Hamlet

Evidence that Claudius is guilty of killing King Hamlet
In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, King Claudius ascends to the throne after the death of
his brother, Hamlet. He then marries Hamlet's wife Gertrude. From the beginning of his
reign, Claudius approaches things in a shady manner. As the play presses on, it
becomes evident that Claudius killed King Hamlet to take over the throne. In Act I, the
ghost of Hamlet's father, the king, comes to Hamlet and says "Revenge his foul and
most unnatural murder." This indicates that he was murdered, and did not die in a
natural way. He goes on to tell Hamlet how Claudius killed him, saying "Upon my secure
hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial, and in the porches of my ears
did pour." The ghost actually implicates Claudius with this sentence, making it obvious
that he committed murder. The ghost continues, saying "Thus was I, sleeping by a
brother's hand." Claudius is the brother in this statement, which shows his guilt in the
murder of the king. In Act II, Hamlet proclaims "I, the son of a dear father murdered." By
using the word murdered, Hamlet shows that he knows his father was killed, and he
believes that Claudius is the murderer. Hamlet then comes up with an idea to trick
Claudius into admitting his guilt. Hamlet knows that "guilty creatures sitting at a play
have by the very cunning of the scene been struck so to the soul that presently they
have proclaimed their malfactions." Hamlet wants a play to be put on about a man killing
his brother to become king, so Claudius will react to it. Hamlet hopes that Claudius'
reaction to the play will reveal his involvement in the king's murder. Hamlet goes on to
say "I'll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine
uncle. I'll observe his looks." He hopes Claudius will give himself away through a violent
reaction to the play. Hamlet knows that Claudius killed King Hamlet, and says "The
play's the thing wherein...