Ambition of Claudius
- Submitted by: nigmaster300
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- Category: English: Shakespeare
- Date Submitted: 07/18/2012 05:34 PM
- Pages: 4
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What ideas does the author develop regarding ambition?
Ambition affects the personal values and perspectives of individuals within society. It influences one’s mind to strive for power, wealth and fame. The greed for such achievements often arises from careers such as politics. Politicians desire the power to control the state and benefit from the wealth of the state. Some ruthless politicians like Adolf Hitler used his power to murder his enemies and use the wealth from the state to perform his murders. He betrayed his state because instead of using his power and wealth to benefit his state, he used it for weapons of destructions. Adolf Hitler received his fame from the genocide on the Jews. His ambition to rule a state blinded him and his hatred for others caused him to betray the citizens of his state. A literary example can be found within the play Hamlet, where renowned playwright, William Shakespeare, uses the characterization of Claudius to suggest that overwhelming ambition can cause one to disregard their conscience leading to betrayal. Claudius becomes an epitome of ambition which results in the betrayal of his king and his kin.
The primary antagonist in the play Hamlet was Claudius, the King of Denmark. He is portrayed by the author as a charismatic ruler which is depicted by his speech addressing his brother's death to the court in Act I. His speech juxtaposes the people's loss of a king with the new beginning they will have under his rule; the speech was used to persuade the citizens to accept the change in monarchs and prevent civil unrest or rebellions.
QUOTATION
He manages to get a firm hold of the royal court by flattering them and gained their trust by showing them he is capable of ruling. He impresses his subjects by using the death of the previous King to create a sense of national solidarity: "To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom/To be contracted in one brow of woe.” The death of the old King of Denmark, also known as Old...
Ambition affects the personal values and perspectives of individuals within society. It influences one’s mind to strive for power, wealth and fame. The greed for such achievements often arises from careers such as politics. Politicians desire the power to control the state and benefit from the wealth of the state. Some ruthless politicians like Adolf Hitler used his power to murder his enemies and use the wealth from the state to perform his murders. He betrayed his state because instead of using his power and wealth to benefit his state, he used it for weapons of destructions. Adolf Hitler received his fame from the genocide on the Jews. His ambition to rule a state blinded him and his hatred for others caused him to betray the citizens of his state. A literary example can be found within the play Hamlet, where renowned playwright, William Shakespeare, uses the characterization of Claudius to suggest that overwhelming ambition can cause one to disregard their conscience leading to betrayal. Claudius becomes an epitome of ambition which results in the betrayal of his king and his kin.
The primary antagonist in the play Hamlet was Claudius, the King of Denmark. He is portrayed by the author as a charismatic ruler which is depicted by his speech addressing his brother's death to the court in Act I. His speech juxtaposes the people's loss of a king with the new beginning they will have under his rule; the speech was used to persuade the citizens to accept the change in monarchs and prevent civil unrest or rebellions.
QUOTATION
He manages to get a firm hold of the royal court by flattering them and gained their trust by showing them he is capable of ruling. He impresses his subjects by using the death of the previous King to create a sense of national solidarity: "To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom/To be contracted in one brow of woe.” The death of the old King of Denmark, also known as Old...