In an extract from Sir Robert Filmer's The Natural Power of Kings, the defined paternal positions of father and king are inextricably synonymous. In the time periods in which William Shakespeare's plays Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and King Lear are set, the usurper of the throne Claudius and the psychologically declining Lear are both expected to engage in and practice these family obligations: "In as the father of one family, so the king, as the father of many families, extends his care to preserve, feed, clothe, instruct, and defend the whole Commonwealth” (McDonald, 284-285). Although Claudius fails to preserve his paternal obligations to Hamlet and Gertrude by placing his own desires and ambitions ahead of his inherited responsibilities, he succeeds politically in ensuring the security of the state of Denmark by defeating England and peacefully avoiding the war with Norway. is even shorter than Claudius in his duties: he fails to act as a father figure towards his loving and faithful daughter Cordelia, he curses the barrenness of later heirs, and fails to provide for British citizens by considering nothing as more important than his own apparent self-interest. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay When it comes to Hamlet in particular, Claudius is shirking his obligation to serve and protect his deceased brother's son. When we first meet Claudius in 1.2, he immediately enters into a discourse of distemper and ridicule, telling Hamlet that his mourning for his dead father is "inhuman grief" (Hamlet 1.2.94). To follow up on his sexist comment, he further insults his nephew by saying, “It shows a most incorrect will in heaven… A simple and uneducated understanding” (Hamlet 1.2.95,97). Scorning one's own family by saying that they "behave like a woman" and that the grief they feel over the death of another family member is even condemned by the God(s) of heaven does not can be interpreted as an act of compassion or goodwill. Claudius's speech towards Hamlet is a direct insult both to him and to the king's obligation to justly serve and protect the interests of those close to him. Once the ghost of King Hamlet informs his son of Claudius' regicidal act, Hamlet responds by playing a role of madness. . Claudius, worrying about the motive for Hamlet's sudden change, summons Rosencrantz and Guildenstern "to lure him to pleasures and to gather / All that you can glean second-hand" (Hamlet 2.2.15-16 ). At first glance, this may seem like an act of family concern for the well-being of his nephew, but just as Hamlet plays a role, so too does Claudius play a role. Continually throughout the play, Claudius offers a front of compassion only when Gertrude and others are present. His real commitments are not aimed at young Hamlet's mental clarity, but at improving his own fortunes and increasing the frequency of visits to his incest bed. As Claudius himself cries in 3.3, his reasons for usurping the throne are not to improve the lives of his brother's family, but for "My crown, my own ambition, and my queen" (Hamlet 3.3.55). Thus, when Claudius says "To draw him to pleasures" (Hamlet 2.2.15), it is a facade of compassionate speech aimed specifically at pleasing Queen Gertrude; his next phrase, "to gather / As much as you can glean in occasion" (Hamlet 2.2.15-16) also appeals to the queen's concern for her son, but it overtly reflects the queen's own fears and anxieties.Claude that delusional Hamlet could upset. his newly acquired kingdom. Claudius constantly pretends to have this kind of compassion for Hamlet in order to appease his queen, but when she is not present, he thinks about how to justify sending Hamlet to England, and later with Laertes about how to succeed and permanent sending of him. But with so much overwhelming evidence portraying Claudius's engagement with Hamlet and Gertrude as subversive, selfish, and hypocritical, it is quite easy to overlook the political impact of King Claudius's reign on the state of Denmark. In the first speech of Claudius's play in 1.2, he immediately establishes a commitment of the state before the family. He acknowledges his brother's death and brandishes him as a once "valiant" being, but then quickly tackles the problem of the young Norwegian Fortinbras who is planning an attack on Denmark. He gives his messengers Voltimand and Cornelius strict orders, giving them "no personal power / To do business with the king beyond the scope" of his letter commands (Hamlet 1.2.36-37). Instead of delving into reflection on his brother's death and Hamlet's grief, he places his responsibility for the safety of the general public on a higher pedestal than that of his own family's well-being. Thanks to Claudius' diplomatic efforts, the Norwegian king thwarted his young nephew's plans to attack Denmark, and Norway agreed to obey King Claudius's will. Not only does Claudius successfully use his sovereign power to foil a Norwegian war against the people of Denmark, but he also leads them to a victory over England that benefits them. Claudius alludes to this victory in 4.3 when he says: "Since yet thy scar seems raw and red / After the Danish sword and thy wanton fear / Doth us homage —" (Hamlet 4.3.64-66); the scar being "raw and red" implies that the war was recent and fought during his reign, and now the English must in turn serve and revere the power of the king and people of Denmark. This victory was another political victory for the state of Denmark during the reign of Claudius. While Claudius may fail domestically but succeed politically as a sovereign ruler, King Lear offers himself no such victory on either front. He begins the play in 1.1 with blatant disregard for the interests of both his daughters and the Kingdom of Great Britain by dividing the country into sections for inheritance based on a false show of love that he concocts himself in order to stroke his own ego. But when his only faithful daughter, Cordelia, refuses to join in the game of shameful deception with her sisters Regan and Goneril, Lear denounces and banishes Cordelia, saying, "for we / have no such daughter, and shall never see / this face she has. again” (Lear 1.1.266-269). The loyal Earl of Kent attempts to intervene peacefully in the face of Lear's impetuous denunciations of Cordelia, but Lear then banishes Kent as well, calling him a "vassal" and an "unbeliever", threatening to kill him if he does not does not disappear from the interior lands. ten days (Lear 1.1.164-181). Lear's dismissive and contemptuous remarks to Cordelia and Kent must be interpreted as a dereliction of his paternal duties towards his daughter and as a lack of respect for the apparent interests of Britain as a whole. As we later find out, Goneril and Regan have no love for their father and they show this repeatedly by putting him in the rain and plotting his death. But it is Cordelia who proves humble, grateful and compassionate despite her father's actions towards her - but Lear does not extend his care to Cordelia, only because she does not wish., 2009.