Corruption in Hamlet
William Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest of English writers. What set this story apart from others at the time was that the appearance of the ghost was used as a plot device but also as an untrustworthy character. This play is known as a “revenge-tragedy- a play in which the hero discovers that a close relative has been murdered, experiences considerable trouble in identifying the murderer, and, after overcoming numerous obstacles avenges the death by killing the murderer.”(Book). William Shakespeare uses the dramatic elements of plot, character, and dialogue to illustrate the theme of corruption in Hamlet.
William Shakespeare uses the dramatic element of plot to illustrate the theme of corruption in Hamlet. This
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The most corrupted in Hamlet was Claudius since he became more corrupt as the story went on. Aside from killing his brother King Hamlet he then proceeded to marry his sister in law Gertrude so that he himself could become king. As Goldstein said,” Further, Gertrude’s hasty marriage shows, according to Hamlet that in her “reason panders will”; that is, reason becomes a procurer, obtain for the will what it desires-marriage with Claudius”, (pg. 76). In doing this he also corrupted Gertrude to his will. Then to keep his reign as king he plotted with Laertes to kill Prince Hamlet. Once again he is corrupted as he plots to murder another family member for power. Another heavily corrupted was our protagonist Prince Hamlet himself. His path of corruption started off when his father asked him to seek vengeance on Claudius for murdering him .Then while on this path of vengeance Hamlet kills Polonius believing him to be Claudius hiding behind the curtains. In doing this Hamlet corrupts his own soul by murdering a relatively innocent man. His father then sets him back on the path of murdering Claudius when he comes to remind him of his goal since hamlet has not made much progress. This was elaborated by Stirling here”, The necessary trap has been laid and has done its work; Hamlet has been a shrewd avenger in refusing to Claudius at a prayer; and how he is at the point of redeeming his mother” …show more content…
Corruption can be seen when Marcellus tells Horatio,” Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Hamlet). The first problem can is the amount of drunken merriment going on in the castle soon after King Hamlet’s death. Hamlet believes all this drinking corrupts the state. Then he goes on to say how being in a drunken state to perform corrupt acts and act in a corrupt manner. Another corruption going on at the time is them celebrating the marriage of Claudius and Gertrude. Hamlet thinks it is disgusting that his mother married her brother in law. He feels this way partly because of the belief that Claudius is not close to being the man that his father King Hamlet was. Then when King Hamlet was talking to Prince Hamlet he had told him,” Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange and unnatural” (Hamlet). King hamlet here is speaking of how Claudius had murdered him. Claudius had corrupted himself when he had committed this murder. Then despite what he just said King Hamlet asks his son to murder Claudius. In doing this he starts Prince Hamlet down a path of corruption that eventually leads to his own
Claudius is responsible for the death of King Hamlet, regardless of this, he wants to portray himself as someone that is worthy of running the nation of Denmark. Claudius connects to the people of Denmark by demonstrating that they are all participating in the grieving of King Hamlet, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief” (I.ii.1-3). King Hamlet’s death is very recent, but Claudius places himself as someone that is part of the kingdom that will be mourning the death of King Hamlet. This is demonstrated through irony since instead of mourning he is actually enjoying what King Hamlet has left behind; the nation of Denmark and his wife, Gertrude. Through this, Claudius also demonstrates that he wants others to believe that he has not done anything wrong. In order to convey the image of being healthy, Claudius and his court drink merrily within the castle; making the excesses that the court enjoys apparent. Hamlet is not fond of the drinking but then comes to the conclusion that “His virtues else, be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, Shall in the general censure take corruption” (I.iv.33-35). Hamlet then foreshadows his own destiny. No matter how good a person may be, that person can become corrupt due to something that has ...
Hamilton, Judith. "SOMETHING IS ROTTEN…’ In Hamlet's Denmark: Claudius as Perverse And Psychopathic Character." Psyart (2011): 3.Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 May 2014.
A malicious disease, with no cure, that leads to death is called corruption. Each of the characters in Hamlet infected, led astray from their sense of morality, loyalty, and justice. Ultimately finding death as their curse. The seed of the disease sprouted in the biblical misdeed of Claudius, murdering his brother. It spread in his incestuous marriage to Gertrude, and infected even the righteous Hamlet. When he decided to take up the cause of his father's ghost and the necessary vengeance. The survival and success of both Horatio and Fortinbras, both free of corruption, help to highlight how the infection of the disease known as corruption is incurable and must end in death.
Those who are in power and high in social class dirty laundry can be seen anywhere on the news, the internet, and other sorts of media daily. The media reveals to us how some people that are high in status and power can go through some of the craziest scandals known to man. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet there are many scandals happen all at once. One scandal that happens in Hamlet is the unexpected and rapid marriage of King Claudius and Queen Gertrude. This union between the King and Queen nearly drives poor Hamlet crazy to the point where people think he has really lost his mind. Hamlet is caught in total disbelief when this is brought to his attention by his mother and uncle. In Act 1, Scene 2 Hamlet sates that, “She married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good: But Break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue” (I.i.156-159). Hamlet is in so much shock and depression of all that has went on during the past few months leaving people to question his excessive mourning. However, Hamlet knows that he must continue to keep his cool until he finds the answers he is searching
Hamlet as Victim of a Corrupt World Troubled by royal treason, ruthless scheming, and a ghost, Denmark is on the verge of destruction. Directly following King Hamlet's death, the widowed Queen Gertrude remarried Claudius, the King's brother. Prince Hamlet sees the union of his mother and uncle as a "hasty and incestuous" act (Charles Boyce, 232). He then finds out that Claudius is responsible for his father's treacherous murder. His father's ghost asks Hamlet to avenge his death, and Hamlet agrees.
