Hamlet and dies, and Hamlet, after being struck by the poisoned foil, captures the same sword and strikes Laertes, who then finally reveals Claudius' plot. As Norway's army, led by young Prince Fortinbras, surrounds the castle, Hamlet finally exacts his revenge and slays Claudius by stabbing him with the sword and then forcing him to drink the poison that he had intended for Hamlet. Interpretation The character Claudius is both the major antagonist of the piece and a complex individual. He is the villain of the piece, as he admits to himself: "O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven" (Act III, Scene 3, Line 40), yet his remarkable self-awareness and remorse complicates Claudius's villain status, much like Macbeth. (Abraham Lincoln held that the "...my offence is rank..." monologue by Claudius was superior to the "To be, or not to be" monologue by Hamlet.) Claudius's fratricide is the corruption permeating the play's world – that which is, in the words of Marcellus (a guard), "something … rotten in the state of Denmark." Shakespeare reminds the audience of the crime several times by having characters mention the story of Cain and Abel, including Claudius himself, who admits being inflicted with "the primal eldest curse." Claudius's cruelty is reflected in his schemes to kill Hamlet – sending him to England to be killed, as well as setting up a rigged fencing match. Claudius is also a heavy drinker, proposing numerous toasts and presiding over a rowdy court; he appropriately succumbs to his own poisoned wine. The king is not without redeeming virtues, though. He is seen to be an able monarch (notwithstanding the unfavourable comparison to his murdered predecessor in Hamlet's first soliloquy) as well as a smart thinker and smooth talker, who in Act IV, Scene 5 converts Laertes from rebel to accomplice. In Act III, Claudius bludgeons, and attempts to pray in Scene 3, even as he realises that he cannot sincerely repent ("Words without thoughts never to heaven go"), and eventually continues in his evil ways. Most commentators agree that the king's evil nature is evident, and that the other aspects of his nature exemplify Shakespeare's ability to portray his villains as fully human. The king is named after the Roman emperor Claudius, who was considered the archetype of an evil ruler in Shakespeare's time. The historical Claudius's incestuous marriage to and alleged poisoning by Agrippina the Younger,