Thursday, February 25, 2016

What does Hamlet do to catch Claudius

Hamlet does not completely trust the ghost and needs to confirm that Claudius was responsible for the king's death before seeking revenge. At the end of act two, scene 2, Hamlet describes his plan to catch Claudius and prove that Claudius assassinated his father. After everyone leaves the scene, Hamlet laments about his inability to act on his powerful emotions, in a moving soliloquy. At the end of Hamlet's soliloquy, he says that he plans on having the players reenact King Hamlet's assassination on stage during the play The Murder of Gonzago. While the actors are portraying King Hamlet's murder, Prince Hamlet plans on analyzing Claudius's reaction to the scene on stage. Hamlet ends the scene by saying,

"The play’s the thing /Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king" (Shakespeare, 2.2.566-567).

In act three, scene 2, the players reenact King Hamlet's murder on stage, and Prince Hamlet witnesses Claudius stand up and exit the theater. Claudius's reaction indicates that he committed regicide and gives Hamlet the proof that he is looking for to enact revenge. Unfortunately, Hamlet continues to hesitate and make excuses for not murdering Claudius.

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