The Corruption in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

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The Corruption in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Central to the plot and the themes developed in Shakespeare's Hamlet, are the varying elements of corruption which occur during the play. This is echoed in Marcellus' famous comment of 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,' when Hamlet is beckoned away by the Ghost (1.4.90). As the play continues and the story enfolds, it becomes apparent that there truly is 'something rotten in the state of Denmark,' and rather that it is not just one 'something,' but many things.

The most obvious example of corruption is the story of the late King Hamlet's murder by his brother Claudius. When Prince Hamlet goes to speak with the Ghost he learns that his father's death was not an accident, as was officially reported, but instead that it was a 'Murder most foul . . . strange and unnatural,' (1.5.27-28) committed by King Hamlet's brother who 'Now wears his crown' (1.5.39). While this act was committed before the play even begins, it sets the stage for all the events which follow, descending into a state just as corrupt as this first crime.

A continuance of the murder of the King, is the soon following marriage of the widowed Queen to none other than Claudius, the murderer. While the Queen does not know that Claudius killed her former husband, her part in the relationship is not wholly innocent. Her mourning seems minimal and her lustfulness maximal, for 'But two months dead' (1.2.138) was the King before 'She married . . . With such dexterity to incestuous sheets' (1.2.156-157). This image of a corrupted or damned royalty is strongly played up, especially by Hamlet, who recognizes this new union of Claudius and his mother as incredibly demeaning to the state of Denmark, and a ...

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...n guilty head, affecting the whole state of Denmark. By using murder and deception to gain the throne, as soon as Claudius assumes it, it is irrevocably tainted. Marrying the brother of her dead husband, the Queen's bed becomes 'A couch for luxury and damned insect' (1.5.83). The games and favors played to please the King, the spying, the secrets kept, and the lies told, all come back with a sentence of death. Even the fight between Hamlet and Laertes is not fair, with a poison tipped weapon and a poisoned drink, conspiracies of the King to ensure Hamlet's death, but which claim the life of the Queen, Laertes, and himself also. All of these events culminate in Act V to eventually destroy the royalty of Denmark with no member surviving the duration of the play, proving for any doubting member of the audience that something truly was 'rotten in the state of Denmark.'

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