Act IV, Scene 1:

Claudius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern all enter the queen’s room. Upset over her confrontation with Hamlet, Gertrude dismisses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern before explaining what happened. She says that Hamlet, in a fit of madness, thrust his sword through the tapestry and killed Polonius. Remarking that it easily could have been him behind the tapestry, Claudius declares that Hamlet is a danger to them all. Aware that this is a delicate political situation, Claudius wonders how he can handle Polonius’s murder without being blamed for it. He decides that Hamlet must be sent to England at dawn, admitting that it will take all his skills to smooth over Polonius’s death with the court. He calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern back, ordering them to find Hamlet and take Polonius’s body to the chapel.

Analysis:

Claudius’s role as the play’s villain is cemented in these four short scenes. His reaction to the news that Hamlet has killed Polonius emphasizes his scheming personality. Tellingly, his first concern is not for Gertrude, who actually witnessed the murder, but for himself: “Oh heavy deed! / It had been so with us had we been there.” Claudius is upset by the murder only insofar as it might hurt him politically, for he worries that he will receive the blame: “Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered? / It will be laid to us.” Claudius further admits that it will take all his “majesty and skill” to escape being tainted by Polonius’s murder, demonstrating his sensitivity to the political ramifications of recent events.

Viewing Hamlet as both a physical and political threat, Claudius is determined to eliminate him as soon as possible. His decision to have Hamlet killed in England demonstrates both his lack of moral integrity and his political cunning . Aware that Hamlet is beloved by Gertrude and the people, Claudius knows he cannot publicly arrest or kill him. Instead, Claudius comes up with a villainous plot to have Hamlet dispatched in secrecy, calling to mind the sneaky way in which Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father. While act III showed the audience that Claudius does feel burdened by guilt, act IV makes it clear that this will not stop him from committing further sins.

As Claudius descends further into wickedness, Hamlet’s own moral integrity is now seriously in question. He self-righteously criticizes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for soaking up the king’s favors like sponges, yet Hamlet’s own moral transgressions seem to far outweigh Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s inept attempts to report on his behavior to Claudius. In addition to killing Polonius, Hamlet has emotionally tormented Gertrude and Ophelia, two women whom he previously claimed to care for. While these actions were arguably taken in the service of his revenge, this justification for Hamlet's behavior wears thin as his revenge drags on. In fact, Hamlet now seems to have hurt nearly everyone but Claudius. At this juncture, it is difficult to know whether Hamlet truly feels guilty for the pain that he has caused, and his flippant refusals to reveal what he has done with Polonius’s body further erode his claim to the moral high ground. At this point, it is difficult to determine whether Hamlet is merely being callous or whether his apparent indifference to murder is the result of a deteriorated mental state.