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
the notion he is fit to be their ruler between the moral legitimacy and the health of their nation with the threat of Fortinbras looming. As the ghost informs Hamlet later, Claudius is the cause of his father’s demise; the ghost is the tangible manifestation of Claudius’s crimes against his family and Denmark. Corruption is a common part of kingdoms; however, the extent Claudius goes to for achieving his goals odes a forewarning to his future. He had no idea the corruption he partook in would create a ghost who knew exactly what happened and told the son of his victim. As “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, the people of Denmark now have to deal with a corrupt ruler, who may or may not be crazy. The ghost is a representation of the corruption itself, only created by Claudius.
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
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.
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.”
In discussions pertaining to the nature of Hamlet’s ghost, there is much debate. On the one hand, authors such as W.W. Greg believe that Hamlet’s ghost was merely a hallucination, but on the other hand, Maurice Egan believes that Hamlet’s ghost was a real character who truly existed. Egan also contends that the ghost is sent from purgatory, however, authors such as Roy Battenhouse believe that the ghost is pagan and came from hell. Others such as Robert West maintain that the ghost is neither from heaven or hell, but was written to be purposefully confusing so that any audience member could think of the ghost in many different ways. I personally believe that the ghost was a real character who came from hell and appeared before Hamlet in order to have him exact his revenge on Claudius.
Rottenness in Denmark is also seen in the ghost of King Hamlet. Just the sign of
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
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.
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.
In traditional and modern, ghost reflects death and fear, and it never change. In Hamlet, the ghost is a symbol of Hamlet’s father who is killed by Claudius. Its propose is to demand Hamlet to avenge its death. Although the ghost only appears three times in front of Hamlet, it is a specify role to develop the whole story and plot. Through Hamlet, the ghost is the motive to make Hamlet kill Claudius, and the ghost plays a critical role to influence Hamlet.
A common motif in Shakespeare’s many plays is the supernatural element, to which Hamlet , with the presence of a ghost, is no exception. The story of Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is one of tragedy, revenge, deception, and ghosts. Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural element helps give a definition to the play by being the catalyst of the tragedy that brings upon Hamlet’s untimely demise. The ghost that appears at the beginning of the play could possibly be a satanic figure that causes Hamlet to engage in the terrible acts and endanger his soul. The supernatural element incorporated into the play is used as an instigator, a mentor, as well as mediation for the actions of the protagonist that ultimately end in tragedy, with the loss of multiple lives, as well as suscept Hamlet’s soul to hell. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the ghostly apparition causes a reader to question whether the ghost is a demonic force on the basis of its diction, conduct towards others as well as Hamlet, and it’s motive to kill.