King+Claudius

Although King Claudius is not mentioned much prior to his actual entrance in the play - only indirectly referred to when Bernardo, one of the many Danes who seem to acknowledge the King as a rightful successor to the throne, shouts out “Long live the King!” (1.1.3) - his entrance that marks the beginning of scene 2 holds its significance in that it accurately characterizes Claudius. After he enters with his entourage, Claudius delivers a lengthy speech addressing the death of his brother. With the skilled use of language, consistently employing oxymoron and paradoxical descriptions with elaborate descriptions of his feelings towards King Hamlet’s death, Claudius seems to successfully disguise himself, portraying himself as feeling sincerely grieved by his brother’s death even during occasions when one should normally be happy (given the throne, having married recently). While the first part of his speech reveals that Claudius is a great actor who does not seem to show any feelings of guilt regarding the murder, the rest of his speech that continues throughout the scene as he talks to each individual character to go through his political business shows that Claudius is in full control and manipulation of his authority and power as the new governor. Claudius’s constant use of formal royal terms, such as “us” shows that he is comfortable in his new role, already skillfully assuming the royal terms. Furthermore, the respectful attitudes with which the other characters respond to Claudius’s orders also contribute to the illustration of his power. From the amount of lengthy lines that Claudius has in this scene, in which he appears for the first time, the significance that his presence holds in the scene becomes even clearer.
 * Conclusion: **

How the people view him: -the Danes accept him as the rightful ruler -Barnardo: "Long live the King!" (1.1.3) -courtiers Cornelius/Voltemand, Polonius all attend to respectfully, uphold regular court
 * Supporting Details:**

What we can see about him from the monologue: -commanding presence in the room, enters with entourage -talks for a long time while others respectfully listen -thus showing full control, manipulation of his new royal power -not guilty about the murder at all, a great actor -"dear", "most valiant Hamlet (the old king)" -comfortable in new role, assumes royal "us"