Claudius poisons many of the characters in Hamlet both literally and metaphorically:

Almost all of the poisoning is Claudius’ fault

Literally:

  • Poison is used in Claudius and Laertes’ plot to kill Hamlet
    • Laertes’ sword has poison on it, and Hamlet’s drink is also poisoned in case Laertes can’t kill him
      • “I’ll have prepar’d him A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, If he by chance escape your venom’d stuck, Our purpose may hold there” (IV.vii.159-162)
  • Gertrude drinks the poison and dies
    • The drink, the drink! I am poison’d” (V.ii.300)
  • Laertes’ poisoned sword kills Hamlet, Claudius, and himself
    • Laertes: “Here I lie, Never to rise again: thy mother’s poison’d: I can no more: the king, the king’s to blame” (V.ii.308-310).
    • Hamlet: “The potent poison quite o’er-crows my spirit” (V.ii.343)
    • Claudius killed his own brother with ear poison
      • “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment” (I.v.61-64)

Metaphorically:

Claudius poisons the minds of Gertrude, Laertes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern:

  • He convinces Gertrude that he’s good and she should marry him
    • “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” (I.v.44-46).
    • He convinces Laertes that Hamlet is responsible for Polonius’ death, and that Laertes should get revenge on Hamlet
      • “I am guiltless of your father’s death, And am most sensibly in grief for it” (IV.v.147-148). It wasn’t Claudius’ fault Polonius was killed
      • “You must put me in your heart for friend, Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear, The he which hath your noble father slain Pursued my life” (IV.vii.2-5). Laertes must side with Claudius – Hamlet was the one who killed Polonius, and he tried to kill Claudius too. Thus Claudius convinces him to get revenge on Hamlet.
      • He gets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on his side, spying against their former friend Hamlet
        • “Draw [Hamlet] on to pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasion you may glean, Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus, That open’d lies within our remedy” (II.ii.15-18). Claudius manages to convince Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he really cares about Hamlet, and that the two of them should help him determine what’s wrong and how to fix it.
author avatar
William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)
William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2024 | Creative Commons 4.0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment