Catching the Conscience of the King - An Examination of Claudius, the Tragic Villain
When King Claudius admits he killed his brother in Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is one of the few private moments the audience gets with the play's villain. The speech reveals a man fraught with guilt, but unwilling to surrender what he gained through murder: "My crown, mine own ambition and my queen" (III, iii, 55). For once, Claudius appears relatable to the audience - he desperately wants deliverance from an awful situation, but sees no way out without great sacrifice. But while Claudius ultimately cannot earn the audience's sympathy, his effective (but tainted) leadership style, desire for Gertrude and failure to seize a moment of redemption can be seen as tragic qualities.
If it weren't for the murder of Old Hamlet, Claudius would be considered a wise, perhaps even benevolent king. One can see his leadership skills at work in the beginning of the play. Claudius reassures the court that Fortinbras, "holding a weak supposal of our worth" will be no problem for Denmark and dismisses the threat confidently;" So much for him" Claudius says (I, ii, 18; 25). Likewise, Claudius willingly praises those who respect him, telling Laertes that "The head is not more native to the heart / The hand more instrumental to the mouth, / Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father" (I, ii, 47-49). The king even goes out of his way to find out what's wrong with Hamlet, calling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to meet with him. While Hamlet is not appreciative of this gesture - "I know / the good king and queen have sent for you" he tells his friends (II, ii, 250-251) - there is no evidence to suggest Claudius sends for them out of malevolence. Claudius even continues Denmark's drinking traditions, to the pleasure of his court, but to the vexation of Hamlet (I, iv, 14-22). But despite his leadership, Claudius' rule is tainted in the mind of the audience, because the murder of his brother hangs over him. In a brief aside, Claudius seems to shudder with guilt:
The harlot's cheek, beautied with plastering art,
Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
Than is my deed to my most painted word:
O heavy burden! (III, i, 49-54).
While Claudius has Denmark's crown, he can't help but feel a sense of illegitimacy because his sin "hath the primal eldest curse upon't" (III, iii, 37). Indeed, while Claudius in public professes a king's divine right (IV, v, 123-124), in private he's not sure God is on his side, for he understands his sin "smells to heaven" (III, iii, 36).
Claudius says his marriage to Gertrude was a consequence of murdering Old Hamlet. But tragically, his desire for the queen proves his undoing. Claudius tells Hamlet that his "intent in going back to school in Wittenberg . . . is most retrograde to our desire" (I, ii, 113-114) and beseeches him to remain in Denmark. Claudius does this to make Gertrude happy, for if Hamlet left, his mother would "lose her prayers" (I, ii, 118) and sully the happy mood brought on by their wedding. Indeed, Claudius spends much of the play trying to figure out why Hamlet is unhappy because Gertrude is affected by her son's mood: "I do wish that your good beauties be the happy cause / Of Hamlet's wildness" she tells Ophelia (III, i, 38-39). But while Claudius tries to keep the queen happy, the longer Hamlet stays in Elsinore, the more his thoughts turn murderous. Yet when Claudius finally realizes that Hamlet "is full of threats to all, / To you yourself, to us, to every one" (IV, ii, 15), Gertrude's love and obedience seems to wane. No longer does she tell Claudius, "I shall obey you" (III, i, 37), but instead waits for the king to call her name three times, without saying anything (IV, ii, 28-44). By the end of the play, the queen refuses to obey Claudius when he tells her, "Gertrude do not drink" (V, ii, 273), an act which proves fatal. Soon after, Claudius meets his end at the hands of Hamlet. His desire for the "seeming-virtuous queen" (I, v, 46) was misplaced - for in the end of the play, she showed no sign of love, and he is forced to follow her into death (V, ii, 310) with a poisoned drink.
But while Claudius' desire for Gertrude leads to his downfall, more tragic is the king has a chance for redemption, but chooses not to take it. When Claudius confesses his crime, he strips away the "painted word" (III, i, 53) and bares his soul. Guilt gnaws at him: "What if this cursed hand / Were thicker than itself with brother's blood?" Claudius asks, recalling his sin (III, iii, 43-44). Here, the king who adeptly handled young Fortinbras finds himself "like a man to double business bound / I stand in pause where I shall first begin, / And both neglect" (III, iii, 41-43). Until this time, Claudius could brush aside the effects of his deed, but the man has a shred of morality left in him - he sees his "bosom black as death" (III, iii, 67) and is horrified. But even worse, Claudius knows that in order to be redeemed, he needs to "confront the visage of the offense" (III, iii, 47). He has to relive the murder in his mind, and one wonders if he really does see Old Hamlet's blood on his hands. Had he been an ordinary man, Claudius may have found peace with God by asking, "Forgive me my foul murder" (III, iii, 51). But Claudius knows that the murder allowed him to achieve "My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen" (III, iii, 55). At this moment, he could renounce what is precious to him and live a life a more humble, but spiritually cleansed man. But Claudius never considers this possibility. He asks, "May one be pardoned and retain th' offense?" (III, iii, 56), despite knowing that in heaven "there is no shuffling" (III, iii, 60). Still preoccupied with his worldly possessions, Claudius admits that "Words without thoughts never to heaven go" (III, iii, 98). He must continue shouldering the burden of his murder, with no help from God.
Claudius' speech is an unexpected, revealing moment and may tug at the heartstrings of the audience. But while the king may have the audience's sympathy for a brief period, he squanders it when he orders Hamlet's death. Claudius is now set on perpetrating the same crime he did earlier, but this time with no sign of remorse. Instead, he privately hopes the King of England will remove the one obstacle to personal happiness: "For like the hectic in my blood he rages, / And thou must cure me. Till I know 'tis done, / Howe'er my haps, my joys will ne'er begin" (IV, iii, 65-67). One wonders if these were the types of the thoughts that entered Claudius' mind before he killed Old Hamlet. To suggest that he could not be happy unless Hamlet is dead reveals Claudius has given up any hope of redemption. Claudius has other options, like imprisoning Hamlet - after all, he did kill Polonius - but the king fears that putting "the strong law on [Hamlet]" (IV, iii, 3) may incite a riot. He also could have sent Hamlet into exile without killing him. While Hamlet is "loved of the distracted multitude" (IV, iii, 4) the grave keeper believes the lie that Hamlet was sent to England to "recover his wits" (V, i, 142). But Claudius is most concerned about his own safety, not with meting out just punishment. For this selfish reason, Claudius quickly devises a new scheme to kill Hamlet when he returns to Denmark. This premeditated attempt suggests how Claudius has changed from a man who begged forgiveness in vain to one who considers murder the only option:
[…] I will work him
To an exploit, now ripe in my device,
Under the which he shall not choose but fall:
And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe,
But even his mother shall uncharge the practice
And call it accident. (IV, vii, 61-66).
At this point, Claudius is committed to killing Hamlet - and the audience will treat him like Hamlet has from the beginning: the "smiling damned villain" (I, v, 105).
King Claudius at the end of Hamlet has lost everything. Fortinbras, the new ruler of Denmark, does not even acknowledge the former king, but gives Hamlet the warrior's funeral (V, ii, 381). But the audience doesn't feel sorry for Claudius; they feel satisfied the villain has been defeated. But while Claudius was a selfish, cunning man, Shakespeare wrote him as a complicated, "gray" character, one neither completely good nor evil. This characteristic makes Claudius a fascinating character to watch and offers a unique case study on how a man who makes evil decisions can lose himself in the process. Claudius' downfall is a warning to those who seek to commit foul and unnatural deeds.
1,497 words / 5 pages
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