Final answer:
Claudius's listing of his spoils underscores his role as a ruler and exposes his ambition and guilt, highlighting the complexities of his character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Claudius lists the spoils of his deeds (“My crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen...”), it is significant because it emphasizes his role as a ruler and reveals the heavy price of his actions. By placing the crown first, Claudius demonstrates that his quest for power was the driving force behind his deeds, including the murder of his brother, King Hamlet. His mention of the Queen, Gertrude, highlights how his ambition was intertwined with personal desire, showing less of his love for Gertrude and more of his pride in acquiring her as part of his gains. This confession, coming during a moment of repentance, also exposes his guilt and the internal conflict between his wicked deeds and his search for absolution, underscoring the complex nature of his character within Shakespeare's play Hamlet.