In the beginning of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet sarcastically speaks for the first in the play about Claudius. In the Elsinore Castle in Denmark, the King has called order in the court to talk over the Denmark Regime. The King "But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son-" (Act I, Scene II, 64) calls to his son, Hamlet, replying sarcastically under his breath, "A little more than kin, and less than kind!" Hamlet is speaking of Claudius, now his uncle and step father. "...and less than kind!" meaning he is not considerate, natural blood, and of real family. Many can say a step- is a lot less than kind and not quite even kin.