Claudius the Killer (and the killed)

The final scene of Hamlet marks the end of four main characters: Laertes, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and Hamlet himself are killed. The man to blame? Claudius. His preoccupation with power kills him in the end.

In this last scene, Hamlet has agreed to a fencing match with Laertes, son of dead Polonius. Claudius, unbeknownst to Hamlet, has conspired with the king to poison his sword and kill Hamlet with it. Claudius, unwilling to take any chances, also poisoned wine he believed Hamlet would be drinking later. In the fight, Hamlet wounds Laertes and is offered a sip of the wine. He denies, and his mother, Queen Gertrude, offers to sip it for him. Claudius wastes little energy trying to stop her. Almost immediately after drinking, she falls ill - and Hamlet gets wounded by the poisoned sword. Laertes (and Hamlet’s common sense) reveals Claudius as he is - a murderer, and Hamlet finishes off both Laertes and Claudius before dramatically dying.

King Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, has a one-track mind. He wants the throne, and will do anything he can to get there. This is especially evident in the final scene of the show, where he lets his “beloved” wife die and ensures the death of his nephew. Claudius’s “large goal,” therefore, is to maintain his position as king, and therefore get rid of Hamlet. This is only half - successful. He poisoned Laertes’s sword and the wine, effectively ensuring that Hamlet would die. With Hamlet’s death, he would keep the throne - Hamlet was the only one who knew Claudius murdered his father.

His “scene-based goal” in the last scene was to have Laertes kill Hamlet, and avoid getting caught in his scheme. He fails at this. Poisoning the wine glass was his first mistake. Hamlet refused to drink, and instead his wife drank it - killing her. This made it clear to Hamlet and the audience that something was wrong. This also reinforces Hamlet’s fears. Claudius cannot be trusted, not even with the woman he supposedly loved.

The “given circumstances” for this scene rely heavily on Claudius’s relationships. He claims to love the Queen, but lets her drink the poisoned wine and die in the end. He also has a bond with Laertes, over the death of Polonius. This bond allows Claudius to manipulate Laertes into poisoning his sword and killing Hamlet.  The most important relationship is between Hamlet and Claudius. The two hate each other. Hamlet knows Claudius killed his father, and wants to take revenge. Claudius knows Hamlet found out about his crimes and wants to clear his name. This hatred between the two leads to the death of them both.

Claudius is motivated by selfishness and narcissism. No sane man would kill his own brother, never mind marry his sister-in-law. Hamlet seemingly has every right to turn on his uncle once he realizes that depth of his actions. After Hamlet is stabbed and his mother is poisoned, Laertes betrays Claudius and confesses to his actions. Hamlet knows he is going to die - and he knows that he must take his uncle down with him.