The new king of Denmark, Claudius allows us to analyze this theme of appearance versus reality. Since many do not know the manner in which the elderly Hamlet died, King Claudius acts as if he seems to care deeply for his brother and grieves over his death. Claudius feigns sadness at the loss of his brother when speaking to the others, "and that it became us / to bear our hearts in sorrow, and all our kingdom / to be contracted upon a brow of sorrow" (Shakespeare I.2.2-4), but to the public his lies are obvious. We know that Claudius killed his brother to take the throne, and he doesn't actually care or grieve for his brother. His goal has been achieved, but he pretends to suffer together with his new wife and the people. Claudius sees his brother's murder as something heavenly because it helped him achieve his goal of becoming king: "Oh, my offense is a rank, it stinks to high heaven / It has not the oldest primordial curse, the murder of a brother" (Shakespeare 3.3. 36-38). He is proud of the act and sees it as a necessary act. It is clear that Claudio has a dark interior that the audience can clearly see when the other characters are not present. Claudio also fakes the love he feels towards his nephew and stepson,