The Intentions of King Claudius in Act III

In Act III of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the play Hamlet arranges is a key element of the play. The way he retools the play is intended to prove tha Claudius murder Old King Hamlet, which it does in Hamlet's eyes. As King Claudius rises to exit the theater, he signs hi own death warrant.

Horatio acts as one of the few friends who does not betray Hamlet in this story, as he watches Claudius intently to see his reaction to the play, intently loyal to Hamlet, he sees Claudius rise to leave the theater at the sight of the death scene and tells Hamlet that his suspicions have been confirmed.

One of the key things to notice is not that Claudius leaves the room, but the fashion in which he does. Claudius abrutly stops the play and brings the torches up, before abruptly leaving the theater, to be followed by the audience. The obnoxious exit signals his guilt to the fullest etreme, whereas a silent exit my have simply exhibited a distaste for Hamlet's portayal of his father's murder, and disgust at the thoughtof Hamlet believing him to be the culprit, and not neccasarily the guilt of the crime. Another action that can be taken as a signal of guilt b Hamlet, though Hamlet doesnt think about it in the play, is Claudius' prayer after the play. It can be thought that Claudius is praying for forgiveness of the crime, or even for God to help him conceal the truth, and give him thefinal solution to deal wih Hamlet

The main theme of Hamlet, Act II

The most important theme of Act two is doublecrossing. All of the main characters need information and enlist the help of known friends to do it. Claudius enlist the help of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet, betraying the trio's childhood friendship and trust. This betrayal is ultimatley payed back with their deaths in place of Hamlet's later in the play.

Polonius sends Reynaldo to spy on his son Laertes in Paris, to see if he is drinking gambling and consorting with loose women. This is similar to the Hamlet situation, as Laertes trusts Reynaldo as an old childhood friend but is betrayed as Reynaldo obeys his lord, Polonius.

Polonius and King Claudious use Ophelia to discover what is wrong with Hamlet. She betrays her intimacy with Hamlet out of conern for him, and ends up being cast aside by Hamlet. The King and his advisor ruin Ophelia and Hamlet's relationship.

I would like you to assess the accuracy of my portrayals of betrayal.