William Shakespeare's play tells the tragic story of Hamlet whose uncle, Claudius, kills King Hamlet, and then marries his mother, Queen Gertrude. Throughout the play, Shakespeare continually highlights justice and suggests that strong morals are important in Denmark. For instance, when Marcellus and Horatio see the ghost, they fear that its presence is a bad sign. Claudius's and Gertrude's moral voids are also rendered the cause of Denmark's ills. Claudius is a rash character with high political ambitions who will do anything to achieve greater rank within the Danish community. In seeking revenge on his uncle, Hamlet is thoughtful and reflective. Unlike Claudius who is obsessed with power, Hamlet is perpetually concerned with the concepts of honesty and justice.
Claudius and Hamlet undeniably share more than genetics.. Claudius kills King Hamlet before the play begins, tries to kill Hamlet when he ships him to England and, later, by poisoning the blade of Laertes's sword, and is responsible for Queen Gertrude's death because she drinks from the goblet he poisons for Hamlet (Shakespeare). Furthermore, Claudius is clearly impulsive. He kills his brother and then marries the Queen to keep Prince Hamlet from the throne, but he does all of this without giving thought to the consequences-consequences such as Hamlet's revenge that ultimately lead to Claudius's death. Hamlet is also a murderer. Furthermore, the bulk of the play is centered around Hamlet's decision about whether or not to kill Claudius. Despite Hamlet's lengthy and thorough consideration of Claudius's potential guilt, the value of life, and the consequences of death, when he actually kills Claudius following his duel with Laertes, he makes a swift and impulsive decision to stab Claudius in the chest with the poisoned blade (Shakespeare).
While Claudius and Hamlet are both murderers with streaks of impulsivity, a number of factors and characteristic...