Monday, February 25, 2008
Hamlet Act IV: Claudius & Laertes
Write about Claudius' scene as he deals with Laertes' entrance and need for revenge. Who initiates the scene, and who controls it? How fast or slow do you think it is? Who has more lines? Why? We talked about Claudius as a wily politician, how does that wiliness come into play in this scene? Or... how does Laertes' action compare/contrast with Hamlet's action towards revenging his own murdered father?
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In this scene, laertes initiates the conversation between himself and the king. he enters angrily accusing the king of killing polonius and promising revenge. claudius, on the other hand, merely asks laertes questions somewhat calmly. even though laertes has more lines, claudius' response is the cleverer one, because his questions show laertes that he's interested, and doesn't make aggressive comebacks. laertes' revengeful fit nearly shadows hamlet's behavior when faced with the ghost of his own murdered father.
Laeertes enters with anger against the King. Laertes is ready to kill the King at any moment. The King quickly uses his skill of words to calm down Laertes. The kings lets Leartes control most of the conversation so Laertes can release his anger. The King than talks slow and calm to get through to Laertes. He does this so Laertes will listen to both sides of the story. This shows that the King is fit for his position. Without these skills, the King would have surely been killed.
Leartes enters enraged craving revenge on the king. Claudius is able to manipulate Leartes and calm him down. Claudius is able to do so by asking questions to appear interested and question his true motives. Claudius also lets Leartes him express himself, as he doesn’t interrupt him. This tactic lets Leartes cool down and get all of his emotion out while Claudius plays a minor role in the conversation not putting himself in harms way. This once again proves the Claudius is a very good politician as he is able to handle the situation in a very mature manor.
Laertes storms the doors, with commoners of the town that praise him as the next king, seeking revenge for his father, Polonius's , death. With intense conviction, Laertes demands to know where his father is. Claudis, in a tone, tells Laertes that he is dead. Laertes has already built his anger, so Claudis diffuses it through allowing Laertes to speak. Claudius understands that Laertes is not thinking clearly, so he asks Laertes questions that Laertes himself would ask about his actions in the right stae of mind. Claudius unltimately is able to resolve the conflict without violence.
As the scene begins, Laertes comes rushing in demanding for Claudius. He's frustrated and angry. As a result of his frustration, he speeds up the conversation whie Claudius just stays back and listens to him. This is the reason why in this section of Act 4, Laertes is the one who speaks the most. From the beginning of the book, Claudius has always been a good politician. Instead of rushing into the conversation (which would make Laertes become even more irritated), he's patient with Laertes and listens to what he has to say. As a result, the conversation
slows down at the end when Claudius explains his reasoning of why he is not guilty.
The scene between Claudius and Laertes is at first filled with tension, but Claudius easily eases the situation. Laertes comes in full of anger, accusing Claudius of killing his father. Laertes initiates the scene, but it is Claudius who controls it. He allows Laertes to get all of his anger out and he listens carefully, asking appropriate questions without interrupting. Laertes has a lot more lines, but only to express his emotions. It is what Claudius does, or doesn’t say that matters more. He is able to show himself in a positive light and explain how he had nothing to do with the death of Polonius by asking questions. Laertes expresses his anger verbally, while in comparison Hamlet doesn’t speak much of his anger. Instead, he is a man of action, plotting how to seek his revenge instead of just voicing his inner rage.
Claudius' encounter with Laertes is a prime example of Claudius' political finesse. Laertes is enraged because he believes that Claudius either killed his father Polonius or was involved in the action. Claudius calmly averts his anger, keeping cool whilst Laertes vents his rage. Using questions instead of potentially volatile comments, Claudius succeeds in neutralizing the potential threat that Laertes poses to his life, as well as conveying the message that it was not he that killed Polonius. Claudius' confidence on the matter is also apparent through his quick decision to let Laertes go unrestrained. "Let him go, Gertrude. Do not fear our person." (Hamlet, act IV, scene V, lines 137-138.) He is also comfortable enough to manipulate Laertes' own speech in order to tell him the truth, without having much input.
When Laerates goes into the room with Claudius, claudius seemed to be controlling the seen. if you look at the scene itself, you could see that, ikhn the movie, laerates was at a lower level than claudius. in the book, claudius still is controlling the scene. it looks this way because claudius was just calm aobout talking to laerates, while laerates was just lashing out at claudius, and it seemed that laerates didnt really think through what he was saying. Claudius' calmness helped him keep control because hewas able to tell laerates what he wanted to say, in small contolled bursts. "where is my father. dead. but not by him."(hamlet p215 l 144-146) with this alone claudius just broke laerates' spirit even more, and now knowing that his father is dead, laerates thinking was even worse.
In this scene, Claudius is in control, once we see that Laertes is not really about to kill him without listening to him first.
Laertes enters in a fit of rage and passion; he is ready to revenge his father's death. Claudius manipulates this fervor by directing it away from himself and towards Hamlet, the true murderer.
To start out the king is cautious, honest, and clear. He frankly states that Polonius is "dead," and tries to make clear that he has nothing to hide when he tells Gertrude "Let him demand his fill." (Act 4, Scene 5, Line 147).
By asking questions to Laertes, Claudius tames the rage and makes Laertes state that it is directed towards Polonius' enemies, which allows Claudius to assert himself as a friend of Polonius. "Why, now you speak like a good child and a true gentleman. That I am guiltless of your father's death and am most sensibly in grief for it..." (Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 170-173).
By the time Ophelia comes in, Claudius has set the scene in Polonius' mind: still full of rage, he will take his revenge on the true killer (Hamlet), with the support of Polonius' friend, and therefore the friend of Laertes, Claudius.
Write about Claudius' scene as he deals with Laertes' entrance and need for revenge. Who initiates the scene, and who controls it? How fast or slow do you think it is? Who has more lines? Why? We talked about Claudius as a wily politician, how does that wiliness come into play in this scene? Or... how does Laertes' action compare/contrast with Hamlet's action towards revenging his own murdered father?
In the Claudius/Laertes interaction, Claudius controls the scene. Although he doesn't speak much, he displays his presence confidently when his opportunity arises. Laertes is infuriated by his father's death, and prematurely makes assumptions about his father. Claudius calms Laertes down, reassuring him that Claudius was not responsible for the occurrence. "Calmly, good Laertes." (p. 213) By the end of their encounter, Claudius says, "I must commune with you grief,/ or you deny met right... Be you content to lend your patience to us,/ and we shall jointly labor with your soul/ to give it due content." (p. 219)
in this scene, laertes initiates the dialogue between himself and claudius. at first it would seem as if laertes is in control when he first comes in, but as the scene progresses, claudius takes the reigns and then whole conversation is in his hands. While Laertes speaks with fast paced anger, claudius seems calm and cool about his speech and choice of words. laertes has more lines in this scene and the reason for that is most likely that's he's angry about his father's death and is deteremined to get to the bottom of the situation. cladius may have a fewer amount of lines, but his responses to the things that laertes says are what spurs him to keep his anger flowing. he seems to calm down, but by everything that laertes says, claudius is able to use him as a pawn to plot how to kill Hamlet.
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