“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (1.5.100) As it is hinted in the first scenes and then explicitly stated by Marcellus, the country is undergoing a change that is not purely natural. The fifth scene in act one, lines 29-54 of Shakespeare's Hamlet (1603), supports this idea by focusing on the corruption that has taken over Denmark due to Claudius' actions. The new king, though not present is that passage, is essentially the main topic of Hamlet and the Ghost’s conversation. One of much importance, since it allows the apparition to fuel Hamlet’s desire for revenge by portraying Claudius as evil. The old Hamlet look-alike explains the odd circumstances of his death and the events that followed. His demand of revenge happens after …show more content…
His plea of revenge is followed by a focus on the unusual and violent part of his death. In other words, his speech depicts one of the effects of Claudius’ crime : physical corruption. The Ghost reveals the severity of the regicide through an alliteration of the sound “m”, which accentuates the words “most” and “murder” (1.5.31-34). Those are also repeated multiple times. In the same way, the use of the superlative “most” and the enumeratio “most foul, strange and unnatural” highlights the significance and the strangeness of King Hamlet’s death by pounding the same words and making use of different ways to describe the same feeling of abnormality. Moreover, this type of corruption also takes into account the fake story that was released so that Claudius' crime would stay hidden. It was disclosed to the state of Denmark that “a serpent stung [the king]”, and the alliteration of "s" in "'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, / a serpent stung me" (1.5.43) makes the line sound like a snake slithering closer and closer. Similarly, an assonance of the "i"s in "The serpent that did sting thy father's life" (1.5.46) may remind the reader of the animal's quick bite. In any case, the reader can perceive the physical impact of King Hamlet’s murder through various figures of speech that address a particular sense: the
Through the use of juxtapositions comparing virtue versus sin and the natural versus the unnatural, the Ghost is able to tap into Hamlet’s mindset and gear him towards this path of vengeance in a methodical way, all the while revealing the true disarray in Denmark. Within the ghost’s speech, juxtapositions of virtue and sin are embodied by
I wholeheartedly agree that Shakespeare brilliantly portrays a world in which deception and false appearances dominate. The masterfully crafted setting of Elsinore is a rotten cesspool of lies and deceit, filled with characters masquerading as honest and regarding over obsequiousness and espionage as perfectly moral practices. Nothing is ever as it seems and the dishonesty sweeps up even those opposed to it. Polonius is certainly the embodiment of sycophantic falsity in this play. He is constantly trying to ingratiate himself with others and is repeatedly seen to be prying into the business of others, which ironically leads to his demise.
The ghost told Hamlet about how he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost told hamlet how he was going to get revenge. He wanted to torment Claudius and then kill him. Even after the king died he is still greedy trying to get revenge. This shows even though the king is dead or someone is dead they will still try and get revenge because they are greedy and don't want to give up their belongings or title.
This is explained by the Ghost when Hamlet learns of his father being murdered in Act 1 Scene 5, in lines 35 -39, “’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life . Now wears his crown.” 2) The soliloquies that Hamlet provides over the sequence of the entire play allows us to distinguish what Hamlet was thinking about and display how he was losing his sanity.
Shakespeare’s use of language helps to portray the major theme of deception in the play Hamlet. The utilization of diction helps to equate Claudius to an evil person, while metaphors help to make the comparison between Claudius and a deathly animal. By making comparisons and using specific word choice that help support the theme, Shakespeare is able to portray the deceitful antics of King
Corruption in Hamlet and 1984 Comparing William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet to George Orwell’s novel 1984 may seem like a difficult task on the surface, however, through further analysis, the theme of corruption links these two texts together. Corruption: dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power. In both Hamlet and 1984, the protagonists desire to overcome corruption inevitably leads to their downfall. In society today, people are entitled to their own thoughts.
This aids the reader in analyzing the motives for each of the intricate characters and how every action has a motive that can tie back to Hamlet’s grand scheme which is to get revenge for the kingdom overtaken by an authority figure who did not earn that title, honor his father’s legacy that is taken from him in the crossfire of jealousy, and for the good of Denmark. Between the murder of King Hamlet and Polonius, Ophelia’s death, and the disloyalty of many characters, we enable ourselves to see the mood of confusion
From the very beginning of the drama, a ghost walks the parapet of Elsinore Castle in Denmark and asks for Hamlet for revenge. Horatio, a friend of Hamlet, saw a ghost who resembled the dead king of Denmark who wanted to take revenge of his unlawful death. His brother Claudius not only inherited the throne illegally by killing his own blood brutally and got married the widow queen, Gertrude to save the throne. Claudius was a power monger and he got that by hook or crook.
