"Scan" Claudius’s first speech (Act I, Scene 2, lines 1-39)—in other words: break it down into its component parts. What aspects of his character, intellect and governance does it reveal?
Note also his gentle-seeming (great word: "seeming") reprimand to Hamlet, which also moves from message to message. It should add to your picture--how?
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Claudius's speech at the beginning of Act One Scene 2 reveals several personality traits. The first glimpse of his personality comes when he says, "Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature; That we with wisest sorrow think on him; Together with remembrance of ourselves." This makes him seem rather level-headed ad practical, though maybe a tad cold hearted.
I also think a very business-oriented side of him comes out when he quickly shifts the subject off of old Hamlet's death and onto Fortinbras. He says, "Now follows that you know: young Fortinbras; Holding a weak supposal of our worth..." Claudius doesn't mess around. He gets the formalities out of the way (the death, the marriage, and thanking the council) and then jumps straight into the important stuff.
In his reprimand of Hamlet, he begins very empathically, consoling and even commending Hamlet on his grief. However, he then moves into reason, explaining how every persons father must eventually die. He then begins to accost Hamlet, berating him for showing "unmanly grief" and his "peevish opposition." Gradually he reverts to the sort of "I understand, but be reasonable" tone as he asks Hamlet to remain.
The way he moves through so many tones and sends so many emotions at Hamlet tell me that Claudius is a very multi-faceted character. He is an eloquent speaker, flowing his words through a range of feelings that would no doubt affect any but one as marred by grief as Hamlet.
The overall image I got of Claudius from his speech was a sense of royalty. The feeling surrounding him is that of a king. He seems to know what he is doing, giving orders and directives with confidence and authority.
After rereading Claudius’ first speech, I was wholly impressed by his intelligence and his cunning and calculating nature. Like Mr. Duncan mentioned, Claudius is definitely an apt adversary for Hamlet in both wit and rhetoric. From the very beginning, he makes sure to clear himself of all charges and all rumors pertaining to his hasty marriage with Gertrude. He charms and captures his audience by preaching about the need to equally “…[weigh] delight and dole” (line 13). He talks of an inward battle between discretion and nature, making it seems as if there was nothing he could have done to postpone the marriage. He’s polite and gracious and is the very picture of courtesy. However, this façade is not perfect and one can catch glimpses of his true nature from his quick changes in topic. As soon as he has paid lip service to his brother’s death, he quickly dismisses that topic and focuses on what he’s really interested in: a chance to defeat Fortinbras. One glimpses the lack of genuine concern that Claudius shows for his brother’s death and Hamlet’s grief when he quickly changes topic in line 17. Likewise, within line 25, Claudius shows his contempt and disregard for Hamlet Sr. with a hasty dismissal: “So much for him”. It’s at these opportune places that one can glimpse his true devious nature. From line 25 down, his cunning governing nature is revealed to all. Instead of bravely and honorably engaging Fortinbras in battle, Claudius decides to avoid the battle altogether by, in effect, tattling to the old king of Norway. My first impression of Claudius was that he is nothing more than a big royal tattletale. Rather than do the honorable thing, he gets what he wants through trickery and backhanded methods. Claudius has no intention of fighting fairly with Fortinbras, and as in the case with Hamlet Sr., he’d rather worm his way to power.
The king of Denmark is very heartfelt in the first 15 or so lines. With his exquisite display of sorrow and love towards Hamlet he shows his "soft side", which is often what leaders seem to lack (Oedipus, anyone?). As Mr Putnam stated, he has an air of leadership which does not mess around. This quick transition, though, from love to business makes his soft side seem very artificial. It reminds me of the CEO of a large factory coming out on a balcony overlooking the factory, giving a moment of silence for the death of some co-worker, then telling everybody to get back to work. Even though he brings up his "late dear brother" several times, it is all in relation to Fortinbras, and I view it as a very thin veil for the true feelings he holds.
From lines 34-39, I'm not sure what he's talking about when he says "Giving you no further personal power; To business with the king, more than the scope; Of these delated articles allow." I'm assuming that he tells them they may leave, but is there also an implication that Norway has no power over Denmark? I have a feeling that I'm taking it too far, but you never know with Shakespeare.
PS
What does "Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature" (line 5) mean?
Mr. Cornea, to understand the line you refer to, you must look beyond it to lines 6 and 7, and read the entire thing:
"Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature
That we with wisest sorrow think on him,
Together with remembrence of ourselves."
