Shakespeares Hamlet - King Claudius :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Hamlet’s King Claudius      Ã‚  Ã‚   Salvador de Madariaga in â€Å"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern† discusses from Shakespeare’s Hamlet Claudius’ relationship with the two emissaries and friends of Hamlet, who were escorting the prince to his execution in England:    The two young men receive from the King a commission which, whatever the King’s secret intentions may be, is honorable. Hamlet, the King in fact tells them, is not what he was. The cause of the change "I cannot dream of."    Therefore, I beg you so by your companies    To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasion you may glean Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus That opened lies within our remedy. (n. pag.)    Is Madariaga correct in saying that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were innocent pawns in the hands of a cunning king? This essay intends to present other critical points of view on this and other questions concerning the character of King Claudius.    The drama opens after Hamlet has just returned from Wittenberg, England, where he has been a student. What brought him home was the news of his father’s death and his father’s brother’s quick accession to the throne of Denmark. Philip Burton in â€Å"Hamlet† discusses Claudius’ sudden rise to the Danish throne upon the death of King Hamlet I:    The fact that Claudius has become king is not really surprising. Only late in the play does Hamlet complain that his uncle had "popped in between the election and my hopes." The country had been in a nervous state expecting an invasion by young Fortinbras, at the head of a lawless band of adventurers, in revenge for his father’s death at the hands of King Hamlet. A strong new king was immediately needed; the election of Claudius, particularly in the absence of Hamlet, was inevitable. What is more, it was immediately justified, because Claudius manages to dispel the threat of invasion by appealing to the King of Norway to curb his nephew, Fortinbras; the ambitious young soldier was the more ready to cancel the projected invasion because the object of his revenge, Hamlet’s father, was now dead, and in return he received free passage through Denmark to fight against Poland. (n. pag.)    G. Wilson Knight in "The Embassy of Death" also interprets the character of Claudius as less guilty than he appears to most critics: Shakespeare's Hamlet - King Claudius :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Hamlet’s King Claudius      Ã‚  Ã‚   Salvador de Madariaga in â€Å"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern† discusses from Shakespeare’s Hamlet Claudius’ relationship with the two emissaries and friends of Hamlet, who were escorting the prince to his execution in England:    The two young men receive from the King a commission which, whatever the King’s secret intentions may be, is honorable. Hamlet, the King in fact tells them, is not what he was. The cause of the change "I cannot dream of."    Therefore, I beg you so by your companies    To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasion you may glean Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus That opened lies within our remedy. (n. pag.)    Is Madariaga correct in saying that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were innocent pawns in the hands of a cunning king? This essay intends to present other critical points of view on this and other questions concerning the character of King Claudius.    The drama opens after Hamlet has just returned from Wittenberg, England, where he has been a student. What brought him home was the news of his father’s death and his father’s brother’s quick accession to the throne of Denmark. Philip Burton in â€Å"Hamlet† discusses Claudius’ sudden rise to the Danish throne upon the death of King Hamlet I:    The fact that Claudius has become king is not really surprising. Only late in the play does Hamlet complain that his uncle had "popped in between the election and my hopes." The country had been in a nervous state expecting an invasion by young Fortinbras, at the head of a lawless band of adventurers, in revenge for his father’s death at the hands of King Hamlet. A strong new king was immediately needed; the election of Claudius, particularly in the absence of Hamlet, was inevitable. What is more, it was immediately justified, because Claudius manages to dispel the threat of invasion by appealing to the King of Norway to curb his nephew, Fortinbras; the ambitious young soldier was the more ready to cancel the projected invasion because the object of his revenge, Hamlet’s father, was now dead, and in return he received free passage through Denmark to fight against Poland. (n. pag.)    G. Wilson Knight in "The Embassy of Death" also interprets the character of Claudius as less guilty than he appears to most critics: