Sample Essay: The King and The Prince: Analyzing Their Different Speech Patterns

              In Shakespeare's Hamlet, King Claudius and Hamlet are contrasted through the various ways they speak in public to when they are contemplating their own thoughts. The two men have both a different set of values and different speech patterns. Shakespeare uses the different speech patterns of Hamlet and Claudius in order to differentiate between the two characters and in order to aid the actors in the ability to perform the character, the audience to understand the characters and the different speech patterns show certain themes throughout the play. The different ways an actor recites a character’s line or the way a character’s lines are phrased make a big difference in Hamlet. Each word chosen makes a big difference to the entire meaning of what the character is saying. Hamlet says everything with equivocation, witty and with lots of puns which says that his character is very deep and he is in the midst of making a huge decision and he does not know what to do. On the other hand Claudius’ character says things with an authoritative tone, and is very paradoxical with the things he says. This could be because he wants to confuse his audience and other characters in the play. While King Claudius and Hamlet are both alone they seem to expose their true emotions, when in public Claudius is a deceiving speaker in order to steer away his audience from the truth and takes command of the stage,  and Hamlet "pretends" to act mad when he is around others so they will not see his real emotions.