Claudius (Hamlet)

King Claudius is the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle to Hamlet. He obtained the throne by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow.

Claudius is seen at the beginning of the play to be a capable monarch as he deals diplomatically with such issues as the military threat from Norway and Hamlet's depression. It is not until the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost that it is revealed that Claudius may have poisoned the old king in his sleep in order to usurp both his throne and his wife (confirmed in Act III scene 3, when Claudius confesses his sins to God). Despite his remorse, the King still seeks Hamlet's death in an effort to save both his throne and his life.

When Laertes seeks revenge for his father Polonius' death at Hamlet's hands, Claudius develops an elaborate scheme to deal with Hamlet once and for all. He arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes, but plots with Laertes to poison his foil and give Hamlet a poisoned drink. The king's plan fails; Queen Gertrude drinks from the poisoned chalice instead of Hamlet and dies, and Hamlet, after being struck by the poisoned foil, captures the same sword and strikes Laertes. As Norway's army, led by young Prince Fortinbras, surrounds the castle, Hamlet finally exacts his revenge and slays the king by stabbing him and then forcing him to drink the very poison that Claudius had intended for Hamlet.

Within the context of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Claudius's role is limited to the first two acts. His appearances are taken directly from those scenes in Hamlet where he interacts with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Claudius in "We Haven't Got There Yet"
While viewing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, William Shakespeare was mildly amused when Claudius first appeared on stage and seemed to confuse Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Literary Comment
Presumably, a version of Claudius appears in The Prince of Denmark, the play analagous to Hamlet in Ruled Britannia. However, the character is never referenced, nor the actor who portrayed him.