| Act I, Scene ii
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Claudius, King of Denmark. After the sudden death of my older brother King Hamlet, I ascended the throne with the consent of the nobility. Young Prince Hamlet was away in Germany at the University of Wittenberg. The nation was in dire straights: the king unexpectedly dead, his only son out of the country, and Fortinbras of Norway still threatening to make war on Denmark. I put myself up for the crown so that no further crisis would come. Then there was Gertrude. She was heart-broken and stunned by the death of her husband. I did everything I could to comfort her and help her through it quickly. It was then that we fell in love. Our sorrow over the death of a close family member turned to tenderness and love for each other. Laws and customs be damned! We loved each other and decided to marry after the funeral.
We waited for Hamlet to return before holding the funeral for his father. He immediately sunk into sorrow and depression which he still has not come out of. Gertrude was a wreck. She lost all composure and sobbed all day. It tears me to see her so. I did what I could to comfort her that day, reminding her that our wedding was in a few weeks. As the day closed she seemed to have come to terms with my brother’s death, and looked forward to our big day.
Prince Hamlet is another matter. When he first was told of his father’s death, he broke down and cried. He rushed back to Denmark but was a mess. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. The exuberance and joy that I so remember seeing in him was gone. At the funeral he was as sad as everyone else. But it persisted. Even during the wedding he was dressed all in black and was sulking about. Now all he does is mope around the castle and do nothing. He whines about going back to school, but I tell him he needs to stick around. After all, it’s dangerous for the next king of Denmark to leave the country. Besides, I want to spend some time with him to help him get over his father’s death.
Today he was at the court with everyone else, but was sad as usual. I spoke with him about his duties and urged him to put his sudden but natural loss behind him like the rest of the country. And do you know what the insolent brat did? He acted as if I had no authority over him! I am his uncle, I am the oldest male of the family, I am his step-father, I am the King of all Denmark and master of Elsinore! But I kept my cool and was nice to him. Fortunately he still listens to his mother. I need to talk to Gertrude about that boy. I heard that his friend Horatio is back from Wittenberg also. Maybe he can cheer up Hamlet.
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