More handpicked essays just for you.
Sickness and disease in hamlet
Sickness and disease in hamlet
Discuss Shakespeare's use of imagery of disease in the play 'Hamlet'
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
1
2
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
In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, poison, decay, and rotting are motifs that can be related to the theme breaking down of society, or the downfall of the state of Denmark, during this time in Hamlet’s life. Considering Claudius’s malicious acts to gain the throne, one can say he is being punished by God, and since he is the king, the punishment reflects the state of the kingdom of Denmark as well. As the play progresses, references to rotten things, repellent animals, and vile circumstances are mentioned numerous times, and one can make a connection to these allusions as the truth about Claudius is revealed, and other corrupt events unravel.
Early on in Hamlet, a guard slightly mentions that there is “something rotten in the state of Denmark” (Shakespeare, I.iv.90). The tranquility of Denmark is suddenly shattered by Claudius’s marriage to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, only a short time following the death of King Hamlet. To Hamlet was revealed the murder of his father and becomes determined to avenge his father’s death no matter the cost. This sets off a trail of pretending, backstabbing, plotting, luring, and deadly accidents that ultimately lead to a clash of hatred between the characters and the doom of Denmark. Shakespeare animates the characters with these sinful deeds and vengeance to illustrate that these corruptions strips the innocence and sanity in human kind. Had Hamlet not gone on a tangent and lost his mind about the murder of his father, there might not have been a domino effect of madness knocking down everyone else in this royal chain. Hamlet pretends to have app...
Mental illness can be a virus. It attaches to those with wild thoughts, actions, and comprehensions of a world known and unknown. It hits the soul, pulling at once a kind being into anxiety, pain and loss. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, his main character, Hamlet, comes down with the illness. It enters him through actions by friends, enemies, and even his own family. The hardest thing to understand is whether Hamlet's insanity is completely real, or an act put on to win revenge. However, no matter what the reality of his psychotic mind is, the real question is what brought this whole thing on. In 1601 when Shakespeares Hamlet was written, Hamlet would be diagnosed with suffering from melancholy, but with today's high technology and knowledge he would of been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. In Shakespeare’s time there was no concept of depressive illnesses, although melancholy was well known during his time.
Imagery is the use of symbols to convey an idea or to create a specific atmosphere for the audience. Shakespeare uses imagery in Macbeth often, the most prevalent one, is blood. I believe he uses this as a way to convey guilt, murder, betrayal, treachery and evil, and to symbolize forewarning of events.
Within ‘Hamlet’, Shakespeare makes a number of references to Denmark's degraded state due to the deceit that lies within. These references are made by Hamlet, Horatio as well as the apparition, thus enforcing the strong theme of death, decay and disease.
What drives Hamlet to his madness? How does it relate to Ophelia’s madness? Are Hamlet and Ophelia both truly mad? These are some questions that I contemplated as I read Hamlet. The main character, Hamlet feigns madness after learning of his father’s murder; however, he becomes mad later on in the play. Is it possible that Hamlet became so wrapped up in his father’s murder that he was unable to distinguish fantasy from reality?
An understanding of William Shakespeare’s philosophies reinforces the meaning of the human condition found in the play Hamlet. The revenge tragedy is an example in the exploration of good versus evil, deceit, madness, inter-turmoil, and utter existence. Shakespeare, fascinated by the human mind and human nature, clearly and completely illustrates the meaning of “self.” Hamlet is a drama that examines one’s personal identity. From the beginning of the story atop the castle when the guards enter the platform to the conclusion of the performance as Hamlet lies, dying in Horatio’s arms every characters’ psychological type is
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, various mental illnesses are displayed. The mental illnesses are frequently discussed by various critics. Some believe Hamlet is simply love sick, while others argue he has no disease at all. Poet and Shakespeare contemporary, Ben Jonson says, “If you be sick, your own thoughts make you sick.” Ben connects mind with body to imply that a person’s mental state can relate directly to their physical state. This quote relates directly with Hamlet’s mentality. Hamlet has driven himself to madness and, in his own mind, has made himself sick. Hamlet shows clear signs of clinical depression, and because no one is there to help and support him it only gets worse. A person with depression needs
Shakespeare uses imagery pertaining to illness in the play when describing Macbeth to make it evident that he is mentally ill. ...
Rottenness in Denmark is also seen in the ghost of King Hamlet. Just the sign of
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.
Hamlet is considered a classic play that tells the story of revenge, written by, William Shakespeare. Before My Eyes is a novel, by Caroline Bock, that shows the truth behind believing what we want, not what we see. These two works have psychological illness in common. Hamlet and Barkley are both mentally ill; the Prince of Denmark is depressed and bipolar while the lonely and obsessive 21 year-old is schizophrenic.
The motif of a seemingly healthy exterior concealing inward sickness establishes meaning through foreshadowing and irony by demonstrating that it spreads throughout and ultimately rids itself of everything that conceals inward sickness. Corrupted thoughts throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are based on greediness and the act of avenging a family member’s death.
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.
The play starts out with the ghost, dressed in the late king’s war attire, walking past the guards on duty. One of the guards interprets the ghosts passage as being a bad omen of something horrendous to befall soon: “In what particular thought to work I know not,/ But in the gross and scope of mine opinion/ This bodes some strange eruption to our state.”(Shakespeare I.i). This clearly foreshadows a major tragedy since supernatural figures were associated with Satan and damnation during Shakespeare’s time. After the guards speculate about the ghost, and who the ghost is supposed to be, it suddenly disappears as the sun rises. The guards find this to also be a warning, since the ghost only came out at night, and “faded on the c...