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Claudius, as he appears in the play, is not a criminal. ... And this chain he might, perhaps, have broken except for Hamlet, and all would have been well. But, granted the presence of Hamlet - which Claudius at first genuinely desired, persuading him not to return to Wittenberg as he wished - and granted the fact of his original crime which cannot now be altered, Claudius cannot now be blamed for his later actions. ... Hamlet is a danger to the state, even apart from his knowledge of Claudius guilt. ... As King of Denmark he would have been a thousand times more dangerous than Claudius. The end of Claudius prayer is pathetic:
What then? ...
Set against this lovely prayer - the fine flower of a human soul in anguish - is the entrance of Hamlet, the late joy of torturing the Kings conscience still written on his face, his eye a-glitter with the intoxication of conquest, vengeance in his mind; his purpose altered only by the devilish hope of finding a more damning moment in which to slaughter the King, next hastening to his mother to wring her soul too. ... The question of the relative morality of Hamlet and Claudius reflects the ultimate problem of this play.
Approximate Word count = 982
Approximate Pages = 3.9
(250 words per page double spaced)
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