Eastern University

Final Summer 2021

ENG 240: Shakespeare 1
Name: Rifah Rafia Islam ID: 193300021 Semester: 6th
B.A (Hons.) in English Literature
Question 2: Make a comparison between the characters Hamlet and Claudius.
Answer: Hamlet is longest play and one of tragedy play of William Shakespeare. The
protagonist of this play was Hamlet and Antagonist was Claudius. Throughout the play, this
story was centred between these two major characters. One who seek justice while another had
pure evil motives.
Hamlet, the prince of Denmark is the nephew of Claudius. He was a sensitive individual, very
religious and had intense faith in his religion. For his religious faith he refrained himself
attempting suicide because he believed he would burn in hell eternally. For his religious belief,
he is disgusted by his mother’s second marriage with his uncle. Hamlet was also a very
thoughtful person rather than being a person who takes immediate action. The readers can see it
in the beginning as Hamlet wanted to see if Claudius was really guilty or not. He even assumed
the ghost of his father might be a devil to lure him in a sinful act. That is the reason Hamlet
wanted some clues if Claudius really killed the old king or not. Another thing is he also wanted
proof because if killed an innocent King if would be downfall of Denmark. After knowing the
truth he seeks the justice of his father.
Meanwhile Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the new king of Denmark is very different comparing
to other characters of this play. He may be smart and strong as a fighter but he is morally weak,
deceitful and evil by nature. He is very lustful about the power and his own brother’s wife
Gertrude, hence why he killed the old king. Claudius is a skilful speaker and he is very
manipulative. This trait of him is the biggest weapon. Marrying Gertrude was a part of plan to
take the throne away from Hamlet. Even though he seem to lament his action by seeing him in a
prayer but his evil actions doesn’t stop. He is indeed the most immoral person who only cares
about power and wealth.
In conclusion, Hamlet is the individual who has intense moral values while Claudius was simply
a terrible person.
Question 3: Write a note on Hamlet’s relationship with his mother.
Answer: Most of the child has a deep and loving relationship with their parents, especially with
their mother. Hamlet had loved his mother very much too, but this love isn’t like any other
mother son relationship. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, we get to see different kind of affection.
According to Sigmund Freud, Oedipus complex is a syndrome that a person has sexual attraction
towards their parent of different sex. This is seen with Hamlet but Hamlet wasn’t quite aware of
himself that he indeed had that kind of attraction for his mother. Throughout the play, the readers
can see that Hamlet was upset towards her mother for marrying his uncle, Hamlet was like how
could she replace his father and do such incestuous act? (Marrying to spouse sibling was
considered incest according to Church law). But we can slowly realize this anger is more than
just being angry over this fact. Hamlet wants Gertrude’s affection only towards him and no one
else can have that, this is the mind-set Hamlet subconsciously had.
From this marriage, Hamlet’s Oedipus complex started rise. He wishes it was him who married
his mother rather than someone else. He acted like a jealous lover rather than a son. He was
obsessed with idea of his mother having intimacy with Claudius which is not normal for a person
to think about their parent’s personal life like that. Hamlet seem to worship Gertrude like a
Goddess who can’t do such act so this made him very upset. He saw Ophelia only as a
replacement to his mother Gertrude, he doesn’t have sincere feelings for her. He even attempted
to make Gertrude jealous using Ophelia. His mother’s death freed him from his Oedipus
complex and which made him mentally strong enough to avenge his father.
In conclusion, Hamlet loved his mother as a woman not a parent and this complex was one of the
major reason of his depression.