i have a report on the comparison of king hamlet and claudius due tommorow tuesday the 8th.

-- angie esmaili (vergbsthugegver7@vs.com), January 07, 2002

Answers

Sorry this is too late; but anyway, I have too say, this is wierd. All we really know obout King Hamlet, as far as I'm aware, is that he was a good warrior (Horatio's remarks in I.i), and that young Hamlet thinks he was second only to God Almighty.

Nor do we know anything about Claudius' life beyond the six odd months reported and depicted in the play. But briefly, I'd say that shows him to be a ruthless, scheming, lying, self-absorbed, yet superficially charming fella who has one brief moment of remorse when shaken by Hamlet's veiled threat via "The Mousetrap" to kill him ('This is one Lucianus, NEPHEW to the King').

I don't think Gertrude has committed adultery with Claudius (ie. before Old Hamlet's death). I.v.42-57 seems to accuse them of it, but it is a bit ambiguous: it might refer to Claudius seducing Gertrude so quickly after Old Hamlet's death. In III.iv Hamlet only refers to Gertrude marrying Claudius with after King Hamlet's death. This is all that 'The Mousetrap' play depicts too.

-- catherine england (catherine_england@hotmail.com), January 13, 2002.