Power Vs Happiness
Claudius what are your motives for killing the king, marrying his wife and taking on the
role of father to his young son?
Claudius is introduced in act I, ii. In this scene he has an important speech. In this
speech he talks about the death of the king, his marriage to the queen and the foreign problems
of the state. He utilizes many transitions and tends to empiseze the foreign affairs of the state. I
don't know what to make of this, it could mean various things. It could mean that Claudius is
making a grab for power shown in his concentration on the foreign polices trying to distract from
his lust for power, along with his marriage to the queen giving the change in leadership a
smoother and more acceptable feel. He also down plays the death of the formal king so that he
can redirect the peoples' attention to his plans and the problems of the state.
But I could mean
something else I'm not sure. Later on in this scene Claudius talks to Hamlet, Hamlet is very
depressed, Claudius gives hamlet some comforting and fatherly advice here trying to get him out
of his deep depression. But what is his true motivation here is he trying to get hamlet as a backer
for his new rain, so he is just lying and manipulating hamlet, or dose he have true and deep
feelings for Hamlet and is just trying to help hamlet and was no self-interest in it. I feel right now
that it a bit of both I think he cares about hamlet but would also like him to support his rise to
power.
Next we come to act II, ii, hamlet has made many strange comments and actions lately,
many people...