Claudius's love for Hamlet

[stormy44]

I don't think Claudius tried to look at Hamlet as his actual son. I think he would've felt extremely guilty whenever Hamlet was around him, since he's the son of his brother who was murdered by Claudius himself. If I were Claudius, seeing Hamlet everyday would be painful. I would always be reminded of the murder I've committed by looking at Hamlet who would look like his dead father. So I don't think Claudius was even trying to love him, but he was rather threatened by his presence.

[delmanykkfs]

I think the only reason king Claudius said that it's because he knew it that Hamlet didn't like him as king and as "father" I don't really think that he mean it.

[cesar]

I mean, maybe. He did show some care about Hamlet at first, so it would make sense for him to have some sort of empathy towards him. But he did kill his father in cold blood, so maybe no? It's kind of weird when you think of it like that because it doesn't make much sense at all. But maybe he always liked Hamlet, and always did love him as a son; he just hated his father.

[davidh]

I think's full of lies. King Claudius didn't love Hamlet and even if he did, he wouldn't have said things like "grow up" or "get over with it
". If King truly loved Hamlet, he would have cared much more than just saying these things. If I were king who actually loved Hamlet, I would listen to Hamlet's difficulty and maybe help to get through it.

[junaen0416]

After reading the whole tragedy, I did not feel any different about Claudius. Well, in the beginning he showed clear signs of not loving him as the story progresses he grow more tired of him sniffing around him like a dog, who is waiting for the right moment to grab and snap. He tried sending him back to England but it was of no avail. Seeing him was like reminding of your sins which is the hardest thing to watch.

[joannekim]

I do not think Claudius tried to love Hamlet in the beginning because he quickly becomes suspicious of Hamlet's actions and orders others to spy on him. He could not trust Hamlet or perhaps feared him since Claudius killed his father. In this kind of situation, it would be hard for Claudius to love Hamlet. However, I think Claudius did try to accept Hamlet much since Hamlet can help him rule the country. Hamlet was a popular figure, and Claudius needed his support. I think Claudius really wanted Hamlet to move on from his father's death and become close to him. But this did not last long when Hamlet started acting crazy.

[sammy576]

I think Claudius only took in hamlet as his own son simply out of guilt. I don't
think he really loves him or cares for him especially, but i think Hamlet is just
getting pity from Claudius.

[minchoi0923]

I don't think Claudius loved Hamlet. I can see that he attempted to be nice to Hamlet but I think he was doing it because he felt guilt, not because he really loved Hamlet. He just killed Hamlet's father and maybe he felt responsibility to take care of Hamlet. We can see that Claudius felt so much guilt after killing his brother so I guess this guilt caused him to treat Hamlet more tenderly.

[sang]

I doubt it. It was probably all a superficial act. There is no point for Claudius to like Hamlet at all. I mean other than the fact that he has to. So I'm guessing that he was mainly doing it as a duty rather than to to his liking. It's pretty clear that he has no love for Hamlet.

[elijahlee]

I think that Claudius was trying to get Hamlet to accept him. He wanted everything to be normal again, as they could get. I am not sure about love, but he did try his best to like him, as seen through how he would try to cater to Hamlet's needs and empathize with his feelings. But, when he found that Hamlet got wind of his crimes, he freaked out and definitely tried to remove the threat.

[seongrae]

I agree that Claudius in the beginning of the story tried to love and accept Hamlet. I think his actual purpose of murdering king Hamlet was to take his position. So, as he succeeds in taking the position, he had no reason to hate Hamlet. Therefore, I think Claudius at the beginning of the story liked Hamlet but as he threatened him and tried to kill him, Claudius killed Hamlet.

[sarahlee4]

I think all those nice, lovey dovey words were all full of crap. I doubt that Clahdius ever cared for Hamlet. He has the same name as the man you killed. I think if i were to be Claudius, i would want hamlet as far way from me as ever possible. Anything left of the man i killed, I wouldnt want near me. I think all thise caring acts were just in front of the people.

[tha0ism]

I think Claudius never actually loved Hamlet. Instead I think Claudius was just acting nice to Hamlet in the beginning. Claudius was being selfish. He tried to clear his sins by being nice to Hamlet and make up for the wrong doing he had done. I dont believe that Claudius can be a real dad to hamlet. I think he doesnt even try to or want to be one.

[alexkoo]

I do not think there is any sort of love from Claudius to Hamlet. I mean how can he marry Hamlet's mother if he cared about Hamlet? The fact that Claudius married Gertured explains how Claudius did not really care about Hamlet at all. We can say that he acted like he cared about Hamlet, but as we saw at the end of the play, Claudius does not have any feeling of love toward Hamlet.