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Read Macbeth's soliloquy (1.7.1-29), particularly lines 19-23. Does Claudius remind you of Macbeth? How are they different? Could Claudius potentially be a tragic hero? 9. In Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), Claudius is sitting in a confessional and Hamlet is on the other side with his dagger drawn. If you were producing the play, how would you ...
31 maj 2020 · Claudius begins his soliloquy by describing his ‘offence’ – killing his brother, Old Hamlet – as ‘rank’, i.e. foul-smelling and offensive. His crime is the very first murder in the Bible: Cain’s murder of his brother Abel, from the book of Genesis, and the subsequent curse placed upon mankind.
CLAUDIUS. Oh, my crime is foul. It stinks all the way to heaven. It is the oldest, and worst, of all crimes: a brother’s murder. I can’t pray. Though I badly want to pray, my guilt is stronger than my hope to pray.
After Polonius exits, Claudius confesses the guilt he feels for his sins. This is the first confession of his brother’s murder seen in the play. Claudius then kneels down and begins to pray.
Hamlet enters and sees Claudius praying. He is grateful to at last be alone with the man, believing now is the chance to kill him and take his revenge. Hamlet, however, finds himself in a conundrum—if he kills Claudius while the king is praying, Claudius’s soul will go to heaven.
Hamlet, on his way to talk to Gertrude, stumbles upon the scene. He’s tempted to kill Claudius right now--after all, he has proof that the king is a murderer—but he realizes that if he kills him while he’s praying, Claudius will go to heaven, and that’s not what Hamlet wants.
2 cze 2020 · Hamlet decides to kill Claudius when the king is committing a sin so that Claudius will instead go to hell. After Hamlet leaves, Claudius rises, saying that he has been unable to pray. Enter King, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern.
