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Hamlet fears that the spirit he conversed with might be a devil sent from hell to damn him. Just as Claudius poured poison into the dead King’s ear, he pours another type of poison – lies and deceit – into the ears of everyone else.ĭespite the revelation from the ghost of his father, Hamlet is still uncertain about whether Claudius killed his father. The murder’s imagery resonates throughout the play. In a subsequent scene, the dead King’s spirit reveals to Hamlet that Claudius killed him by pouring poison into his ear while he slept in an orchard. Remarking on the near incestuous relationship, Hamlet states: “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” Claudius’ marriage to Gertrude is highly suspicious. He expresses to the Royal Court his conflicting feelings of grief and joy – grief over his brother’s recent death and joy arising from his recent marriage to Queen Gertrude, who is the widow of his dead brother. After all, “Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak. Augurs and understood relations have By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth The secret’st man of blood.”Ĭlaudius first arrives on stage as the newly crowned King of Denmark. Claudius discovers just how difficult it is to conceal the truth. After discovering that his uncle Claudius killed his father, Hamlet exclaims,“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain!” Shakespeare’s works often explore the theme of appearance versus reality, and the Tragedy of Hamlet is no exception.