Interpretation of the King in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Engli

Interpretation of the King in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet presents in the character of King Claudius an intelligent, cunning, but seemingly unselfish ruler. This essay will present both an external and internal consideration of Claudius.    For the duration of the drama an important mental contest ensues between Claudius and the protagonist. John Masefield discusses this mind battle in â€Å"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark†:    Justice, in her grosser as in her finer form, is concerned with the finding of the truth.   The first half of the play, though it exposes and develops the fable, is a dual image of a search for truth, of a seeking for a certainty that would justify a violent act.   The King is probing Hamlet's mind with gross human probes, to find out if he is mad. Hamlet is searching the King's mind with the finest of intellectual probes, to find out if he is guilty.   The probe used by him, the fragment of a play within a play, is the work of a man with a knowledge of the impotence of intellect--    "Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown"--    and a faith in the omnipotence of intellect--    "Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own."    To this man, five minutes after the lines have exposed the guilty man, comes a chance to kill his uncle.   Hamlet " might do it at"- while he is at prayers.   The knowledge that the sword will not reach the real man, since damnation comes from within, not from without, arrests his hand. (n. pag.)    The drama opens after Hamlet has just returned from Wittenberg, England, where he has been a student. What brought him home was the news of his father’s death and his ... ...ice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.          Interpretation of the King in Shakespeare's Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Engli Interpretation of the King in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet presents in the character of King Claudius an intelligent, cunning, but seemingly unselfish ruler. This essay will present both an external and internal consideration of Claudius.    For the duration of the drama an important mental contest ensues between Claudius and the protagonist. John Masefield discusses this mind battle in â€Å"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark†:    Justice, in her grosser as in her finer form, is concerned with the finding of the truth.   The first half of the play, though it exposes and develops the fable, is a dual image of a search for truth, of a seeking for a certainty that would justify a violent act.   The King is probing Hamlet's mind with gross human probes, to find out if he is mad. Hamlet is searching the King's mind with the finest of intellectual probes, to find out if he is guilty.   The probe used by him, the fragment of a play within a play, is the work of a man with a knowledge of the impotence of intellect--    "Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown"--    and a faith in the omnipotence of intellect--    "Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own."    To this man, five minutes after the lines have exposed the guilty man, comes a chance to kill his uncle.   Hamlet " might do it at"- while he is at prayers.   The knowledge that the sword will not reach the real man, since damnation comes from within, not from without, arrests his hand. (n. pag.)    The drama opens after Hamlet has just returned from Wittenberg, England, where he has been a student. What brought him home was the news of his father’s death and his ... ...ice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.