king claudius is actually the funniest character in hamlet
the guy spends most of the play unable to understand why he feels so guilty despite having literally just murdered his brother, married his wife a couple of months after he was laid to rest and spent all his free time thotting it up in court and then when he finally realises, only thanks to watching a play where he’s the villain mind you, that what he did was, in fact, Bad, instead of repenting for his sins or promising to lead the kingdom better to make up for it or something he just snaps and is like “i cannot fucking WAIT to kill my nephew”
‘hamlet’s letter to horatio’ (hamlet, act iv scene vi) // ‘the satan pit’ (doctor who, series 2 episode 9) //
‘rumbling’ (welcome to night vale, year 3 episode 51)
shakespeare really wrote a scene where hamlet says “horatio, you’re the only motherfucker on the planet who can handle me” and then, when horatio gets flustered by the compliment, follows it up with “yeah you’re my best friend but i’d be dtf if you asked… anyway i’ve said too much wanna help me commit treason against my stepdad”
hamlet: yeah we’re bros but i’d let you smash
As a Shakespeare professional I can confirm that this is a valid read of these lines.
high school english teachers watching baby gays in their class talk about how hamlet is actually a very relatable and sympathetic character who is misunderstood by the other characters and critics
