just

have easily killed Claudius.


17/48

Claudius decides Hamlet is a threat and sends Hamletoff to England for his own safety and keeping a public

image of control intact.


18/48

Feels uneasy around Hamlet

and threatened by Hamlet;hasty to defend his own

safety.

Feels a duty to maintain hispublic image.

Hopeful that his problems

with Hamlet will be quickly

resolved by using Laertes

rage.


19/48

Hamlet identifies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as spies,

but agrees to go with them to see Claudius.


20/48

The king first reveals his plans for Hamlet to his

attendants.

After Hamlet reveals the location of Polonius body and

agrees to go to England, their discussion ends.


21/48

This discourse by Hamlet is

an insight into the nature of

death.

Claudius demands Hamlet

reveal the location of

Polonius body... Hamlet talks about death as

an equalizer.

Worms do not discriminate

between bodies.

Hamlet says the lawyers

witty words are gone


22/48

Firm resolve in his actions.

Claudius sticks to his plans forHamlet, and commands Hamlet,

as opposed to conversing with

Hamlet.

Feels hopeful that England will

be the last chapter in Hamlets

life, and maybe relieved that

things will calm down.


23/48

Hamlet crosses paths with Young Fortinbras, who is onhis way to attack Poland.


24/48

The major event of this scene is Laertes return and

anger towards Claudius for the death of Polonius.

Claudius addresses Polonius death bluntly, and does not

panic in dealing with Laertes rage.

Claudius implies that Hamlet is responsible for Polonius

death, and attempts to direct Laertes anger towards

Hamlet.

Again, manipulation of Laertes by Claudius


25/48

Still fears Hamlet and tries to turn Laertes into another

defense against Hamlet.

Remains collected despite the mob outside his castle,

showing his ability to conceal his inner guilt and remain

focused on the situation at hand.


26/48

Claudius schemes with

Laertes against Hamlet, andturns his hints towards

killing Hamlet into plans for

action.


27/48

Manipulative of others

Tool for his success resides in others

Using Laertes as an easy way out.


28/48

What do other characters say about your characterand how do they react to him or her? How does your

character feel about other characters?


29/48

Most of the characters in the play (e.g. Gertrude,

Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes) are oblivious to Claudiuss

true intentions.

Hamlet is the only exception.

When Hamlet reveals the truth to Gertrude, she realizes

how much Claudius cant and doesnt compare to King

Hamlet.

Although a wicked man and the murderer of her husband,

Gertrude is still showing greed.


30/48

With the death of their father, Ophelia and Laertes are

extremely vulnerable to manipulation

Minds are occupied by grief, anger, and confusion.

Laertes comes back from France with a mob, storms the

castle.

Believes it was Claudius who murdered Polonius.


31/48

Hamlet feels triumphant

because he was able to trick

Claudius with the play.

Hamlet feels confident that he

can overcome Claudius

obstacles. Gained confidence from

confirming Claudius' guilt.

Finally, his plan can commence.


32/48

With Gertrude, he is stubborn and refuses to give her up

along with the crown and power.

With Hamlet, Claudius acts cautiously, suspecting that

Hamlet is knowledgeable about the murder.

Laertes and Ophelia do not hold a particular importance

to Claudius

Mere tools he can use to achieve his own goals.


33/48

How does your character affect the events of each scenein which he or she appears? How is he or she affected

by the events in which he or she appears?


34/48

Claudius is informed by Gertrude that Hamlet is indeed

mad and has killed Polonius.

This news is unsettling to Claudius because he would

then need to figure out a way to handle this problem

without inflicting damage on his reputation.

Claudius takes immediate action (e.g. finding Hamlet) to

ensure that the problem is solved as efficiently as

possible.


35/48

Claudius announces Polonius death

and his plans to send Hamlet away to

England to a group of attendants.

After Hamlet enters, Claudius is able

to discover the location of Polonius

body. In doing so, he trying to asserthis role as a leader and restore order.


36/48

Claudius experiences relief because

once he gets rid of Hamlet for good,

his secret will remain undiscovered

and his reputation, untouched.

He also experiences stress in his haste

to repair what damage has been donewhen Polonius was killed.

These two emotions conflict and

Claudius must find a way to resolvethem.


37/48

Claudius believes that Ophelia has gone mad when he

hears her singing nonsensical songs.

Laertes storms the castle with a mob, in anger and

vengeance for the murder of his father.

Claudius is able to calm Laertes down and even

manipulate his anger to benefit his own purposes.

Claudius feels renewed hope when he spots this

opportunity to use Laertes as his puppet.


38/48

Claudius begins to formulate his plans for Hamlets

death; he and Laertes discuss the details of Polonius

death. While doing so, word arrives with news of

Hamlets swift return from England.

Based on Claudius explanation of Polonius death burial,

Laertes is eager and ready to take revenge on Hamlet forkilling his father.

Claudius feels triumphant.


39/48

How is your character important to this act? In other

words, do you learn something new about the plotthrough him or her? Do you gain any insights about

Hamlet by comparing/contrasting him to yourcharacter?


40/48

The readers gain further insight into the mind of

Claudius (through asides).

Gain insights to other characters through his

perspective.

As king, Claudius makes important decisions

Impact characters.

Incites major events in the act.

Indirectly steers the plot.


41/48

Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England.

Hamlet will be sentenced to death.

Polonius did not have the proper burial that was expect

of someone with his social status.

Laertes, outraged by the death of his father, ismanipulated by Claudius to take revenge on Hamlet.

Horatio is respected by both the king and Hamlet.


42/48

We learn that Hamlet has become more dangerous

Mental tricks/Logic Physical Action

Hamlet is losing patience

Insults Rosencrantz

Insults Claudius by saying

Claudius is a phony father.


43/48

Claudius: Selfish, motives are power and lust.

Hamlet: Looks outwards, motives are justice and loyalty.

Sees value in true friends, praises Horatio.

Hamlet: Sees life as pessimistic, says ones position never

matters come the end

Claudius: Content in worldly desires.

Both are cunning.

Both are manipulative.


44/48

Gertrude is an interesting

presence.

Conflict between Claudius

and Hamlet.

Different types of affection

towards her.

Neither can let the other

win.

How?


45/48

What questions are raised by your characters wordsand/or behavior in this act?


46/48

Did Claudius marry Gertrude for love

or power? Will Claudius attempt to repent

before Hamlet kills him?

What will Claudius do with Laertesafter Hamlet is dead?

What will become of Claudius' andGertrudes marriage after all the

chaos in this act? Will Gertrude ever find out that

Claudius sentenced Hamlet to

death? Will the king continue to use

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

Act 4 is a fast paced

act; a series of

events occurs

quickly.

This undoubtedly

leaves the excited

reader/audience

with great

anticipation.


47/48

What questions that youve previously had areanswered by your characters words and/or behaviorin this act?


48/48

What Claudius will do to preserve order in the country? He will bury Polonius quietly and handle the situation

with caution because he knows Hamlet is beloved by thepublic.

What will to happen to Hamlet after he murdered aperson of great public influence? Claudius orders Hamlets murder under the guise of exile.

Will the ghost appear again and will Hamlet actually killClaudius?

The ghost does not appear again in Act 4, and Hamlet isstarting to lose the chance to kill Claudius because he isbeing sent to England.

Character Project Claudius

Documents

Transcript of Character Project Claudius