Disease Imagery and Hamlet

Disease Imagery and Hamlet

Imagery is used by writers to describe the setting of a piece of

work. Not only does this imagery give more description, but also

gives a philosophical twist to the interpretation of the piece of

work. William Shakespeare uses imagery throughout his works,

particularly in the play Hamlet. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare uses

disease imagery to describe the leadership of Denmark, and how

corruption has infected the kingdom. Similarly, Shakespeare compares

how an untreated infection can spread to the ones least expected to be

infected.

Firstly, the corrupt nature of the authoritarian rule of Denmark is

compared to the infestation of a parasite in a garden. In the play

Hamlet, Hamlet sees Claudius (the king) as the parasite, since he

committed crimes such as murder to become king (i.e. Claudius poisoned

his brother Hamlet Sr. who was the former king). Hamlet feels as

though Claudius is the weed of a garden, which needs to be removed.

Hamlet shows this when he says “ Tis an unweeded garden That grows to

seed. Things rank and gross in nature Posses it merely.” ( Hamlet,

Shakespeare, 1992, 1.2, 139) This remark shows how Shakespeare uses

disease imagery to describe the unscrupulousness of the leadership of

Denmark.

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Secondly, in a number of his works, Shakespeare uses ghosts as a

symbol of disease. In the play Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet Sr.

appears, which brings about worry in the kingdom. This worry is shown

when Marcellus says “ Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Hamlet,

Shakespeare, 1992, 1.4, 100) after the ghost appears from the watch.

Furthermore, in the play Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo taunts Macbeth,

which ultimately brings about fear in the audience. In other words,

the ghost is like a symptom from a disease, and if not detected and

destroyed, the disease could be fatal. In Hamlet’s case the disease

is Claudius. The overall affect of the ghost, produces an eerie