He is saying that their discretion has conflicted with the emotions they would naturally be feeling, so that while they do mourn him (old Hamlet), they must also continue on with their lives. And that's when he continues on to talk of his marriage to the queen.
In summary, the line you asked about is saying they mourn, but not to an extent where they don't do anything else.
At first Claudius seems to be genuine in his speech, but as he continues something about him appears to be not quiet so sincere. Claudius first speaks about his brother Hamlet’s death, and how it is appropriate to mourn him and feel grief for the loss. But as he continues he speaks of the queen and says “with an auspicious and dropping eye”(line 11). He is essentially saying that he is both happy and sad (smiling with one eye and crying with the other), presumably sad due to his brothers death and happy due to his recent marriage.
Another aspect that makes him seem less sincere in his grief over old Hamlet’s death is how he goes from talking about the loss of his brother to the warlike state with Fortinbras. By doing this he appears to be merely using old Hamlet’s death to make his speech more effective in that Denmark indeed does have the rights to the lands that Hamlet won in battle with Fortinbras. This turns the death of King Hamlet into not so much as the appropriate grief that should be shown, but rather more so a business situation.
As I was reading Claudius's speech at the beginning of act 1 scene 2, it impressed upon me a vivid image of Claudius. He seemed to me to carry the essence of a servant, charming and sweet but speaking from a forked tongue. I could even hear his voice in my mind, sugar laced and soothing slyly bending listeners to his will.
Claudius's speech is an argument against and a ridicule of Hamlet behavior. Like all good arguers he begins with a brief concession, "'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, To give these mourning duties to your father, But...." From there his approach is very subtle slowly escalating in intensity of condemnation.
As he builds it though, Claudius never calls on his own power to justify his ridicule of Hamlet. He is not condoning a son mourning the death of a King, that would seam heartless. Claudius calls on nature, on the dead, even on God to support his claim. It is clear that Claudius wants to stop all mourning for the lost King, but his motives come across as altruistic. This way that he argues is what gave me the impress that Claudius is a serpent. He is a weaver of words, very discretely making his opinion appear to be the only sensible one. He also is careful to never use "I" in his speech, again giving the impress that he is acting for the benefit of everyone. "WE beseech you to remain in the cheer and comfort of OUR eye." It is clear that Claudius is not secure in his position as a ruler because he never acts on his own authority. He is afraid that people would not listen to his command and so instead manipulates his subjects. He also is insecure in his rule because he refuses to recognize the merits of the old king and wants simply to move on and have him forgotten about. This combined with his deceitful nature hint at some sort of fowl play in his past and arises questions about the legitimacy of his assumption to throne.
Claudius's first speech reveals alot about his character.
The first half concerns the death of his "dear brother". i think he feels it his duty as King to pay tribute to the death although he for some reason, has no real grief, at least not in the same way as Hamlet. It's very political the way he handles the situation. He commends his brother and the tragedy of his death as well as commenting on the joyous event of his marriage. And as far as his reprimand to Hamlet I think in some way he's trying to assert his authority as Hamlet's stepfather. On the surface he approaches the situation very practically. but for those of us aware of his crimes, it seems a shallow attempt to cover up the murder.
The second part of the speech concerns fortinbras assumption that the state is weak during this time of tragedy. He comments that he will not allow this to be a weakness and will try to negotiate with fortinbras. It seems really cowardly to me that he would send ambassadors to go talk to fortinbras instead of fighting the fight or going to talk to him himself. it should also not be overlooked that this is just another ploy to distract the court from his brother's death. He wants to forget his crime and cover it up with the things he considers "real issues". You have to admire the cunning and elegance with which he delivers his speech and carries out the lie. the same way one might admire Leopold's scheme's despite their horrible nature.
Claudius has no genuine feelings of sorrow for the death of his brother but rather an eager desire to begin pursuing the Fortinbras issue (whatever that may be =P). Claudius’ reflection of the deceased Hamlet looks sincere at a quick glance but in actuality is hollow and a decoy for his true intentions. Thus, from flow of the speech, I would imagine his character to portray a superficial image; he deceives people and creates a caring image for himself, while in all truth he has more important matters on his mind. Also, I would agree with Krista that Claudius does have similarities with that of a serpent.
