The moral of his rambling is that, because a man may fish with a worm that has eaten the body of a king, and afterwards eat the fish he has caught, that man has, in essence, devoured a king. Thus, the king passes through the stomach of a beggar and only the worm reigns supreme. Even so, the worm, the king, and the beggar are equal now — they are all dead. Elaborately, Hamlet has called the King a worm.
Hamlet’s horror and amusement over death underscore his ambivalence toward his duty. He will reiterate several more times his paradoxical will to die and fear of death before he finally commits his act of vengeance. Yet, he never fails to show his love for the feel of the words he prattles. He allows the words to linger on his tongue; he swills them around and savors them, even when seemingly out of his mind.
Claudius responds by banishing Hamlet to England, and Hamlet tells Claudius that he knows the King’s purpose in sending him away. Claudius apparently misses or overlooks the warning and chooses instead to respond to Hamlet’s insulting, “Farewell, Mother.” Claudius corrects him, offering him an opportunity to apologize. Hamlet then completes the insult by explaining that because man and wife are of one flesh, Claudius is indeed Hamlet’s mother. With this insult, Hamlet digs another barb into Claudius about the incest, which always weighs on Hamlet’s mind. Claudius finally perceives the depth of the danger Hamlet poses and entreats Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to hurry him to England to get him out of the way. Although unknown to everyone but the audience, Claudius now sees that he must instruct the king of England to kill Hamlet. The lines between good and evil appear clearly now as the gray areas that have masked Claudius’ dark purposes vanish. Claudius’ evolution into the consummate villain is complete.
