Death, Decay and Disease in Hamlet
Within ‘Hamlet’, Shakespeare makes a number of references to Denmark's degraded state due to the deceit that lies within. These references are made by Hamlet, Horatio as well as the apparition, thus enforcing the strong theme of death, decay and disease.
As aforementioned Hamlets makes a number of references to Denmark. Preceding the death of his father and the marriage of his mother, his mental state begins to fall into demise . Although he appears to not have much courage at first, his focus remains on avenging his father whose murder is described as being "most foul." As noted in one of Hamlet's first soliloquies, his downward spiral has already began and already he is contemplating suicide; "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew (I, II, 130)" and "seems to me all the uses of this world... Things rank and gross in nature posses it merely (I, II, 136)." To be degrading to be thinking of imagery including flesh melting shows that Hamlet is not in the state that he ought to be in. Furthermore Shakespeare encourages us to empathize with these emotions by using such rich descriptions.
It could be perhaps argued that Hamlet's state of mind which has become debased, but this is until Horatio claims, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I, IV, 90)." The notion of festering carrion being a metaphor for King Hamlets death epitomizes this notion. The ghost furthers this idea by stating at the moment of his death, his skin became "Most lazar-like with vile and loathsome crust all my smooth body (I, V, 72)." This attempts the elucidate on the feeling of death almost like becoming like a leper before death finally takes its toll.
Decay also becomes a strong theme weighing heavily on Hamlet's mind. Whilst talking to Polonius he says, "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion (II, II, 182)." Although Polonius' appears not to notice this, we can see the constant references to death being made by Shakespeare’s tools, i.e. the characters. Moreover associated with Shakespeare's use of decay and disease imagery is his use of horror, "Roasted in wrath and fire thus o'ersized with coagulate gore (II, II, 431)," is a perfect example of this.
In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, poison, decay, and rotting are motifs that can be related to the theme breaking down of society, or the downfall of the state of Denmark, during this time in Hamlet’s life. Considering Claudius’s malicious acts to gain the throne, one can say he is being punished by God, and since he is the king, the punishment reflects the state of the kingdom of Denmark as well. As the play progresses, references to rotten things, repellent animals, and vile circumstances are mentioned numerous times, and one can make a connection to these allusions as the truth about Claudius is revealed, and other corrupt events unravel.
From past experiences in ones life, whether it be the death of a long aged gold fish to a deceased elder, one knows the pain and suffering that goes on afterwards. For one to finally move on and continue life without a tear in their eyes may take a while, yet having that immense step means to put the emotions aside and live life. Hamlet's father was murdered, and he soon sees his mother move on so quickly and marries his uncle, to continue being the queen. Hamlet's love for his father does not fade away within a two month span like his mother; he refuses to accept the fact that his father was killed, instead of a natural death. Because of this, Hamlet does not know what to do with his life. He mentions "O, that this too too sallied flesh would melt,/ Or that the Everlasting had not fixed/ His canon `against self-slaughter" (129-132). Immediately does Hamlet questions the existence of his own life, as he feels the need to melt and disappear, ultimately referring to suicide. The problem we face...
Both of Hughes’ paternal great-grandmothers were African American and both of his paternal great-grandfathers were white slave owners of Kentucky. Langston Hughes was the second child of schoolteacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. He grew up in a series of Midwestern small towns in Missouri. Hughes's father left his family and later divorced Carrie, going to Cuba, and then Mexico, seeking to escape the enduring racism in the United States (“Biography of Langston Hughes”). His grandmother raised him until he was thirteen (as his father had left him and his mother at a young age) when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband. They, later, settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Hughes started writing poetry when he was in Lincoln (“Langston Hughes”).
The primary objective in “The Fall of the House of Usher” is to give the reader a sense of horror. Through the creation of elaborate imagery and dreary circumstances Poe conveys a story that elicits in the reader the dark feelings he has hoped for. In this analysis I will focus on Poe’s characters and setting, and how he structures them to produce the overall effect.
...be a black person in his time. He used his Poetry in sense to speak out against racism. African American Voices.Conneticutt:The Millbrook Press, 1995
Hamlet is left so distraught by his father 's death and his mother’s quick remarriage of his father’s brother that he wishes to die. Hamlet begins his soliloquy with a metaphor that shows his desire for death: “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw,
“So shall you hear of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, of accidental judgements, casual slaughters, of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause”, (Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2, Lines 381-384). Horatio, best friend of Prince Hamlet, says this in the final lines of the play. He says this after Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, Hamlet, Claudius, King of Denmark, and Laertes, son of Polonius all die in the battle between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet, King of Denmark, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, former friends of Hamlet, Polonius, councillor to the King, and Ophelia, daughter of Polonius are also dead. Death is a very important theme in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Hamlet's obsession with death also fuels his desire for revenge, for instance when he revisits the ghost and he explains how he died. Hamlet, saying, "O my prophetic soul! My uncle'" (1.5.48), realizes that Cla...
