Hamlet Mousetrap Essay

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In Act III of Hamlet, the play known as “The Mousetrap” was used as a symbolic act to further the plot, influence characterization, and work to establish a theme of corruption. The play itself is symbolic of how King Claudius poisoned Old King Hamlet in order to usurp the throne. As a matter of fact, “The Mousetrap” is highly symbolic of this due to the fact that it draws many parallels to Claudius and the murder of Old Hamlet as the murder pours poison in the player king’s ear while he is sleeping in the play and then takes the queen to be his wife, just as Claudius did. This event in the storyline of Hamlet also impacted the plot greatly as it undoubtedly proved Claudius’s guilt to Hamlet while also making Claudius realize that Hamlet is …show more content…

This anger also influenced Hamlet to accidentally kill Polonius as he thought that he was Claudius. Another character that was influenced by “The Mousetrap” was Claudius who seemed worried and guilty, but not necessarily remorseful after watching the play. This was seen by how he quickly tried to get Hamlet sent to England and was even seen praying as Hamlet contemplated murdering him. Lastly, the theme of corruption in Hamlet was furthered by the aforementioned events as it demonstrated that King Claudius undeniably usurped the throne after murdering Old King Hamlet, and after doing so, is now attempting to use his power to silence Hamlet, who merely wants justice for the death of his father. Also, the fact that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are so willing to betray their friend in order to do the king’s bidding suggest an underlying theme of disloyalty and corruption by itself. This observation is not only supported by how they willingly spied on Hamlet for the king, but also by how they chose to honor the king’s request, without any real questioning or protest, to take Hamlet to England so that he doesn’t cause any more trouble back

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