Hamlet:Act I- Claudius' Speech

In Act I of Hamlet, the play introduces the recently crowned King of Denmark Claudius with a slight confrontation between Hamlet and him. Though Claudius briefly respects the mourning of the death of the last king, he disrespects the last king's throne through his marriage to the queen, who was his sister in marriage before being king. Throughout his speech, Claudius calmly commands an authoritative atmosphere as befitting a king, as if he had assumed and controlled the position of king for quite some time. In response to Hamlet's mourning, he assumes the position as father to Hamlet and claims his "paternal" love for his son. He uses this newfound relationship as reason to demand Hamlet's stay in Denmark and not to travel back to school in Wittenburg. In short, his speech highlights the new king's attempt to appear dominant and smoothly assume the role of the king and his relationship to the kingdom and the royal family.