3.2.1
Claudius' Crime
Claudius' Crime in Hamlet
Claudius' Crime in Hamlet
Claudius commits the crime which overshadows the whole play: the murder of King Hamlet.
Magnitude of Claudius' crime
Magnitude of Claudius' crime
- The crime is not simply fratricide – the murder of one’s brother – but regicide – the murder of a king.
- The crime is of such a magnitude that it pollutes the whole world of the play.
- The whole state of Denmark has become “rotten” by Claudius’ “rank” offence against nature, family and God.
Claudius' motives for the crime
Claudius' motives for the crime
- The motives for the crime are revealed when he is at prayer in A3S3.
- Claudius lists them in a single line: “My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen”.
- But his motives are never fully explained. We never learn of when ambition for the crown first stirred within him or exactly what his true feelings towards Gertrude are.
- Whether Claudius was motivated by sexual desire for Gertrude or whether he simply used her as a way of securing the crown for himself is never settled in the play.
1Introduction
2Plot Summary
2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas
2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas
2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas
2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas
2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas
3Character Profiles
3.1Hamlet
3.3Gertrude
3.4Ophelia
4Key Themes
4.1Regicide in Hamlet
4.2Madness in Hamlet
4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet
4.4Settings in Hamlet
5Writing Techniques
6Context
6.1Social & Historical Context
6.2Literary Context
6.3Performance & Textual History
7Critical Debates
7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet
7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet
Jump to other topics
1Introduction
2Plot Summary
2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas
2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas
2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas
2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas
2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas
3Character Profiles
3.1Hamlet
3.3Gertrude
3.4Ophelia
4Key Themes
4.1Regicide in Hamlet
4.2Madness in Hamlet
4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet
4.4Settings in Hamlet
5Writing Techniques
6Context
6.1Social & Historical Context
6.2Literary Context
6.3Performance & Textual History
7Critical Debates
7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet
7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet
7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet
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