In Act 1 Scene two, Shakespeare shows Claudius’s internal turmoil with an inner dialogue. In his monologue, Claudius confesses that he had killed his brother, which offers an absolute confirmation that such an act has happened in the act. It is also through the monologue that the author, Shakespeare can show the natural character of Claudius. He also uses the monologue to characterize his disposition further, though the regret that he has is not entirely for his brother but for the main consequences that he is going to face because of his actions. This can be seen in line three “To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom.” This showed that he only cared about what the other people would think about him when they realize the damage that he had done to his brother Hamlet. It is through internal conflict that Claudius is having in the monologue that his real characters are shown.
Claudius is a cruel person and a murderer. This can be seen in the way he killed his brother Hamlet but does not feel sorrowful for having killed him but thinks more about how the society will picture him as soon as they learn about his sins. This also shows that he is a selfish person such that he could not think of the damage he had caused to his brother but thinks of how he was going to suffer for his mistake. Claudius says that “your better wisdom, which have freely gone.” This shows that he felt like he had managed to eliminate a threat a wise person than him, which further proves the fact that he is egocentric.
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"Hamlet Monologue Analysis".
From the monologue, we learn about Claudius’s desire to be freed from the heavy burden that had befallen his shoulders after killing Hamlet. Despite all the remorse he has in the entire monologue he does not feel any regret having taken Hamlet’s belongings after murdering him. “Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr’d/ Your better wisdom, which have freely gone/ With this affair along. For all, our thanks/ Now follows, that you know, young Fortinbras.” He takes pride having killed his brother for him to have his wife whom he has been admiring for a longer duration. This shows that he was only confessing to the people so that the people could forgive him or be freed of his mistakes that he had committed in his life, but he did not care about it at all. This was just a scheme for him to own his late brother’s wife who the queen at that time. The dialogue also proves that is a lustful person as seen in the way he brags about the opponents being in a worse position to fight him by paying attention to the fact that those who could support them were very far “Norway” and were still young- Fortinbras. He is also led by his ego that makes him fail to seek for repentance for the right cause or reason. All Claudius talks about is how much he has gained from the demise of his brother and the way he was now going to marry the queen.
The monologue is relevant to our life today. From it, we learn that our selfish desires should not guide us into mistakes that we shall not have an easy time to live within our lives. Moreover, we learn that egoism, lust, and pride will never benefit our lives in an advantageous manner. For instance, after killing Hamlet Claudius remains sorrowful which is not want he thought he would obtain by killing his brother.
