Remorse

Sorrowful Claudius appears in Act III Scene iii, desperate for holy forgiveness. Claudius appears alone in a room, illumined by a hanging light which constructs on his solitude. As he tries to ask for forgiveness he states: “Pray can I not, / Though inclination be as sharp as will” (Act III, Scene iii). We see him looking down at his hands, those hands that murdered his brother for ambition, and he doesn’t see how he can be dissolved of his crime, for his will isn’t righteous enough to be forgiven. It is interesting how hands are related to acting, to deciding what to do. The idea of having Claudius look down at his hands reflects such an incapacity of action, of remorse for his actions.

Shakespeare continues presenting this remorse, forgiveness theme when Claudius asks: “What if this cursèd hand / Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood? / Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens / To wash it white as snow?” (Act III, Scene iii). Is there a limit for forgiveness? Is there a crime that can’t be forgotten? Claudius brings this up, as he continues looking at those sinful hands, at those perpetrators of the living. I think it is interesting how Claudius develops this sense of guilt through Act III, how the results of Hamlet’s fathers assassination doesn’t begin with other individuals but with Claudius himself.

I don’t know how somebody that has killed must feel like, but I have felt remorse for my actions. As I consider Claudius’ sin, I question the idea of sinning, is there some occasion where assassination is moral? Are there exceptions to the moral grounds? It is interesting how so many people are involved with determining this, and how varied laws are around the world on the subject of murder. Is killing somebody in Colombia somewhat different from killing someone in the US, for example? How can there be international consensus in such matters? Who has the final word? The church? The government? Ourselves? Maybe guilt is the ultimate form of law, the universal crime punisher for all humans with a conscience.