I agree with everyone that has said before me that Claudius has painted a mask over his lies, obscuring the truth of his wrongful deeds. He tries to make the elegy of his deceased brother Hamlet short and to the point so he does not have to dwell on the fact that it was him that killed his own brother. Claudius’s hope of marrying Gertrude was to have the two emotions cancel each other out, depression vs. happiness. However that’s not how life goes, a newborn child does not make a wife’s death any better. A life may begin in one place and end in another, but it doesn’t make the pain any better or the happiness any brighter.
Claudius’s transition into the new subject was not too subtle. He tied in that he was continuing the work of his late brother, a work of revenge as the tale of Hamlet is a genre of. The young Fortinbras is to revenge his father’s death and regain the land that Hamlet senior had taken over. This shows us how Claudius is a sly man that knows where his entrances and exits are thus making him an outstanding politician, lying through his teeth. The transitions afterwards as he talks to Hamlet were less subtle, and more to the business. Basically all he wants is Hamlet to suck it up, be a man but underneath, the situational irony is that we know that Claudius doesn’t want Hamlet to think about Hamlet Sr. death too much otherwise he may find out the truth. Also I find it ironic how Claudius wants to end the mourning of Hamlet Sr. so soon because it was disrespecting the dead, when marrying the deceased widow within two months is even more blasphemous. He is the one who has no respect for the dead because he was the one that committed the crime, and he was the one that shows no remorse in doing it. What he does throughout the book is place lie upon lie to conceal the disturbing truth, and plan of murdering Hamlet to keep the truth hidden. His seemingly caring character is only the ice on the lake, where underneath is a cold, abyss that would kill if it had the chance.
I agree with Krista that Claudius is a serpent, however I disagree that he was insecure about his position. The reason for his murdering Hamlet Sr. was to receive that position as king. He has to be full of pride and stamina knowing that he got away with murder and getting what he wanted. I think the reason why he uses the term “we” within his speech is to create the common ground feeling, that he understands what the civilians are going through. He wants people to think that they are part of him, that he can relate with them and that they can trust him. He’s building up his ethos with the people, because the death of Hamlet Sr. was so abrupt that he has to somehow gain people’s trust quickly, and this is his method of doing so.
Claudius conducts his first speech in a very political manner. He is sure to cover the important topics, but says what is nice to hear, not what he is thinking, or even doing behind the scenes. He discusses his mourning of his brother and then moves on to comment on his marriage to Gertrude. I think in his mentioning of Fortinbras, Claudius is sending a message to Hamlet—the ‘gentle-seemingly reprimand.” When he says “Young Fortinbras, holding a weak supposal of our worth or thinking by our late dear brother’s death our state to be disjoint and out of frame, colleague with the dream of his advantage,“ (line 17-21) he lets Hamlet know of his strength, and that rather being weak and sorrowful, he is ready and strong.
In the second part of his speech Claudius continues his subtle warning to Hamlet by explaining his clever way to undermine Fortinbras. Claudius shows in his first speech that he is contender; he is a smooth talker and will not easily be defeated.
Claudius is a smooth-talker, for sure. He makes a big scene of mourning for his brother, saying it has "us befitted to bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe" (lines 2-4). He makes sure that his own sorrow and grief at King Hamlet's passing is unmistakable, even though the audience knows perfectly well that he does not really grieve for his brother.
He then moves on and says that, because of their "warlike state" (line 9), it is necessary he must take his brother's wife as his queen. It is a wise move on his part because it makes his speedy marriage seem more reasonable and legitimate, rather than coldhearted and offensive to the old king's memory.
Next, he goes on to explain exactly what the threat to the kingdom is. He states how "Young Fortinbras, holding a weak supposal of our worth," (lines 17-18) is intending to attack the kingdom to reclaim his country’s losses that resulted from his father's death in the duel between his father and the late King Hamlet.
Lastly, he explains exactly what he plans to do to stop the attack. He says that two messengers will be sent to the King of Norway so that he may suppress his nephew's advance. This makes him appear a wise and competent leader since he doesn't immediately resort to violence. He also gives a warning to his messengers, saying they have, "no further personal power to business with the king than these dilated articles allow" (lines 36-38). This shows how he's quite a wise ruler because he wants to make sure the King understands exactly the message he's trying to give him and no more. He doesn't want a stupid messenger messing things up accidently and inadvertently triggering a war.
@ Krista, I think that the case is not that Claudius does not have control over his subjects and thus has to manipulate them, rather he has enough control over them that he can afford to be so saccharine when speaking of his brother's death in front of the court.
