Examples Of Something Is Rotten In The Past In Hamlet

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there is much skepticism as to what exactly is "rotten in Denmark." Claudius, the "incestuous, adulterate beast," essentially adopts this title as he exists as the root of all evil within the play

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, begins as an admired and noble young man. However, fate and the turn of events lead the tragic hero the depths of his fortunes. The tragedy starts with the death of the heroic King Hamlet. His brother, Claudius is the successor as King of Denmark and married the protagonist’s mother. When a ghost of the late King Hamlet appears, Hamlet’s downfall begins. The ghost explains to Hamlet that Claudius killed his father “upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial, and in the porches of my ears did pour the leperous distilment, whose effect holds such an enmity with blood of man” (1001). Hamlet then feels like he must get revenge against Claudius and sets out to plot how it will happen. King Claudius senses something suspicious about Hamlet and sends for Hamlet’s two

His rule will lead to the fall of Denmark. Another important point in this quote is that through the metaphor Hamlet sees Denmark as being completely taken over by things that are rank and gross like the corruption of characters like Polonius and Claudius. This passage is very important in Hamlet because it is the first reference to a garden in dismay and more importantly, it references to the horrible condition that Denmark is in.

Speaking of the disaster-prone Denmark that is presented in this play, Hamlet, the beloved main character, is a magnificent representation of the dysfunction that lies among the Great Chain of Being. Hamlet shows signs of having immense depression, suicidal thoughts, and considerations of fleeing Denmark. When someone wants to escape the country after a leader’s death, it is pretty obvious that something is tousled. After Claudius calls him a coward for being upset over Old Hamlet’s death and Gertrude basically forces him to

Early on in Hamlet, a guard slightly mentions that there is “something rotten in the state of Denmark” (Shakespeare, I.iv.90). The tranquility of Denmark is suddenly shattered by Claudius’s marriage to

The theme of decay and rottenness both function to promote the central argument of the play by actually showing not only the moral decay and corruption of the characters in Hamlet, but its power over an individual leading one to their own demise. For example, Claudius commits several immoral acts, such as him murdering his brother and wrongfully taking over his kingdom, and then he marrying his sister-in-law. Hamlet expresses his disgust and anger with this by saying, “O most naughty pace! To post with such expertise to depraved sheets” (I. ii. l. 156-157). Hamlet here is talking about the incest that Claudius and his mom are committing and how wrong their marriage is, especially considering that Claudius is the King of Denmark and rules over others, and because of this should set a positive example of

Hamlet returns to Denmark to quickly find that a hasty “incestuous” marriage between his widowed mother and his uncle would all too quickly follow his own father’s funeral. Perhaps the most significant sign that all was not right in Denmark was the apparition of the slain former King. Hamlet’s father’s apparition is viewed by Hamlet and his company as an open sign that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1068). From this first revelation, Hamlet learns by degrees of the evil that attempts to hide itself behind the “legitimate” passing on of the throne. Hamlet gets a first glimpse of the evil in the appearance of the restless soul of his father, later, more so with that ghost’s revelation of the murderous truth to Hamlet, up until Hamlet’s own observation of Cladius’ unique

The play, Hamlet, is filled with great acts of corruption that result from the many diseased mentalities existing in the Kingdom of Denmark. In the early scenes of the play, after seeing the ghost of King Hamlet, Marcellus reflects on the condition of the country. The guard says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," (Act I, iv, Line 100). Marcellus infers to the reader that the appearance or apparition of the ghost of King Hamlet means that there must be extreme corruption mounting in the country. If it were not for the diseased mental state of Claudius, King Hamlet would not have been murdered nor would he come to speak to the guards of the kingdom. After the death of his sister, Laeretes, the son of the king's late advisor, speaks to King Claudius about seeking justice for the deaths of Ophelia and his father, Polonius. After discussion, King Claudius and Laeretes decided to plot the murder of Prince Hamlet together.  "And we shall jointly labor with your soul to give it due content," (Act IV, vi, Lines 225-226). King

   In Shakespeare's time, Denmark was a horrible, rotting, poisoned land due to its hidden deceit. In "Hamlet," Shakespeare makes many references to this as a means of clarifying relationships in the story. Writers often use imagery to provide detail and development, which help us understand ideas within and the atmosphere of the play. Hamlet, Horatio, and the ghost are the characters who allude to Denmark's state of decay. Shakespeare's frequent references to death and disease are not only evidence of the harsh and dirty living conditions of the time; they are a recurrent theme in all of his works.

