First Impressions of Claudius

When Claudius is introduced in 1.2, he comes across as a suspicious sovereign. Throughout his speech, he uses antitheses such as "mirth"(1.2.12) and "dirge" (1.2.12) to degrade his suspicious actions. He degrades the severity of his brothers death, the late king and Hamlet, and his marriage that soon followed his brothers funeral to his sister-in-law, Gertrude. For instance, he explains how he married Gertrude for the "better wisdoms" (12.2.15) of the country.  This makes me question whether or not he murdered his brother as a means to take the throne or for his love for Gertrude. He quickly diverges from this matter in his speech, and notes that he will send Voltimand and Cornilius to Norway to give a letter to the King, Young Fortinbras’s uncle. He explains how he hopes the King of Norway will use his power to hinder his nephews plans to instigate war as revenge for his fathers death and the conquest of Norway by the late Hamlet. He makes note of this in his speech to come across as a good ruler trying to create diplomatic relations. However, he suspiciously wants Fortinbras to follow through with his plans and start a war with his weak army that Claudius can he can easily overcome with his powerful army. I predict that Claudius will continue to be a suspicious character throughout the play and as the story climaxes, it will eventually be revealed whether or not he murdered his brother.