ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Hamlet is ‘too much i’ the sun’ because he does not want, and has not requested, this attention from his uncle, but he is also, of course, playing on Claudius’ address to him a few lines earlier: ‘But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son’.

Detailed explanation-2: -This accusation justifies his own ascension to his brother’s throne, despite the fact that the kingship rightfully belongs to the old king’s true heir, Hamlet. Every word Claudius chooses, including the condescension implied in his calling Hamlet “my cousin, and my son, ” reiterates his superiority and complete control.

Detailed explanation-3: -Claudius Lines 87-117 Claudius tells Hamlet that while grief for his father is appropriate, it’s inappropriate for him to continue grieving for so long. He tells him it is weak and unmanly to wallow in this grief. He tells Hamlet to think of him as being a new father to him.

Detailed explanation-4: -Claudius is the brother of Old Hamlet and Hamlet’s uncle. After his brother’s death, he married Gertrude and became the King of Denmark and criticises Hamlet for being too upset over the death of his father. Claudius confesses that he murdered his own brother in order to get the crown and marry his wife.

Detailed explanation-5: -In his first line, Hamlet alludes to and plays on the Elizabethan proverb, “The nearer in kin, the less in kindness, ” which means our closest relatives often treat us the worst. In this line, he suggests that now Claudius is his kin twice over-first his uncle, and now his stepfather.