In his attempt to "catch the conscience of the king" with The Mousetrap (2.2.558), Hamlet tells Horatio that if Claudius' "occulted guilt/ Do not itself unkennel in one speech,/It is a damned ghost that we have seen" (3.2.70-72). The significance of Hamlet's dilemma is that it shows Hamlet to be very vulnerable and he seems only subconsciously aware of it. It is this vulnerability that makes the character of Hamlet problematic to the reader/audience because it leads to the blurring of the boundaries of right action and wrong judgment.  On hearing of the appearance of his father's ghost, Hamlet exclaims: "My father's spirit, in arms! All is not well./ I doubt some foul play."(1.2.254-255). His expectations that something is wrong is confirmed when the ghost tells him of Claudius' treachery. In this sense, Hamlet is willing to believe in the ghost even before he hears the ghost speaks as he "waxes desperate with imagination" (1.4.87). Then, as the ghost starts to speak, he tells Hamlet to "List, list, oh list!"(1.5.22), pouring into the latter's ears the verbal poison that juxtaposes words like "foul", "unnatural" and "lust" with words like "virtuous queen" and "marriage", "royal bed"(1.5.25-83). It seems that the ghost is trying to place a constant and elevated value on the royal marriage only if it includes having him as the rightful king. Yet life, marriage and death are cycles and not fixed points and death of one spouse

Corruption in Denmark begins with selfish greed. Unknown to Hamlet or the people of Denmark, Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, begins the turmoil by murdering his own brother by pouring a poisonous “juice of cursed hebona” into Hamlet Sr.’s ear, in exchange for his selfish

Throughout ‘Hamlet’ we have the images of death, decay, rottenness, and corruption embedded in the story. The imagery that Shakespeare uses in hamlet relates directly with the plots of the play perfectly. The corruptions images are illuminated in the beginning with Claudius own actions. The characters use metaphors of disease in the connection to sickness and rottenness. Within “Hamlet”, Shakespeare makes a number of references to Denmark 's tainted state due to the deceitfulness that lies within. Shakespeare uses death and decay to exemplify the death of the characters, and the decay of these characters that comes with those deaths, as well as the decay and death of morals and the death and decay that comes of political corruption of the government of Denmark. Denmark is repeatedly defined as a physical body made ill by the moral corruption of Claudius. They don 't know that Claudius isn 't legitimate throughout the play; characters draw clear links between the moral lawfulness of a ruler and the health of the nation. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern state their beliefs that health of a country is tied to the legitimacy of the King. Because death and decay are so prevalent throughout Hamlet, it could be said that Shakespeare intended for them to be a major theme.

Renowned British writer, William Shakespeare, in one of his most popular works, Hamlet, chronicles the growing suspicion and the eventual fatal confrontation between uncle and nephew. Within the first few pages, such contention is made apparent through the interactions between the two and Hamlet’s disclosure of his attitude regarding his uncle. He declares, “Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely,” in an effort to characterize Claudius as the weed that will infiltrate and destruct the garden, or rather Denmark (Shakespeare 1.2.135-137). Through an emphasis on Hamlet’s distrust of and contempt for his uncle, as well as offerings of comparisons between Old Hamlet and Claudius, Shakespeare alludes to the aforementioned statement as being a metaphor for Denmark’s well-being in the hands of Claudius.

His frustration in his inability to state his suspicions have resulted in depression. This depression may have manifested itself in Hamlet's interactions with the ghost of his dead father. Although it is true that others have claimed to have seen the ghost, it can be attributed to the fact that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.100). Because Denmark is in a state of disarray due to the King's questionable death, Horatio and the guards could have seen the King's image because they wanted to, not because it was really there.

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.