To the Elizabethan audience, the question of Kingship and succession were vitally interesting. A belief in the Divine Right of Kings still existed and to such an audience Claudius would have represented the epitome of evil. He is a man who has committed a doubly unnatural murder – not only did he kill the king but he has also murdered his brother. In Claudius Shakespeare presents a dark portrait of evil but also manages in some places to make him seem a real human being.
             The character of Claudius is central to the plot as he is Hamlet's major antagonist. While the other characters in the play are concerned with ideas of justice, revenge and how to weigh these factors against standards of morality, Claudius remains focused squarely on maintaining his power, at all costs. Examination of the play demonstrates that the best word for describing Claudius is "conniving." Unlike his brother who appears to have been a successful warrior and a good king, Claudius' primary skill is the manner in which he can manipulate people through words.
             When we first see Claudius, he strikes us an intelligent and capable ruler. He gives a speech to make his court and country proud, addressing his brother's death and the potential conflict with Norway. Claudius knows that a change in government could ignite civil unrest, and he is afraid of possible unlawful allegiances and rebellion. Although Claudius knows that his people will be gossiping about him and his swift marriage to the widowed Gertrude, he is able to deliver his speech in a calm, smooth, confident tone. He is able to use the death of Hamlet's father to create a sense of national solidarity, "The memory green, and that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom, to be contracted in one brow of woe". This is the first time that we experience the manipulation that Claudius is capable of. In contrast we have Hamlets negative response to Claudius in his first solilo...