The play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s, uses deaths to emphasize the idea of ​​mortality throughout the play. The deaths that occur so frequently in the play are used to atone for the wrongs committed by the characters at the beginning of the play. Two notable deaths that occur are the death of King Claudius and Ophelia. All these characters have wronged one or more people and at the end of the work they have all paid for their wrongs by being murdered or committing suicide. Claudio is the antagonist in this play, in simpler words, the villain. He is the brother of the now deceased King of Denmark, Hamlet. Claudius kills his brother and does so in a way that feels like death has claimed him naturally. He therefore hurries to marry Queen Gertrude, as a favor to the state of Denmark. Claudius is calculating throughout the play and will do anything to stay in power: including killing his current wife's son, his nephew, Hamlet. Throughout the play, Hamlet becomes a threat to the crown and the power he holds. To overcome this, Claudius confides to Laertes that Hamlet was the cause of Polonius' death. In an act of revenge Laertes plans his act “I will. And for this purpose I will anoint my sword. I bought an anointing of a montacro, so deadly that, but dipping a knife into it, where it draws blood, no poultice so rare, collected from all the simple who have virtue under the moon, can save from death what is only scratched furthermore. I will touch the point with this contagion, which if I slightly irritated it could be death” (4.7.139-148). This works wonderfully in Claudio's favor. With Laertes plotting to avenge his father, Claudius won't have to get his hands dirty again, and... middle of paper......lia should have been loyal to her love interest and yet she was. to her father who told her to spy on Hamlet and find out if his love for her was the source of his madness. This deception is what led to his death. Claudius was supposed to be loyal to several people in the state of Denmark, but especially to King Hamlet, his brother. When Claudius killed his brother for the crown, he broke the loyalty he had to Denmark. King Hamlet's ghost appeared to Hamlet and told him that he must be avenged, which was the overall reason for Hamlet's madness. Claudius' death was the conclusion of the play because his death was the goal of the entire play. Those who died, died for the actions they had committed and in the end everything returned to its place when all their wrongs were washed away with their deaths. Their mortality is over and their wrongs have been atoned for.