Claudius' Manipulation of Laertes

-King Claudius uses his skills of manipulation to turn Laertes' anger, due to the death of his father, from himself to Hamlet. Laertes stormed into the castle demanding to speak to Claudius. Claudius used Laertes' anger as a tool to turn him against Hamlet. King Claudius skillfully calmed down Laertes, and then refocused his anger against Hamlet. Claudius states to Laertes: "That I am guiltless of your father's death..." The King is successful in manipulating Laertes to want to seek revenge for his father by killing Hamlet. The irony of the situation is that Claudius is really at fault for the death of Polonius because he is the one that made Polonius spy on Hamlet. King Claudius manipulated Laertes to do what he wanted through his use of eloquent speech, which Claudius has been effectively using through the play.