Let us look at Claudius. Claudius is devious and intelligent, but also selfish. Claudius kills his brother, the King, to gain social, political, and economic power. “Of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.” (3.3.Lines) Claudius from a Marxist point of view would be looked at as a figure who was been corrupted in his craving for political power. In fear and to protect his power, Claudius convinces Hamlets friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on Hamlet to make sure he goes to England. “By letters congruing to that effect, The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England, For like the hectic in my blood he
"Corruption is a tree, whose branches are Of an immeasurable length: they spread Ev'rywhere, and the dew that drops from thence Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority" (Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher). Corruption in Shakespeare's play Hamlet has infected Claudius, the brother of the old king Hamlet who kills him out of lust for power. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, corruption had inevitably led to the downfall of Denmark. Hamlet describes the present state of Denmark as an "unweeded garden" (Act 1 Sc 2, line 135-137) where only nasty weeds grow in it. Hamlet cannot believe that Denmark has now deteriorated and have become such a scandalous place where the new king is like a drunkard and is involved in an incestuous relationship. These nasty weeds have taken over Denmark and have soiled the name of the country.
In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death. For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)
R, Sarah. "Shakespeare's Hamlet - The Personal and Political Corruption of the State." Teenink. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all within one plot. Throughout the play, qualities of all three types of stories are displayed. The ghost story consists of Hamlet Senior and the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise at the hands of the present King, Claudius. He is being tortured in hell until his death is properly avenged. The detective aspect of Hamlet is brought about by Hamlet trying to figure out whether or not his fathers ghost was real and also to what, if any extent, his mother the "virtuous" Queen Gertrude was involved with the murder of his Father. Both Hamlet and Laertes, bring yet another aspect to this most versatile play, by seeking revenge for their fathers death, each in their own way. By viewing the play as either one or all of these different aspects we learn to have different perspectives on the play.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complex and ambiguous public exploration of key human experiences surrounding the aspects of revenge, betrayal and corruption. The Elizabethan play is focused centrally on the ghost’s reoccurring appearance as a symbol of death and disruption to the chain of being in the state of Denmark. The imagery of death and uncertainty has a direct impact on Hamlet’s state of mind as he struggles to search for the truth on his quest for revenge as he switches between his two incompatible values of his Christian codes of honour and humanist beliefs which come into direct conflict. The deterioration of the diseased state is aligned with his detached relationship with all women as a result of Gertrude’s betrayal to King Hamlet which makes Hamlet question his very existence and the need to restore the natural order of kings. Hamlet has endured the test of time as it still identifies with a modern audience through the dramatized issues concerning every human’s critical self and is a representation of their own experience of the bewildering human condition, as Hamlet struggles to pursuit justice as a result of an unwise desire for revenge.
Throughout this process, his relationship with his uncle Claudius and mother Gertrude worsen. Hamlet and Claudius’ tainted relationship successively intensifies through their planned plots to kill one another. The relationship between Hamlet and his mother Gertrude worsen due to her shameful acts, and her disregard towards her son in his times of need. If it had not been for this corruption between the family, Denmark would’ve continued to be ruled by an honourable and truthful family. Instead, the kingdom of Denmark became rife with dishonesty, eventually leading to the death of Hamlet and Claudius, the ultimate
Even before the play begins King Hamlet has been poisoned, since this scene Hamlet has been feeling mad and sad “Is delineated as one under the dominion of melancholy” (Mackenzie). Hamlet finds that his mother has married his uncle Claudius two months after his father death, Hamlet is in a state of confusion and anger “Hamlet finds himself at the center of this drama following the death of his father, the King of Denmark, whom Hamlet believes has been murderer by the king’s own brother, Claudius” (Rapparport). Even though Hamlet wants revenge is mad and confused because of everything that is happening in the state of Denmark “Hamlet’s character, including feeling of honor and nobility, thoughts of cowardice and suicide, and the desire of revenge” (Skulsky).
In general terms, corruption is the act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle. In politics, corruption is the misuse of public power and image.Whether it is realized or not, no country is wholly free of the disease of corruption, and if it is allowed to develop and become significantly strong, it can obstruct the good processes of governing and deteriorate the fabric of society. It can become a barrier to continual development and make it so that essentially no room remains for justice to succeed. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the destructive force of corruption is clearly exemplified through the abundance of imagery concerning decay, death, disease, sickness, and infection as the play progresses. The first and foremost example of this corruptionis the murder of King Hamlet and the resulting incestuous marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, which forms the foundation for corruption becoming a regular happening in the state of Denmark.The disease of corruption in the play stems from Claudius and slowly spreads through Elsinore and eventually results in the collapse of Denmark, which is signified by the takeover of the castle and land by Fortinbras, the nemesis of Hamlet and the Norwegian Crown Prince.Through the characters of Polonius, Claudius, Ophelia, and Hamlet, the evolution and disease-like spreading of this corruption can be observed.
A common motif in Shakespeare’s many plays is the supernatural element, to which Hamlet , with the presence of a ghost, is no exception. The story of Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is one of tragedy, revenge, deception, and ghosts. Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural element helps give a definition to the play by being the catalyst of the tragedy that brings upon Hamlet’s untimely demise. The ghost that appears at the beginning of the play could possibly be a satanic figure that causes Hamlet to engage in the terrible acts and endanger his soul. The supernatural element incorporated into the play is used as an instigator, a mentor, as well as mediation for the actions of the protagonist that ultimately end in tragedy, with the loss of multiple lives, as well as suscept Hamlet’s soul to hell. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the ghostly apparition causes a reader to question whether the ghost is a demonic force on the basis of its diction, conduct towards others as well as Hamlet, and it’s motive to kill.