The Ghost says," a serpent stung me says the whole ear of Denmark... The serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown"(1.5.43-44, 46-47). The Ghost talks about how the country of Denmark had been fed a twisted story of the truth. A metaphor can be found in the second part of the quote. Ghost Hamlet compared Claudius to a snake because of his lying and deceitfulness.
The presence of the ghost is a bad omen in itself as it is a sign that bad things have taken place or will take place. Throughout Act 1 we have learned that after King Hamlet’s death, moral and natural order has gone wrong in the state of Denmark subsequent to Claudius’ rise in power with the evidence of a ghost floating around. Marcellus’ line reinforces the point and tone of some of Hamlet 's earlier remarks—for example, that Denmark is "an unweeded garden" of "things rank and gross in nature" (Act 1, scene 2) is confirmed by the ghost of Hamlet’s father which makes Hamlet realize the real rottenness of Denmark. Although Shakespeare predominantly presents Claudius ' rottenness through his actions, imagery is also used to emphasize Claudius ' rotten nature. Hamlet refers to Claudius as a weed that chokes the garden and warns Gertrude not to "spread the compost on the weeds, To make them ranker”.
King Hamlet’s ghost in Hamlet plays a very significant role in Shakespeare’s play even though he only appears briefly in the very beginning and two other times throughout the play. King Hamlet’s ghost furthers the play in many ways. He affects action by setting the play in motion, he affects the theme of revenge, and he helps develop other characters, specifically his son, Hamlet. He sets the play in motion by causing the wheels to spin inside of Prince Hamlet’s head, the ghost is the whole reason for Hamlet trying to extract revenge upon his murderous Uncle Claudius who is now the King of Denmark. The ghost affects the theme of revenge by causing Young Hamlet to be seized by vengeance, the whole play turns into a story of Prince Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s wrongful death.
The ghost’s appearance has a significant impact on Hamlet’s behaviors and forms his decisions through the play. Hamlet, who is suffering from depression since he is dealing with his father’s death and the hasty marriage of his mother with Claudius, his uncle, became obsessed with the concept of life and death after seeing his father’s ghost. In the first appearance of the ghost, he reveals the truth about the how the king has been murdered, which drives Hamlet to seek revenge, and by revenge killing his uncle. The ghost establishes a dilemma and gives Hamlet time to think about his father’s request. But Hamlet has an uncertainty about the existence of the ghost as he notes “the spirit that I have seen may be the devil, and the devil hath power T ' assume a pleasing shape” (2.2.561–563) here, Hamlet is concerned that the ghost may be the devil and questions the motivation of the ghost for killing Claudius.
The Ghost says “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebona in a viral, And in the porches of my ears did pour…” 1.5.67-69. From these two lines the Ghost of King Hamlet begins to help create a mental picture of what he physically felt while he was being murdered by his own flesh and blood. When Marcellus states “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, 1.4.99, I believe is talking about the situation with the ghost and death of anyone would smell like roses. What I take from this statement is that there is some unfinished business and due to that reason this is why the King’s spirit is not at ease.
A ghost is considered earthbound if its essence remains lingering in the physical world and hasn’t been able to cross over into the spiritual realm. They get stuck behind here on Earth, caught in limbo between the living and dead, and wander restlessly seeking resolution. Hollywood tends to thrive on the idea that these ghosts are roaming around creating chaos to the lives of those they encounter. The fact of the matter is we can’t really be sure what the true purpose is a departed soul. There are many theories as to why a ghost, or more appropriately a spirit, may become static on Earth instead of moving on to the beyond.
The play is set in the Middle Ages. Religion played a vastly important role in society at this time, and governments where under the influence of church leaders. When King Hamlet appears as a ghost, he is stuck in purgatory because he died before confessing, indicating that he is Catholic. This is a historical implication to what a significant role religion had in their