Corruption And Corruption In Hamlet

In the government, leaders set the societal tone for their sovereign nation. Ethics and morals are especially important and should be closely regulated in a government system such as a monarchy. The king and queen are the deciding factor in what is considered to be acceptable since they have the power to establish laws and regulation, but the power the monarchy wields is subject to corruption. Monarchs can, most of the time, become corrupt. This becomes the case in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. In the novel, Marcellus states, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” which is describing the ruling family’s influence on the condition of Denmark. Sin is the primary instigator of their corruption; the sins lead to their downfall and eventually

Claudius knows that the civilians will support and favor Hamlet. The civilians do not believe in Claudius’s legitimacy, so anything he says negatively about Hamlet works like arrows “[t]oo slightly timbered for so loud a wind, / Would have reverted to my bow again, / But not where I have aimed them” (4.7.23–25). The feud between Claudius and Hamlet causes division in Denmark, a proverbial and literal dark cloud. There is not a sense of unity reminiscent of the reign of the late King Hamlet with the power struggle between Claudius and Hamlet. Denmark is having trouble keeping foreign invaders like Fortinbras, son of the late King of Norway, from plotting against Denmark. With Hamlet still in the realm of the living, Claudius cannot have full control of Denmark; to satisfy and placate his greed for complete power, Claudius plots to kill Hamlet. His greed for power backfires, Hamlet kills him in retaliation for poisoning

He had my dying voice.

So tell him, with th’occurrents more or less,

Which solicited–the rest is silence. [He dies.] (5.2.329-32)

Hamlet wants Fortinbras to take led Denmark in his place because Fortinbras is not infected by sins. Fortinbras makes his way through the novel in a honorable fashion (Moriarity). Hamlet’s death, along with the death of every other sinful character, helps purify the state of Denmark by ridding the nation of the sinners.

The moral decay runs rampant among the characters creates an air of corruption. The sins cloud the judgements of the characters leading them to their death. The characters are aware of their sins, but continues to repeat the same routine. Hamlet knows the consequences of his sins have on the dominion of Denmark; the very state of Denmark become rotten to the core because Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet become too corrupt to continue to