Spoken by Marcellus as he and Horatio discuss whether they should follow Hamlet and the ghost of his father in the night, Marcellus remarks on the circumstance by which they have stumbled upon. The appearance of the ghost, the supernatural, in the state of Denmark have thrown the prince and his comrades into a world they do not understand. Stating “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark refers to the ominous presence descending over Denmark; the ghost, to them, is a harbinger of evil omens and rottenness to their country. This is similar to the expression “rotten to the core”, if the ruler of the country is embracing a manic personality, then the country will suffer. With Claudius being the ruler of their society, his followers challenge
This play takes place mostly in Elsinore, Denmark between the fourteenth and fifteen century following the death of the late King Hamlet, who has been dead for two months prior to the beginning of the play (Shmoop Editorial Team). Act One commences in the middle of a routine nightly shift where Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, and two other guards witness the coming of a spirit that bears an uncanny resemblance to the recently deceased king. Meanwhile at Elsinore Claudius is crowned King with Hamlet’s mother as his queen. This chain of events causes discontent within Prince Hamlet as he delays his mourning time out of spite for the coronation. Afterwards, Horatio and the guards come to the consensus and tell Hamlet of their encounter so that the Prince may meet with the Ghost. The Ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was a victim of a well-planned murder at the hands of Claudius.
Connections can be made between the deteriorating state of the kingdom, or people, of Denmark, and Claudius’ leadership. There are multiple references made about the decaying strength and reputation of Denmark throughout the play, as the audience can see how the actions of one individual causes a snowballing effect of bad endings throughout the kingdom (and more specifically, for the characters in the play). The new king, Claudius’, poor leadership and rotten nature (which then functions like a poison or disease) brings misfortune to Denmark as a
The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has brought him there in the night so that he can see it for himself.
Hamlet begins on a dark night in Denmark’s Elsinore Castle. The ghost of recently deceased king, Hamlet’s father, is discovered by a pair of watchmen, followed by Horatio, and eventually Hamlet. The ghost informs Hamlet that he has been wronged by his brother Claudius, who coveting the throne, and after successfully plotting and murdering...
In this case, Claudius’s act upon murdering King Hamlet is a sin, a sin that needs to be punished to restore order to the kingdom. The first line of the ghost’s speech, ‘Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast’ immediately points out how vile and corrupt Claudius is, someone who has committed incest and married Gertrude, a woman who he only married to become king. The ghost’s description of Claudius is very powerful and offensive, ‘with witchcraft of his wits’ a man who uses powerful manipulative words like the power of witchcraft to manipulate people ‘so to seduce’, in Denmark, to make it seem like he had nothing to do with his murder. Claudius has accomplished his goal successfully, ‘won to his shameful lust’ and his jealousies for the crown and his ‘most seeming virtuous wife queen’ have gone now that he has finally gained power over the kingdom. The ghost continues on as he brings the imagery of sexual disgust, pondering on the question how Gertrude could agree to marry such as foul and corrupt person like Claudius, someone who didn’t really love her and was really into it for the crown.
After witnessing the ghost of King Hamlet, Marcellus and Bernardo turn to Horatio to get his opinion of the crisis they just witnessed. This not only shows that they respect his judgement, but also think of him with great admiration. Right off the bat, Horatio knew that something was off centred in the
illuminates on the mystery surrounding the death of Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark. Often in literature the presence of a ghost indicates something left unresolved. In this case, the death of Hamlets father is the unresolved event as well the revenge necessary to give the tormented soul repose. The ghost created mystery for the audience, spawns the chain of death and treachery in Denmark, causes characters to question the death of their former king, and
Significance of the Ghost to William Shakespeare's Hamlet In Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', the ghost plays a key role in influencing the destinies of the other characters. The ghost is important to the play as it symbolizes both fate and catalyses the plot. It also brings the play into the revenge tragedy genre, which allows foreshadowing to occur and helps the audience, both Elizabethan and contemporary to better understand the play and appreciate it. The late King Hamlet is forced to roam the earth as he was murdered before he could confess to his sins, having to remain in purgatory till his sins are washed from
Denmark slowly rotted as a nation. Rottenness took over the character’s relations with family members, their morals, their relationship with other countries, and it slowly took over the plotline of the entire play. The characters in the play slowly allowed this rotting to take over, because there was nothing else they can do. It essentially became the norm. Although the rotten relationships were apparent since King Hamlet killed elder Fortinbras, Claudius aided in the spread of the rotten dispositions. Since the new king was completely rotten, it slowly spread to everyone else, like an uncontrollable plague, which eventually decays a population. Just like the play, in the real world one rotten aspect can ruin many pure souls.
Hamlet is made to do some detective work in this melodrama. His first order of business was to figure out if the ghost of his father that he thought he saw, was in fact real and if it was, was it unfeigned or a demon. Then, he must decide if the ghost of his father was truthful about Claudius, his father's brother, Hamlet's uncle who was also the reigning King, committing fratricide against his father. To find evidence of Claudius' involvement, Hamlet uses the players, to bring about his uncles deep seated feelings hopefully lodged in his conscience.
The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father.
Fate and Fortune, and Providence in all her ambiguity are all sometimes seemingly bound to the actions of man, and other times they are inescapable. At the start of the play, Horatio and his companions, Bernardo and Marcellus, witness the sudden and frightening apparition of Hamlet’s deceased father, former king of Denmark. The three friends are “[harrowed] with fear and wonder” as they encounter the ghost and Horatio is convinced to attempt conversation it (Shakespeare, I. I. pg. 2). The adage of the adage. Before engaging the ghost, Horatio recalls the time before “the mightiest Julius fell” when “the graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead / Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets.”
Ghosts are often characters that are a representation of revenge tragedy, especially in Shakespearean plays, such as Macbeth. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost is very significant because it influences Hamlet negatively, which ultimately results in his tragedy. The ghost causes Hamlet to get revenge, realize his tragic flaw, and leads to his madness.
At the end of act one scene four, as the ghost and Hamlet exit, officer Marcellus states "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (1.4.90)." They are starting to realize that things aren't right with the world they live in, and that more is on the way.
ghost. Marcellous and Horatio both feel that Hamlet should not be left alone with the