Claudius and Gertrude: The Lion and his loyal follower

In the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare assigns different speech patterns to each character. This gives each character a distinct personality and brings different tones to the play. One of the most unique speech patterns in Hamlet is that of Claudius, who is, more than anything, manipulative. Another character who certainly uses similar language, but not quite as extreme, is Gertrude. Both Claudius and Gertrude try to mask their ill-intended implications by using kind and friendly tones, although Gertrude is more genuine than Claudius.