Essay --

When we analyze a work, it is easy to judge the characters by the standards of our time, but this is not very fair to them. They do not pass off our rules they follow the standards of their societies. In addition, unless the characters thoughts are revealed to us in soliloquies or asides, we cannot tell if the person knows of his or her actions consequences. To determine if a character is in force(p) or bad, we moldiness set a standard and evaluate it for each text we examine. We shall define goodness as performing actions whose outcomes are net positive, int finish or not, and roguishness as the opposite. Through this lens we shall examine King Claudius of critical point, discovering that while Claudius world power be a good King, he is definitely not a good person.When we first meet Claudius, he is holding court and giving a very long and eloquent speech with frequent use of the royal we. He begins by unifying himself with the audience in grief over our dear brothers death (1. 2.1) and then explains he depart marry poove Gertrude to both solidify his rule and bring mirth to funeral (1.2.12). However, it is odd that King Hamlets son, Hamlet, did not inherit the throne. Claudius explains, referring to his near marriage, that the nobles have freely departed / With this affair along (1.2.15-6), so it is likely that he convinced the nobles to vote for him as King or else of Hamlet, who was away. Instead of taking the crown by force, which Laertes and Fortinbras will later attempt, Claudius became King without any harm whatsoever, excepting the murder of King Hamlet. His ease with the royal court and the trust he places in the nobles are signs of his good Kingship, nevertheless much hidden blood there may be.Claudius is not just friendly with the nobles. ... ...m the poisoned goblet makes Hamlet realize Claudiuss plan and results in Hamlet killing him with the same goblet.Although we quickly see through Claudiuss sham, his bad qualities might be the reaso n for his good Kingship. After all, a King who is ambitious, manipulative, and stingy would want to keep the throne, and since Claudius dislikes confrontation, he has evidently decided to remain in power by being a just and wise ruler. He might have had the wrong motivations and a terrible character, but royal policies were, on the whole, good for Denmark. But we must not forget his terrible choice instead of giving up his sins rewards, he chooses to keep them and kill Hamlet to assure his crown. Make no mistake, Claudius was a bad person, but Denmark had experienced an extraordinary King, ended with poisoned drink in his throat and poisoned sword in his chest.