Question

What might this analogy spoken by King Claudius reveal?

"The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plastering art,
Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it
Than is my deed to my most painted word.
The wh*re’s pockmarked cheek made pretty with make-up is just like the ugly actions I’m disguising with fine words."
A.) Claudius shows his confusion by mixing up Laertes' wild activities in Paris with his own (Claudius') crimes.
B.) Claudius is fully aware of the filth of his crime.
C.) Claudius wishes he too could go to Paris, live the wild life and forget this horrific situation he has created.
D.) Claudius enjoys using cunning words to cover ugly actions.

Answer 1

King Claudius's analogy between a harlot's cosmetic deceit and his own deceptive words reveals his conscious awareness of his moral corruption, aligning with thematic Roman views of cosmetics as deceit.

Step-by-step explanation:

The analogy King Claudius makes by comparing his deceptive words to a harlot beautifying herself with makeup suggests his deep awareness of the moral corruption of his actions. Claudius is fully aware of his wrongdoing and the disparity between his words and his deeds. This self-awareness is not mixed with confusion or desire for a different lifestyle but is a straightforward admission of his guilt cloaked by his eloquence. He uses the illustration of cosmetics as a means of deceit, a common theme in Roman literature, where writers like Juvenal, Horace, and Ovid drew parallels between cosmetics and the act of disguising one's true self or intentions.