Claudius: A Villain or Victim of His Actions?

Of all the characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet the role of Claudius seems to be the most intriguing and crucial role in this tragedy. Claudius is the most controversial, the most mysterious and the most talked about character in this play. Many people look at Claudius and only see a villain, but there are additional sides to him that are often overlooked: Claudius as a father, a husband, a ruler and as a mortal individual. …

…play, and Claudius’ actions to murder Hamlet end the play. This character, in my opinion, is one of the better “good turned-bad turned-even worse” characters that I know of in Shakespeare’s plays. His strength to get through all of the circumstances in this play is tremendous; but in the end, Claudius was the cause of nine deaths, including his own. His obsession for control and power ruined one of the greatest kingdoms in history!