Claudius

Question 1

Why is the turnover of power to a new king significant to the Elizabethan audience

Answer 1

When the play was published in 1603, queen elizabeths reign had just ended > there was a lot of fear and paranoia in society surrounding who would replace her as she had no heir

Question 2

How can Claudius be seen to be persuasive and manipulative in his speech in act 1 scene 2

Answer 2

“Our hearts in grief” “one brow of woe” > repeated use of collective pronouns in an attempt to bring himself close to his audience while also maintaining distance in his authority and power
Oxymoronic lang: “delight and dole” “mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage” > appearance vs reality as he pretends to appear sympathetic of his brothers death yet is only concerned with his gain in power

Question 3

Why is Claudius’ kingship seen to be controversial

Answer 3

• bible states in marriage “two become one flesh” > his relationship w Gertrude can is incestuous as be is technically carrying his brother
• hamlet: “incestuous sheets”
• Claudius: “our sometimes sister, now our queen”

Question 4

In what ways does Claudius criticise hamlets grief in act 1 scene 2 (4 quotes)

Answer 4

“It’s unmanly grief”
“An understanding simple and unschooled”
“Take it too heart” > criticises his sensitivity as being un masculine
“It’s a fault to heaven” > accuses him of blasphemy, uses anaphoric repetition

Question 5

What does critic Altich suggest “Claudius’s evil” has done

Answer 5

… corrupted the whole of Denmark”

Question 6

Critic Schofield suggests Claudius is “morally…

Answer 6

… empty”

Question 7

Critic Mallibard suggests Claudius “is not a monster…

Answer 7

… he is morally weak”