I might just not have been paying enough attention or something, but does the queen know how Hamlet the Elder died?
There's a cold efficiency to Claudius that is hard to ignore. He seems not to grieve much for his late brother, choosing instead to focus upon the country's turbulent relations with Norway, and he makes clear his belief that others ought to do the same, that others ought to exercise discretion and pragmatism in their mourning ("we with wisest sorrow think on him", line 6) just as he did. To him, the country's political state is paramount, and he is adamant not to lose sight of that at any moment, even commanding messengers Cornelius and Voltemand to hurry rather than make speeches of loyalty ("let your haste commend your duty", line 39), as only a job well done can prove their dedication. He is the most reasonable of men at all times, and he seems unable to recognize that there are few others as utterly realistic as he is, a disability that leads him to chastise Hamlet for his "obstinate condolement" (line 94) and his refusal to accept death as a natural occurrence.
I wondered after rereading that second scene if Claudius was at all aware of what he was asking of Hamlet, if he knew how callous he came across, and if he meant to be as decidedly pragmatic as he seemed. Did he truly mean to show the cold, business-like efficiency he demonstrated? Or was all that merely an aspect of some deeper goal of his, some greater conquest?
o Michael, Gertrude never finds out about the truth. She drinks the poisoned drink that was meant for Hamlet, and she just dies.
WE see Claudius give a speech about the death of his brother, In the beginning we see him as a person saddened by the death of Hamlet. However as we read more of his speech, we see that he is orating the speech since it is expected of a king and brother. He is happy of Hamlet's death since it lets him have his new marriage to Gertrude.
In his speech, we see Claudius as a regal character. He is one who keeps things under control and has an imposing aura. He is a cunning and clever man who will find ways around things to get what he wants. The way he clears his name of any connection to the death so quickly shows his cunningness and awarness to potential harm to him for the future. The way he portrays his actions as those that a king is obliged to do is close to genius. He is able to spin his words to make it seems the actions he so desires are what are to be expected and wholly for the good.
Claudius paints a very tender and loving picture of himself. His speech reflects what he wants people to believe. There are a lot of phrases he uses to show that he is just a conflicted, confused new king. He wants sympathy from the court and the people rather than inspire confidence. “With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole”. He compliments the elder Hamlet with his words and shows fake despair to the situation, because he wants to fit in with everyone else. In many ways, his deceit can be seen by his elaborateness. A person under such grief can’t produce such a long rhetorical speech without sounding rather bitter and angry. He spoke about the problems with Fortinbras with regret, rather than the anger that he should have had. Claudius’s speech seems genuine and heartfelt, but there are a lot of elements that make you turn your head twice. He doesn’t respond like a grieving brother, but like a paid man who had to write a eulogy, over the top, phony, and distasteful.
King claudius made a very good speech. He seems very intelligent.
I agree with what everyones said so far. I think, like Mr.Cornea, that Claudius displays two sides of him. The first being his soft side towards the old hamlets death, displaying sorrow and all that, and then the other side when he gets down to business.
I also agree with what Shea said about the “with an auspicious and dropping eye”(line 11). He's definitely happy and sad about what happened, because the old hamlet died but now he gets to be king.
Hah, the first thing I went to type out was, “Claudius seems to be a very intelligent man.” Then of course, the first thing that pops into my head is, “Seems madam, I know not seems.” Apparently, Mr. Duncan was right in saying that that would stick with us for a while.
Funnily enough, this got me thinking on all the things that Claudius ‘seems’ to be to everyone in the court, except Hamlet. He’s intelligent, with obvious control over his words. After all, he is able to somehow craft a speech to his court that basically says, “Hey, it’s time to stop mourning, because I’m king now, and I know I’m rather incestuous, but I thank you all for your support.”
He speaks reassuringly as though to coax the court through the mourning period. The idea of ‘[bearing] our hearts in grief’ and coming together as a ‘whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe,’ is particularly touching, if not for the insincerity. They are the words of a good king, assuring a country of its unity.
He is able to appear both compassionate and capable – speaking of the death of his brother and his marriage to his wife in one breath, and then of celebration and the future in the next.
But also in his speech, we also see his insincerity. The way in which he speaks, constantly adding follow-ups to any kind sentiment he offers, immediately makes his grief obvious for what it is; shallow, a formality. But because he has such strong control over his words, he subsequently has strong control over his audience. This makes him a worthy rival of Hamlet.
