Oscar Wilde Hamlet Quote Analysis
Oscar Wilde once declared, “I can resist everything except temptation.” People have and will always be motivated by temptation. Whether it be something important such as a promotion or something as simple as a slice of cake. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the king’s effort to obtain his temptations, such as lust, power, and murder, reveals that individuals often do not resist their desires. Instead, they remain selfish and will perform anything to obtain these desires. Lust, or an extremely strong sexual desire, has an immense effect on Claudius. It has such an immeasurable effect on him that it drives him to kill his own brother. This occurs when the ghost says, “O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power so to seduce! —won to his shameful lust. The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there!” (1.5.51-54). In this quote, Old Hamlet explains to Hamlet that …show more content…
The temptation of murder is thrown at Claudius towards the end of the play. This is revealed when he says “A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, if he by chance escape your venomed stuck, our purpose may hold there. —But stay, what noise” (4.7.155-159). In these lines, Claudius comes up with a plan to kill Hamlet when he returns. He is determined to keep the truth a secret as long as he lives. He tries this because he is very tempted to kill Hamlet to cover up his tracks. Another instance of this is when Hamlet tells Horatio, “That, on the supervise (no leisure bated, no, not to stay the grinding of the ax) my head should be struck off.” (5.2.24-26). The King not only plans to kill Hamlet at the duel, but had already planned to have him killed in England. The King at this point of the story is not only tempted to kill Hamlet, he is desperate to. He will do anything at this point to kill Hamlet, even if he sacrifices his own name. This once again proves that humans will do anything if they are tempted
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1452 Words | 6 PagesI make this accusation with complete confidence for several reasons. First, Claudius takes many steps to find out how much Hamlet knows about his murder, and he plays the part of a concerned uncle but also wants to kill Hamlet so his crime remains undetected. Second, he acts like he has a conscience but he reveals his true character through the numerous murders and still never confesses or gives up
Lying And Secrets In Shakespeare's Hamlet
621 Words | 3 PagesClaudius doesn’t confess and puts on quite a show during the murder scene that one would be puzzled as to why no one could see past his fake, friendly exterior. Claudius failing to confess just illuminates his truly malicious spirit. The ghost is also a character that sparks many questions within the play. Hamlet himself questioned whether the ghost was actually his father or the devil in disguise, trying to tempt Hamlet in committing a crime just as wicked as his step-fathers. However, Hamlet quickly dismisses that thought and convinces himself he needs to murder Claudius for revenge.
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785 Words | 4 PagesHe pretends to have love for young Hamlet while sending him off to be killed. While also he lets his wife drink a goblet of wine he knows is poisoned, since he “loves” his wife and would rather see his wife die than risk ruining his plans of killing Hamlet. But Claudius then gets a taste of his own medicine because Hamlet ran him through with a sword and then makes him drink the rest of the poisoned wine. But besides the fact of King Hamlet’s Ghost trying to get revenge, his ghost could also be coming from hell because young Hamlet damages himself by over-thinking the intentions of his father’s ghost.
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1313 Words | 6 PagesHowever, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.
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