The basis of one 's mortality and the complications of life and death are talked about from the opening of Hamlet. In the mist of his father 's death, Hamlet is having a hard time not thinking about and considering the meaning of life and how life ends. Many questions emerge as the story progresses. There was so many question that Hamlet contemplated. He was constantly worrying that is he revenged on his fathers’ death then what would happen. He would ask himself questions like, what happens when and how you die? Do kings go to heaven? If I kill, will I go to heaven?
Major life changes bring about the rise of Hamlet's insanity. The play begins with Hamlet returning home to Denmark to discover that his father had died. Aside from his father's death, Hamlet also had to accept that his mother was now married to his father's brother, Claudius. In Hamlet's first soliloquy preceding his father's death, he tells the audience “O that this too, too solid flesh would melt. Or that the Everlasting had not fixed, His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!”(Act 1. Scene 2. lines 130-133) This gives us a brief preview of Hamlet's mental state in the beginning of the play. Hamlet is extremely depressed and admits that but says it would be a sin to kill himself. Hamlet goes on to describe the world as "weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable" and compares it to an "unweeded garden” (Act 1. Scene 2. lines 133-135). Hamlet shows red flags for depression; however, he seems to be reacting as a normal person would to the death of a loved one, losing a sense of understanding and love fo...
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic play about murder, betrayal, revenge, madness, and moral corruption. It touches upon philosophical ideas such as existentialism and relativism. Prince Hamlet frequently questions the meaning of life and the degrading of morals as he agonizes over his father’s murder, his mother’s incestuous infidelity, and what he should or shouldn’t do about it. At first, he is just depressed; still mourning the loss of his father as his mother marries his uncle. After he learns about the treachery of his uncle and the adultery of his mother, his already negative countenance declines further. He struggles with the task of killing Claudius, feeling burdened about having been asked to find a solution to a situation that was forced upon him.Death is something he struggles with as an abstract idea and as relative to himself. He is able to reconcile with the idea of death and reality eventually.
Death threads its way through the entirety of Hamlet, from the opening scene’s confrontation with a dead man’s ghost to the blood bath of the final scene, which occurs as a result of the disruption of the natural order of Denmark. Hamlet is a man with suicidal tendencies which goes against his Christian beliefs as he is focused on the past rather than the future, which causes him to fall into the trap of inaction on his path of revenge. Hamlet’s moral dilemma stems from the ghost’s appearance as “a spirit of health or a goblin damned”, making Hamlet decide whether it brings with...
Owen shows us the physical horrors of war very effectively yet his poems stretch beyond that and delves into the unspoken feelings and emotions of those who are effected by the war indirectly. He tries to bring the horrors of war to the reader in the last verse of each poem. Simply, in war there is the horror and there is the pity. Owen offers the reader so much more insight into the horrors of war by showing the pity. With this the reader empathises with the speaker and therefore becomes more involved. Owen's poetry questions so much more than the visual atrocities that enable his poems to have an effect on people today. As Wilfred Owen said 'My topic is war and the pity of war, the poetry is in the pity'.
In the first act of Hamlet, Hamlet uses imagery of disease to describe the state of Denmark. He is unhappy with what has happened with the country. "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark." He is describing how disgusted he is with his mother and how she is sleeping with his uncle using images of disease. "It will but skin and film the ulcerous place / Whiles rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen." The imagery of disease is a main factor in this story and is used in large amounts. It shows a feeling of disgust that Hamlet has with the surrounding situation in the play and his life.
Hamlet was published around 1605 by William Shakespeare. It depicts a tragic play of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, who slowly gets destroyed by corruption that occurs around him. The previous king, Hamlet Sr.,got murdered by his brother, Claudius who desired the power he had. After Hamlet’s father dies, his mother marries his uncle right away which drove Hamlet to killing Polonuis, Ophelia to suicide, and brought Laertes and Hamlet to their own deaths. Throughout ‘Hamlet’, Shakespeare uses techniques to reflect the Christian belief of God, while using decay to resemble corruption that goes on. Decay means to slowly be demolished by the natural process of life. Shakespeare uses imagery of decay and decomposition to dispense the corruption that takes place in ‘Hamlet’.