Claudius keeps a sturdy composure throughout his entire speech and brings forth the attitude which proper king must posses. During the onset of his speech, Claudius addresses the death of the late King Hamlet in a partially mournful and musky manner. However, one can readily deduce that he himself is not grieving deeply, or simply not even mourning because he is quick to change the subject to the matter at hand, his exceedingly “disjointed” state.
He also speaks of the business that must be taken care of; therefore, he gives off an executive persona or that of an uncaring politician. He would rather attend to the larger issues he as a king is facing (such as the hostility with Fortinbras), than overindulge himself in grief for the death of his brother. Claudius is disconnected to his emotions and relish in such feelings, however he will address it and move forward. Therefore, he is not a vulnerable leader and has confidence in his authority and leadership skills as the new king. He can take proper control of a situation and tackle the problems in an orderly fashion.
One can definitely conclude that he is not a deeply moving and motivational speaker, but rather a sneaky and organized man more concerned about his importance and what he as the proper leader must do. However, Claudius still has the honesty to pay respect to the former fallen leader in a sufficient manner.
Claudius' speech is broken into two parts: the first in which he addresses the death of his brother and marriage to his former sister-in-law and the latter where he acts upon the threat presented by Fortinbras Jr. of Norway. Claudius differs from his brother Hamlet, as Mr. Duncan said, greatly in the subtlety in which he handles the affairs of state. A king is only as strong as his subjects' support of him. Claudius knows he must win over the affections of his people, in order to keep his crown. The first part of the speech, he spends easing his subjects, placating them by stirring the emotions surrounding the death and rapid marriage. And "thanking" those same subjects for their support. Claudius is a man that fights not with strength of body but strength of diplomacy. I believe this is because when faced with the problems concerning young Fortinbras, he doesn't immediately jump in to challenge him to a duel, but instead sends envoys to the person who has power over Fortinbras to rein him in.
His speech is like an introduction to his adopting court. His grand words makes you feel like he is sitting comfortably on his new throne addressing the people at his feet. Claudius's opening words acknowledge the death of Denmark's king. He also mentions that "the memory be green" which pretty much means that the death is still new.
However, "so far hath discretion fought with nature" proclaims that it would be responsible to act politically. The nation is under war and Claudius had to marry Getrude.
He goes on to say that the people of Denmark ought to respect poor dead former King Hamlet yet celebrate the new king. And thanks the people who aren't against it.
The second half of his speech goes back to the war issue. Claudius informs the court that Norway thinks Denmark is out of order because of the King's death. Norway's new king, son of the former, sent a message to Denmark's new king that he ought to surrender his land. But Claudius wants to suppress Fortinbras's power by telling on him to his uncle (but he is old and bedridden so I'm not quite sure that would help much).
by introduction I mean just a taste of what he can bring to Denmark.
I forgot that Claudius was Hamlet, Sr.'s brother. That changes his speech just a bit. You'd think that he ought to mourn as much as Hamlet, Jr. about the death of his relative. He seems to mourn very little however. Maybe he's really accepting of it. But acceptance usually comes when the death is slow and terminal. So he could be accepting of his brother's death because he murdered him.
Claudius's message to Hamlet is that he should get over his father's death. Accept rather than grieve. He tells Hamlet to be sensible, rather than lose his head ("your better wisdoms, which have freely gone/With this affair along"). It does no good to the country when Hamlet is acting nuts. Neighboring countries will have the impression that Denmark is falling to its knees.
As Claudius warns Fortinbras, he also warns Hamlet. The new king is much stronger than originally thought. The young are rash and the old are logical and powerful.
Claudius is manipulative... I feel too generous calling him plain intelligent, because intelligence has a positive connotation and implies using that acumen for good. Like Anna said, the King in a very eloquent and composed manner says, “Hey, it’s time to stop mourning, because I’m king now, and I know I’m rather incestuous, but I thank you all for your support.” (Anna, love it!) The selfish man may convey sorrow in his choice of words, but the words are not backed by any feeling (a fault of his mother's Hamlet points out a little later): "defeated joy, With an auspicious and dropping eye, with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole...."
Claudius is calculative and realizes that no one should dwell too much in the loss of Hamlet, Sr. but should move on and accept his incestuous marriage and him as the new supreme ruler.
