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Hamlet: Power vs Happiness

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Hamlet: Power vs Happiness
Hamlet: 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 think he is going, or has gone insane. Claudius finds two of Hamlets good friends to spy on him and try to find out what wrong with him. At this point we know that Hamlet knows that Claudius killed his father but we don't know whether Claudius knows that hamlet knows or even if he suspects, this cast a strange light on this scene. First if Claudius suspects hamlet knows that he killed his

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