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The Shakespeare's Hamlet became the masterpiece, showing the inner human conflicts in their brightest displays. One of the main plot lines of the novel is the relations between Hamlet and King Claudius. After the tragic death of Hamlets father, Claudius in fact took his place, having become Gertrude's husband. The problem is in the evident hypocrisy of Hamlet towards Claudius, his uncertainty in defining, what he in reality feels towards this man, and in the Claudius attitude towards Hamlet, which was showed to be favorable at first, having later turned into open antagonism and hatred. (Croxford, 2004, p. 94) The only episode, when Claudius speaks about his love towards Hamlet, comes at the beginning of the whole story, when he asks Hamlet to stay in Denmark: We pray you, throw to earth This un prevailing woe, and think of us As of a father: for let the world take note, You are the most immediate to our throne; And with no less nobility of love Than that which dearest father bears his son, Do I impart toward you. For your intent In going back to school in Wittenberg, It is most retrograde to our desire: And we beseech you, bend you to remain Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. (Shakespeare, Act I, scene 2) But even in this quotation Claudius shows not his fathers attitude, but rather his superiority and control over Hamlet. The main problem for Hamlet is the incest between Claudius and his mother.
His incest horror is the most evident to hamlet, though he also suspects him about other crimes as well. (Welsh, 2001, p. 91) Hamlet is preoccupied with hypocrisy, and he is overwhelmed by the thought, that his mother has become a part of an incestuous union less than a month after his fathers death. He sees Claudius as the victim of his unlimited appetites for the throne. There may be found another deeper reason for Hamlets total rejection of Claudius as a personality. He unconsciously understands, that this man has taken his fathers place, and he feels that he does not want this man to become his father-in-law. His whole essence resists to this thought.
Hamlet moans, that a human being would have shown more respect for a dead man. (Large, 2005, p. 179) It can be said, that the main mistake of Claudius was that he had not killed Hamlet at the beginning of the story, trying to find the way to Hamlets soul through his false emotions. Hamlet states, that Claudius corresponds to his father as much as he himself can correspond to Hercules. And this comparison shows the moral and emotional nature of Hamlet: while Hercules had been a warrior, impulsive and enthusiastic in his deeds, Hamlet was inclined to drown in his own words and perpetually struggle in his striving for being understood. (Croxford, 2004, p. 97) So, the main line of the conflict between Claudius and Hamlet, in fact, lies in Hamlets opposition to perceiving Claudius as his second father. The main line of the conflict for the Claudius is in the fact, that Hamlet is the main obstacle on his way to the throne. As the action refers to the real life, it is understood that these two personalities would never find a common language. The only way of solving the problem, which seems the best for both of them, is the murder.
But in fact, every scene of Hamlet may be interpreted in so many different ways, that they are often confused, as well as it is not always easy to understand the reasons and implications of conflicts in real life.
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