The overall picture I get of Claudius is someone who is acting strong, intelligent and confident for the sake of being in an authoritative position. He knows that these are the qualities people respected in Hamlet Sr., but Hamlet does not see through this façade.
I am glad we went over this speech in class today, because it pointed out what seemed amiss in Claudius's speach: Shakespeare gives him the diction to show his intelligence but takes away the flow and poetry tound in Hamlet's speeches. I believe this contrast in delivery serves as a contrast in the sincerity of the King versus the sincerity of Hamlet; everything the King says seems artificial and as if it should not and does not flow well from his tongue.
This is not to say that Claudius is not convincing and his purpose not acheived. The juxtaposition to Hamlet's soliliqoy however does not allow the audience time to believe him and we learn how cold he is and determined to meet his personal needs. He has no genuine feelings for the death of his brother, and I would guess that his marriage to the queen is as much pleasurable to him as it gives him another ally in power, because he can't be too careful living with a lie.
Claudius, in his opening speech and his response to Hamlet's "I know not seems" speech, establishes himself as not only a refined rhetorician but a most worthy opponent of Hamlet. His command of English is as eloquent as Hamlet's, but with a different style- he seems more calculated and organized, and because of this, less sincere. He is evidently very clever, and well liked by the court. He seems to me a pragmatic who took his advantage, and is now exploiting it to the fullest. He shows his quick, controlled style in his reprimand to Hamlet. He responds, as if immune, to a poignant criticism with a partially dismissive and almost patronizing tone. I also noticed a similarity between his oratory style and Hamlet's view of Claudius: a Satyr. He represents the harsh duality in his paradoxical statements: "Have we- as twere with a defeated joy, With an auspicious and dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole- taken to wife." He is a composed man, well practiced in justifying his hedonistic, quadrupedal lower half.
In class, Mr Duncan talked about Claudius' use of oxymorons (right word? Maybe...contrasting ideas?)in lines 10-13 of his speech and I wanted to respond more to that and how I thought it was interesting. It seems (Seems madam! I know not "seems") that Claudius is saying both what he feels trully but also what he should say in order for his subjects to respect him and think him a great ruler.
The line that stood out to me the most was "In equal scale weighing delight and dole" (line 13 act 1 scene 2). To me, this shows how he was delighted that he could finally take the throne by marrying Gertrude but that he also must show respect (false or genuine) to make it seem that he is sad. The only person who doesn't see through Clauidius' mask is Hamlet, who has no trouble voicing it when he is alone.
In Claudius’s speech every comment he makes seems to contradict what he has said before. Like the death of Old Hamlet, “the memory be green” but asking the audience to move on as he takes the throne. Then he says that Gertrude, who was the old Kings wife is now also the new, has joined the state but then Implies that his taking the kingdom was already justifiable. He then clarifies again that the Queen was willing to marry him ,making this seem suspicious as if he were hiding a secret. He speaks as though he is a person who will take power vanquish the kingdoms problems, but instead of a lion he is more like a snake, instead of roaring towards the battlefield he slithers like a snake hiding and taking the “cowardly” route by getting Fortinbras’ Uncle to convince him (Fortinbras). In the beginning of the speech he relates himself with the rest of Norway, but as the speech continue he put himself up as the new position of power, securing himself guiltily, like his being there was the result of an evil deed.
Claudius's first speech was done ia a almost political manner. He addresses the important topics, saying what the people present what they want to hear, neglecting to tell the truth. He acts out verbally his false mourning of his brother and on his marriage to Gertrude. Claudius is sending a subtle yet powerful message to Hamlet; he is not only smart, cunning and a smooth talker but he has the power to control people. Claudius will not back down and is a serious opposition. In the second part of his speech Claudius continues his subtle bravado message indirectley to Hamlet by explaining his clever way to undermine Fortinbras.
Claudius' true figure is revealed through this speech regarding the elder Hamlet. He begins with the first word , "though" , which automatically tells us that he is going to dismiss something. In fact what he dismisses is his brother's death. This shows a prominent personality of him, that he is selfish.
From his later speech saying "Nor have we herein barred Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along.", a similar characteristics can be seen. He is speaking as if he is sacrificing himself to take the throne, as if he is full of selflessness.
It is obvious that he does not bother caring about other's conditions as long as he is in an optimal one. He is also very fluent with his speech and no flaws can be observed in his transition to his own bright future, which certainly aids in his reach for support. Claudius's reason for the speech is to only leave a positive impression to start off his reign.
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