Death, Sickness, and Decay in Hamlet
Decay is defined as "a gradual decline; deterioration," disease as "any departure from health." Both have many forms: physical, psychological, social, etc. Multiple examples of illness and deterioration can be found in the tragedy Hamlet. In this drama, Shakespeare uses imagery of decay and disease and the emotional and moral decay of his characters to enhance the atmosphere of the play.
The drama Hamlet abounds with images of decay and disease. Celestial bodies are described in this manner; in Act I Horatio says that the moon "Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse," and in Act III, Hamlet says that the moon is "thoughtsick" at his mother's sin. Abstract ideas such as wealth and peace are also associated with such imagery by Hamlet in Act IV: "This is th'imposthume of much wealth and peace, / That inward breaks, and shows no cause without / Why the man dies." In addition, in Act I Laertes uses an example from plant lore to convince his sister Ophelia to preserve her virginity:
The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Furthermore, in Act I the ghost uses words associated with disease to describe his poisoning and death:
The leperous distillment, whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body,
And with a sudden vigor it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine,
And a most instant tetter barked about
Most lazarlike with vile and loa...
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...this play. The atmosphere of disease serves to heighten the audience's disgust for the situation. Secondly, disease leads to death, so this figuratively diseased society is doomed. Because of this sense of doom, there is a slight foreshadowing of the play's tragic end. The tragic atmosphere is enriched by the motif of disease and decay.
The atmosphere of the play is reinforced by imagery of decay and disease and the emotional and moral decay of the characters. This atmosphere is an integral part of the play as a whole and contributes greatly to its impact upon the audience. Shakespeare's skill in weaving this motif into the play is evidence of his genius as a playwright and quality of his writings.
Works Consulted:
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet. ca. 1600-1601. Ed. Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. New York: Penguin Publishers,1963.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967. 79-174.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet. ca. 1600-1601. Ed. Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. New York: Penguin Publishers,1963.
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet. ca. 1600-1601. Ed. Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. New York: Penguin Publishers,1963.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross developed a theory based on what she perceived to be the stages of acceptance of death. Her theory has been taken further by psychologists and therapists to explain the stages of grief in general. Kubler-Ross identified five stages: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, as happening in that order. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet exhibits all five stages of grief, we can assume in relation to the recent death of his father, but not necessarily in this order, and in fact the five seem to overlap in many parts of the play.
Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape the sport into what it has become today.
Michael Jordan, in his prime, was thought of as one of the greatest basketball champions of all time. A shooting guard, standing at six-six, Jordan was able to out play anyone in his position. He started his career at the University of North Carolina, where he helped his team win a national championship. He then was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984-85 season. While playing for the Bulls, Jordan received many awards such as, MVP, five championships, Olympic gold medals, slam dunk contests, and many more defensive and offensive awards. Jordan simply dominated the nineties and left the game as a NBA Finals winner in 1998.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
For many years Michael Jordan has been seen as one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. Michael Jordan was first drafted into the NBA by the Chicago Bulls as the third pick in the first round of the NBA draft of 1984, after finishing his college career at the University of North Carolina. Michael Jordan has been known for his high flying and stylish dunks ever since he first stepped into the basketball scene, but there is more to Michael Jordan than his ability to dunk.
Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2012. Print.
The imagery in the play of Hamlet is composed of disease, poison, and decay this adds to the overall atmosphere of horror and tragedy. First, hamlet uses images of disease to show the state of the country of Denmark and his mother. Second, the imagery of poison is used to describe his father’s death. Lastly, Hamlet describes his feelings toward himself and Claudius and his feelings toward his mother by using images of decay. In Hamlet, as in all literature, imagery adds to reader’s ability to imagine the feeling of the story.
Robert B. Heilman in “The Role We Give Shakespeare” explores some of the psychological aspects of the play and concludes that it is psychologically “whole”: