Claudius

Play

Hamlet

Summary

King of Denmark and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius murdered his brother King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear, then seized both the throne and the widowed Gertrude. A supremely capable and pragmatic politician, he is no simple monster — his soliloquy of attempted prayer reveals genuine guilt and self-knowledge — but he will not relinquish his ill-gotten gains, making him Hamlet's nemesis and the engine of the play's tragedy.

Notable Quotations

"O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, / A brother's murder." *(3.3)*

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. / Words without thoughts never to heaven go." *(3.3)*

"There's such divinity doth hedge a king / That treason can but peep to what it would." *(4.5)*

Cross-references

• Hamlet — the play
• Tragedies
• character_hamlet — his nephew and avenger
• character_gertrude — his wife, his brother's widow
• character_polonius — his chief adviser
• character_laertes — his instrument against Hamlet