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Ellyza Baez

Mrs.Jewell

ERWC: Period 1

17 March 2022

Creating a False Sense of Trust

How would you feel if in two months your father dies in a mysterious death and your

mom marries your uncle? Young Hamlet's father, the King dies unexpectedly and his mother, the

Queen then marries his uncle who then becomes King instead of Hamlet. The kingdom is busy

preparing for war but forgets about how Hamlet must feel. As Hamlet is trying to absorb

everything that is going on, one character will come in and affect the outcome of the story. King

Claudius's manipulative characteristics cause Hamlet to doubt Claudius’s intention and starts to

act in an erratic way.

In the beginning of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, one character, King Claudius, tries to

manipulate Hamlet to feel and act a certain way. Hamlet and King Claudius are having a

conversation about how Hamlet mourns, “ This unprevailing woe and thing of us/ As a father;

for let the world take not” (1.2. 111-112). King Claudius brings up the concern that Hamlet's

mourning process is prolonged. He displays his affection for his nephew who is now his son.

Cluadius is trying to build a trusted relationship while comforting. Hamlet sees through

Claudius’ manipulative affection as a way to get him to put his guard down and accept his

father’s death. Similarly to this conversation, Claudius tells Hamlet that he must stay home, “For

your intent/ In going back to school in Wittenberg,/ It is most retrograde to our desires,”(1.2.

116-118). King Claudius tells Hamlet that the kingdom needs him more than he needs to go back
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to college. Claudius uses the kingdom to control Hamlet into not going back to school. Him

wanting to take control turns into him manipulating Hamlet to stay and not go to school.

From here on we see Hamlet start to question Claudius' intentions trying to figure out

what is really going on. Hamlet is performing his soliloquy about how he really feels about his

fathers death `` Possess it merely/ That it should come <to this>. But two months dead-nay not

so much, no two” ( 1.2.141-142). Hamlet argues that it's only been two months since his father

has died and yet it seems like no one cares but him. He starts to question what is really going on

and he starts to think about the meaning of his conversation with Claudius. The way Claudius’

manipulation trick of treating Hamlet to gain his trust is all a lie and in reality he does not care

for him. As equally as important to his soliloquy, he also talks about how fast his mother moved

on:

My father’s brother, but no more like my father

Than I to Hercules. Within a month,

Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears

Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,

She married. (1.2. 157-161)

The marriage between Hamlet's mother and his uncle happened shockingly fast and causes

Hamlet to question why. How could his own mother, his fathers wife move on so fast? There

must be more behind this than it seems and Hamlet wants to get to the bottom of the situation.

Hamlet questions Claudius and now his mother, who is also trying to hide something from him.

This causes him to heighten his guard up more than ever. Hamlet already despises women due to

what his mother has done and his trust from all has been broken.
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Gradually, we see that King Claudius’ actions toward Hamlet cause him to act out once

he finds the truth. The Ghost tells Hamlet that the person who killed him is, “ The serpent that

did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown” ( 1.5.46-47). He proves to Hamlet that his

suspicions of Claudius are factual. He now sees that the reason why Claudius wants to become

this father-like figure, is to manipulate him into a false sense of security. This also causes Hamlet

to act out since he knows the truth. He starts to act like a madman to get their attention. Hamlet

wants a reaction. After Hamlets conversation with the ghost he knows that Claudius is the one

behind his fathers dealth, “ That I, the son of a dear (father) murdered,/ Prompted to my revenge

by heaven and hell” (2.2.612-613). Hamlet puts the pieces together and knows the truth behind

his fathers death; he wants to take matters into his own hands. Now that Hamlet knows the

reason behind Claudius’ manipulative tricks and why he was seeking his trust; he now plans to

have his revenge on Claudius for killing his father. This influences Hamlet's actions and

decisions throughout the rest of the play.

King Claudius’s manipulative characteristics connect to how Hamlet will later react to

situations. King Claudius tends to manipulate people into trusting him creating that false sense of

trust. Hamlet does not fall for his manipulation, instead it causes him to question King Claudius’

true intentions and later is the reason on why he starts to act out. How do you think King

Claudius’ manipulation will later affect the future situations that Hamlet will find himself in?
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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2012.