While Hamlet and Claudius go back and forth between who opposes whom, the line is blurred between who demonstrates the protagonist role. Although there are countless examples of controversy in this play, one important circumstance leads us as readers to believe that Claudius is indeed the protagonist of the play, Hamlet. When Claudius sets Hamlet off for England in an attempt to have him murdered, we don't follow Hamlet's journey, but we do have a major shift in focus to Claudius and what he is doing. We get an inside view of how Claudius begins to manipulate the people around him, and we delve into the structure of Claudius' character when Hamlet is absent. While Hamlet is absent for three full scenes, the only way we learn of his journey is in a short letter he sends to his trusted friend, Horatio. As Horatio reads Hamlet's letter to him, he discovers that a pirate ship has attacked the boat bound for England and has held Hamlet captive. The letter reads: “They treated me like thieves of mercy; but they knew what they were doing; I must do them good” (IV.vi.19-21). All the attention between Act 4, Scene 5 and Act 4, Scene 7, when Hamlet is on a boat, is on Claudius. Hamlet simply gets a little acknowledgment of where he is and what he is doing for three full scenes. If Hamlet were to be the protagonist, Shakespeare would not have used deus ex machina on a protagonist, and would not have followed what is.