The Guilty Of Hamlet's Murder In Hamlet By William Shakespeare

Hamlet by William Shakespeare is often considered to be one of the first murder mysteries. As the play opens, the audience learns that Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark has passed away two months prior and now his mother, the queen, has remarried his uncle, Claudius. Soon, the image of a ghost who claims to be Hamlet’s father comes to visit him and reveals the plot of the play. The King was murdered by his brother, Claudius, and implores Hamlet to take revenge. Hamlet is perplexed and hesitates. Instead, he examines Claudius for more clues of his guilt. Thus, Hamlet’s investigation into his father’s murder allows the author to shed light on grave themes of moral corruption and betrayal. During his investigation, Hamlet discovered the motive for Claudius’s murderous betrayal; with the throne vacant, Claudius can rule over the kingdom. Hamlet sadly learns his father’s

As the King says, “To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe, yet so far hath discretion fought with nature that we with wisest sorrow think on him together with remembrance of ourselves.”(1.2. 17) The newly crowned King suggests the kingdom should not mourn long, and should recover as quickly as possible. Although Hamlet did not grasp the weight of the conversation immediately, he recalls the King’s suspicious speech when his father’s ghost speaks to him about the murder. With the support of this new evidence, Hamlet questions King Claudius’s guilt and his mother’s incestuous betrayal. Through slips of the tongue, Hamlet divulges references of their wicked misdeeds into conversations with Claudius and Gertrude, “O heavens! Dead two months ago, and not forgotten yet?” (3.2.134) Hamlet’s retort mocks how quickly his mother and Claudius were able to recover emotionally from the passing of a beloved husband and