| “ | Oh, my offense is rank! It smells to heaven. | „ |
| ~ Claudius praying for forgiveness, in turn delaying his nephew’s mission for revenge |
| “ | My words fly up; my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go. |
„ |
| ~ Claudius acknowledging how hollow and empty his act of penance is. |
King Claudius, only directly referred to as The King within the play, is the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.
He is the King of Denmark, brother of King Hamlet, second husband to Queen Gertrude, and uncle and stepfather to the protagonist, Prince Hamlet. In order to usurp the throne of Denmark and wed his former sister-in-law Gertrude, he murders his brother using poison and claims his crown. When Prince Hamlet learns of his uncle's treachery from the ghost of the former King, he vows revenge and swears to kill Claudius, setting the play in motion.
Biography[]
Claudius first appears talking to his Court about an imminent Norwegian invasion led by Prince Fortinbras, whose father King Fortinbras was slain in battle by the late King Hamlet, before shifting the conversation over to Prince Hamlet's depression, of which Claudius looks down on. That night, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to tell Hamlet that Claudius murdered him by pouring poison in his ear so that he could marry Gertrude and claim the throne.
In order to ensure that no one is suspecting that he is planning to avenge his father's death by killing Claudius, Hamlet pretends to act crazy, which catches the ire of Claudius and his advisor Polonius. Claudius arranges to have two of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to secretly spy on Hamlet in order to discern the cause of Hamlet's madness. When Hamlet commissions a play based on the events of King Hamlet's murder, the onlooking Claudius walks away from the room, Hamlet believes he has provided absolute proof of his guilt behind the murder of the King.
Taking refuge in a room in the castle, Claudius prays for forgiveness while Hamlet eavesdrops, planning to kill him from behind. However, Hamlet cannot bear himself to do it, believing that if he were to act now, Claudius would be sent to heaven, so he instead takes out his rage toward Gertrude for marrying Claudius. However, this leads to the death of Polonius, who was accidentally stabbed by Hamlet while he was spying on him and Gertrude. Upon learning of Polonius' death, Claudius decides to banish Hamlet to England and secretly plots to have him executed by the King of England.
However, this plot was foiled when Hamlet returned back to Denmark with the help of some pirates, having arranged Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be sent to their execution in England in his stead as punishment for their unintended treachery against him. Claudius then decides to take action by arranging a swordfight between Hamlet and Polonius' son Laertes, who is bent on avenging his father and his sister Ophelia, who previously committed suicide after being forsaken of her love for Hamlet. As part of the plan, Laertes tips his sword with poison while Claudius puts the same poison on a wine cup as a token of congratulation in case that fails. Around the same time, Prince Fortinbras arrives to lead an invasion against Denmark with his army, hoping to avenge his father by taking control of the Danish throne.
During the swordfight between Hamlet and Laertes, Claudius watches as Laertes strikes Hamlet with the poisoned blade, and in the scuffle, they switched blades and Hamlet strikes Laertes with the same blade. However, things get out of hand when Gertrude accidentally drinks the poisoned wine and succumbs to her death, much to everyone's horror, most of all Claudius, who becomes wracked with extreme remorse. Finally realizing that things have gone out of hand and that he has been used as a pawn, a regretful Laertes reconciles with Hamlet and reveals Claudius' plot. This motivates a furious Hamlet to kill Claudius by stabbing him in the back with the poisoned blade, while also forcing him to drink the poisoned wine, finally avenging his parents' deaths.
Following Claudius' death, Hamlet and Laertes succumb to their deaths, and in his final words, Hamlet announces Prince Fortinbras as the new successor to the throne. Upon arriving with his forces and learning about the events from Hamlet's friend Horatio, Prince Fortinbras (declaring himself the new King) orders for Hamlet to be buried with full honors.
Portrayals[]
On stage and screen, King Claudius has been portrayed by several actors over the years, including:
- The late Nikolai Massalitinov in the first adaptation known, in the Moscow Art Theatre production of Hamlet (1911–1912).
- The late Eduard von Winterstein in the 1921 film.
- The late Basil Sydney in the 1948 film.
- Anthony Hopkins (who also portrayed Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon, Edward Bailey in Red 2, Sir John Talbot in The Wolfman, and Ted Crawford in Fracture) in the 1969 film.
- The late Alan Bates (who also played Richard Dressler in The Sum of All Fears) in the 1990 film.
Claudius in the 1996 film.
- Derek Jacobi in the 1996 film.
- Kyle MacLachlan (who also played Cliff Vadercave in The Flintstones, Calvin L. Johnson in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Donald Love in Grand Theft Auto III, Isaac Izzard in The House with the Clock in its Walls, Earl Raymond Diggs in Tales From the Crypt, and Dale Cooper's doppleganger in Twin Peaks) in the 2000 film.
- Sir Patrick Stewart (who also played Locutus in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dr. Jonas in Conspiracy Theory, Rafe Bentley in Masterminds, Pharaoh Seti I in The Prince of Egypt, Napoleon in the 1999 Animal Farm film, King Goobot in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Avery Bullock in American Dad!, Zobek in the Castlevania video game series, the Master of the Hunt in Futurama, Darcy Banker in Green Room, John Bosley in the 2019 Charlie's Angels film and Nettlebrand in Dragon Rider) in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008 filmed stage play.
- Clive Owen (who also played the Professor in The Bourne Identity, Clayton Verris in Gemini, and Commander Arun Filitt in Valerian and the City of 1000 Suns) in Ophelia.
Inspiration in other media[]
As Hamlet ranks among one of the most influential works of world literature ever written, King Claudius serves as the inspiration for a number of villains across fiction. Notable ones include:
- Scar in The Lion King
- Hades in Disney's Hercules
- Miraz in The Chronicles of Narnia
- Sir Edgar in Ella Enchanted
- Brewmeister Smith in Strange Brew
- Clay Morrow in Sons of Anarchy
- Fjölnir the Brotherless in The Northman
- Nizam in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time