1) In Claudius's first set of lines, we learn that he cares about the general public's opinion of nobility, especially Hamlet. He knows that if anything violent were to happen toward Hamlet in Denmark, then the people would be extremely upset and there would be an impending riot. Because Claudius wants to smooth over Polonius's death as quickly as possible, Claudius would be tense and curt when talking to Hamlet about the location of the dead body. The actor playing Claudius would be impatient with Hamlet, and in this scene, Claudius may start to get the feeling that Hamlet is playing with him and is not acting himself.
2) Claudius's main objective in this scene is to find the body of Polonius. He seems to want to dispose of it properly and make sure that the people of Denmark don't think too much of it. Claudius wants everything to be under control again, and he wants Hamlet out of the picture. He doesn't need anymore of Hamlet's crazy antics.
3) Claudius seems frustrated that Hamlet won't reveal the location of Polonius's body, and he sees Hamlet as a threat to the order of the castle as well as his secret.
4) In this scene, Hamlet seems to tell Claudius to go to hell, claiming that he may run into Polonius while he is there. It can also be inferred that Claudius may end up there sooner than he thinks. Also, when Claudius refers to himself as Hamlet's loving father, Hamlet refuses to recognize this. Claudius tries to rectify this, but Hamlet again rebukes him. It seems as if Claudius has had enough with Hamlet.
5) Claudius adds an air of tension to his scenes with Hamlet. We don't know if he will ever find out for certain that Hamlet is on to him, but we know he knows that something is not right. Claudius is relieved to see Hamlet leave his presence for (supposedly) the last time, for we find out that Claudius has ordered for his execution in England.
6) Claudius is extremely important to this scene once we find out that he has ordered for Hamlet's execution in England. Here, we find out for certain that he sees Hamlet as a threat and will go to violent measures to ensure that Hamlet doesn't mess around anymore. I didn't really gain any insights about Hamlet in this scene, except for that fact that he doesn't think highly of Claudius at all (which we already knew). Claudius cares about upholding his reputation while trying to kill Hamlet at the same time. This is an interesting point in contrast to the fact that Hamlet is quite the opposite. He has the goal of killing Claudius, however, he doesn't seem to care about what people think of him along the way. He acts crazy and doesn't think (or seem to care) about what effect his actions may have on peoples' thoughts of him.
7) I'm interested to see how Claudius will react whee he finds out that Hamlet is returning to Denmark and will not be killed inEngland as planned.
8) I know now that Claudius does not love Hamlet and sees him as a huge threat to his control over Gertrude, Denmark, and its people. Else he would not go to such great lengths to ensure that he is killed.
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