Cover letter
The purpose of this essay is to analyze in some events how Hamlet and Claudius feel toward certain decisions and actions. In the play Hamlet by Shakespeare We can see how Hamlet and Claudius are presented as “guilty characters”. With Hamlet, when given time to think about the after math of situations and the consequences of his actions, or just listening to his conscience in general, he does not act; however, when put into situations where he becomes impulsively irrational, his reaction becomes destructive resulting in death/murder. Also, it is clear that we are intended to see Claudius as a murderous villain, but a multi-faceted villain: a man who cannot refrain from indulging his human desires. He is morally weak, content to trade his humanity and very soul for a few prized possessions.
Daniel Ortiz
English 2800
Professor Jeff Peer
November 28, 2017
Guilty or not?
People are sometimes forced to live with feelings of guilt that not only affect their conscience, but can also lead to destroying their own life and even the life of others. But sometimes, the feeling is dismissed by some other circumstances. Shakespeare introduces Hamlet, a character who feeling is portrayed in Hamlet himself for murdering Polonius and affect the death of his love, Ophelia. Also the character King Claudius who has killed his brother, Hamlet’s father. After all those actions, did these two characters feel guilty at all?
Feeling guilty tends to humanize some people, while others may simply dismiss them to be malevolent. However, this remorse may not deter them from making future mistakes. In the Act III, scene IV, we can see when hamlet killed Polonius.
Hamlet. Nay, I know not. Is it the King?
Queen. O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!
Hamlet. A bloody deed- almost as bad, good mother,
As kill a king, and marry with his brother.
Queen. As kill a king? Page (713)
Hamlet may feel guilty after murdering Polonius. It is obvious that he thought it was Claudius, who stood behind the curtain, in fact, he still believes he has killed Claudius, which perhaps explains why he accuses his mother of the crime, thinking that he has now avenged his father. That does not make the murder of Polonius right, so it is his duty to feel guilty. The audience can see from both situations that Hamlet’s mind is clouded with rage. Hamlet’s thoughts consume him so much that he is unable to see how his actions will lead to destruction; his guilty conscience also leads to the death of an innocent character. On the other hand, hamlet shows no guilty at all when he hides the body expressly to prevent Polonius’ proper burial. But Hamlet obviously knows that the thing you do with dead bodies is that you bury them, you don’t hide them. He’s asked multiple times where he hid the body, so that they can give it a proper. He avoids the question. In this sense, he stands in the way of Polonius’ body getting any burial at all.
Unfortunately, guilt is a natural and common component of grief. When someone you love dies, it’s only human to search for an explanation, to look at what you did or did not do, to dwell on the what if’s and if only’s. Ophelia’s tragic suicide Hamlet also feel both really heartbroken and guilty. Hamlet’s guilt for indirectly killing her comes across when he tells Claudius and everyone at the funeral, that he will do anything for her, even buried alive with her. Hamlet says;
‘Swounds, show me what thou It do:
Woo’t weep? Woo’t flight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up easel? Eat a crocodile?
I’ll do’t. Dost thou come here to whine?
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her, and so will I…page (741)
It is certain to my mind that the Ophila that the audience is present with in Act IV is very different from the Ophilia that the audience meets at the beginning of the play. The double loss of her lover, hamlet, and the death of her father, Polonius, and the fact that her father was killed by Hamlet, has clearly unhinged her mind. Should Hamlet feel guilty for that? I guess in one way or other he did.
Guilt is driven by our own personal beliefs and expectations, and dealing with it requires that we examine what we think we did wrong, face it and evaluate it as objectively as possible. Even though Claudius shows remorse, this does not make him regret his sins. He prays to God, hoping that it will cost him less time in Purgatory. He says;
My fault is past. But O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? “Forgive me my foul murder?”
That cannot be, since I am still possessed
Of those effects for which I did the murder…page (711)
An interpretation of that would be that he feels obligated to ask for forgiveness, while the only thing he is after, is to stay at his office as a king. Although he cries and admit his guilt, this only show the audience what weak a man Claudius is. It is clear that the weakness and guilt inside Claudius make him try to regret his actions. The murder of his brother is tearing his soul apart, but the fear of being caught by it fears him more. In others words, when looking to the character of Claudius, his guilt comes from murdering of his own brother; however, with trying to maintain the power given to him as King of Denmark, his guilt of manipulation and lustfulness became more apparent to the audience.
In conclusion, Hamlet and Claudius obviously both feel guilty and they pay the prize of their actions because of it .Hamlet is not entirely the good one. He has to revenge his father’s death, and he must do whatever it takes, even if it means that he should die. In the Queen’s Closet scene he says: “I must be cruel, only to be kind” which means that he must do bad things to make peace. This includes living and dying with a guilty soul. Both Hamlet and Claudius lose all respect from the audience because they become so careless with their guilty thoughts and actions towards many innocent characters in the play.