#also the shg has taken over my brain rn and horatio’s distrust of royalty is a big part of his character in that

[moonlarked]

The idea that Horatio’s “why, what a king is this!” is directed at Hamlet instead of Claudius isn’t a new take, I’ve seen many posts on it, but most of those posts see Horatio’s words insinuating that Hamlet is somehow losing his worthiness as king by killing Ros and Guil. That Hamlet has gone too far in his pursuit of vengeance.

And that’s all well and good, but I want to see these words uttered by a Horatio who had long grown disillusioned by the monarchy. A Horatio who had been looked down his whole life by Hamlet’s peers. A Horatio who was originally drawn to Hamlet because he sensed that Hamlet wasn’t just another royal, that Hamlet could genuinely see him as a person.

This Horatio isn’t proclaiming that Hamlet is no longer able to be kingly. This Horatio is telling Hamlet that he’s growing into the kind of person that Horatio despises. The kind of person that would sacrifice two courtiers simply because it was his divine right to be king. Because that’s what Hamlet says beforehand, right? That Ros and Guil should’ve just stayed out of it?

And Hamlet, knowing Horatio’s attitude toward the other royals from their time at school together, would know exactly what Horatio means by this. It’s the worst kind of insult, especially from someone you love. It’s telling him that Horatio doesn’t know him anymore.