Greed And Corruption In Hamlet

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular hero and tragic figure of the play constantly finds himself unable to act on the Ghost’s instructions to take revenge on King Claudius despite the compelling reasons he realizes for doing so. The reason for this delay is Hamlet’s tragic flaw – his tendency towards thought and introspection rather than impulse and action. Because of this flaw, Hamlet is unable to ignore the moral aspects of his actions and “thereby becomes the creature of mere meditation, and [he] loses his natural power of action” (Coleridge, 343).

Class struggle is noticeable in Hamlet. The royals exploit the lower class to satisfy their ambitions. People from the working class carry out the Aristocrats commands and they hold an insignificant rank in their society. The Aristocrats notably Hamlet, Claudius, and even Gertrude oppress others to obtain what they want and show that they are superior. Claudius poisons his own brother and marries Gertrude to have a stronger chance at being king since she is “the imperial jointress,” to the throne; he does not marry Gertrude because he loves her; he is using her to obtain the power (I.ii.9). Even when he gets the throne, he still wants more power and seeks to murder Hamlet because the prince knows his secret. Claudius also uses Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to spy on his nephew. The men carry out his orders without protest; they are “like an ape, in the corner of/ [Claudius’] jaw;” the king is using them to find out the reason for Hamlet’s sudden madness and when he will get what he wants; he will get rid them (IV.ii.18-19). Claudius uses Laertes to get rid of Hamlet because he wants his nephew to remain inferior to him because the people of Denmark love Hamlet and they will want him as their ruler; Hamlet is a menace to Claudius and an obstruction between him and the ultimate power.

The misuse of power in Hamlet exemplifies the corruption in the upper class due to their suppressive nature towards the plorient class. The upper class or bourgeoisie such as the monarchy in Hamlet believe their stance in the social ladder subjects them to all the power. In various cases throughout history the bourgeoisie ruled at the same level as God. For instance, Claudius showcases the abuse of power the bourgeoisie exudes onto the proletariats when he confesses to murdering his brother to obtain “[his] crown… and [his] queen”, which also displays his lack of morals for gaining access power (III.iii.58). He killed his own brother in order to achieve political, social, and economic power, which further presents his corrupt desire for authority. Also, the event reflects the Marxist lens because of the proposal that economic gain is the motive for all political and social acts. This desire for total control results in a corrupt upper class and government because their only concern is themselves. During Shakespeare's time writing Hamlet Claudius’s turpitude acts can be correlated to his era when “the corruptions of a declining feudalism were beginning” (Fribleman 142). Shakespeare’s experience with a corrupt higher class whose only regard is acquiring power lives through the unethical character of Claudius. By having the upper class reach a substantial amount of power they gain even more political influence over the proletarians because of their dominance in economic and social systems.

Many fictional characters are presented with unique circumstances that dictate their life long search for justice, often coming up empty-handed. One character that exemplifies this model of a person in searching for justice appears in Shakespeare’s novel, Hamlet. The title character, Hamlet, understands justice in terms of a noble revenge, but fails to take action, due to his weak disposition to act on his thoughts. Hamlet’s search for justice was not successful because his sense of “justice” was flawed, ultimately leading not only to his own death, but to Laertes who had a very similar mission to that of Hamlet. Hamlet’s fatal flaw leads to the question concerning what differentiates real justice from faux justice.

No nation is entirely free from corruption. Nevertheless, if corruption is strong enough, it can hinder the good governance and decay the fabric of society. It is an obstacle to sustainable development, and leaves little room for justice to prevail. Throughout the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a corrupting disease plagues Denmark and the people within it. The incestuous marriage between Gertrude and Claudius, in addition to murdering King Hamlet, is the main example of deceit, corruption and evil. Throughout the play we can

Loyalty is a significant theme in ‘Hamlet’ because Hamlet himself judges people by their loyalty or disloyalty-his mother, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio and he acts accordingly. The significance of the betrayal theme is that many of the major events in the play result from the betrayal of one character by another.

central to the play. I am going to look at only the first act of the

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness ‘’, a quote by Martin Luther King. This quote relates to one of the principal themes in Hamlet. As a synonym for selfishness, greed also ties in to the theme of the play. The egocentricity of the character Claudius and his brother King Hamlet had a very large impact on several lives. He is the perfect example of ‘’one must do whatever it takes ‘’.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been widely regarded as one of the greatest tragedies ever written. One prominent theme exemplified in this particular play is the theme of rottenness or decay. Shakespeare uniquely uses disease, rotting, and decay in order to reveal the manifestation and consequence of moral corruption. Physical corruption mirrors the moral corruption within the characters in the play. The moral corruption in Denmark is showcased for the readers throughout the play by images of physical corruption and disease. Shakespeare argues in Hamlet that sin or moral corruption is like a disease that leads one to one’s own “death” or demise. Nobody is immune from it.

The theme of greed and jealousy are explored through stories of Disney's 'The Lion King' and Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. Both texts show us that greed and jealousy can override someones personality and that guilt will always get the best of you. However, Disney's version of 'The Lion King' doesn't have such a tragic ending because the lion's kingdom is restored at the end of the film whereas in Hamlet, Denmark is ruled by Norwegian prince at the end.

In general terms, corruption is the act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle. In politics, corruption is the misuse of public power and image.Whether it is realized or not, no country is wholly free of the disease of corruption, and if it is allowed to develop and become significantly strong, it can obstruct the good processes of governing and deteriorate the fabric of society. It can become a barrier to continual development and make it so that essentially no room remains for justice to succeed. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the destructive force of corruption is clearly exemplified through the abundance of imagery concerning decay, death, disease, sickness, and infection as the play progresses. The first and

Hamlet faces challenges throughout the play that try his inner strengths and test his ability to handle the situation. He is torn between wanting to seek justice, and avenge his father’s death. Hamlet is also caught up in an intricate web of lies and deceit, he is considered mad by most characters when in all actuality it is just playing off of the actions of others to benefit himself. He puts on different acts trying to hide the truth, which makes him seem sincerely mad to the people around him. The truth of the matter is that Hamlet can’t decide whether or not his convictions are accurate. This dilemma ultimately leads to not only the deaths of the main characters, but the downfall of the kingdom.

It is easy to view the characters in Hamlet as being completely helpless to the external forces that control their lives. This idea is pointed out by Michael Shelden in his article, “The Imagery of Constraint in Hamlet,” which uses Maurice Charney’s book to further assert that all characters do not have control over their destiny, supported with the use of traps in the play. However, both Charney and Shelden fail to represent that power structure plays a large role in destiny and they push all characters into the same powerless category. Shelden neglects to recognize Claudius has more freedom compared to any of the other characters because of his power. Within the play, Claudius is able to reach his ultimate goals before the play even begins by marrying the queen and obtaining the position as king. He continues to prove his freedom as the controller of the traps in the play and has the power to control the characters’ freedom with the use of these traps. Even as Hamlet attempts to trap him, Claudius is able to escape both times, showing the control he has over his freedom. When focusing on the power structure of the characters, Shelden’s assertion fails to recognize that although the characters in Hamlet are controlled, Claudius is the only character that has power over his freedom and that of other characters.

In many of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the playwright draws a connection between the moral health of the kingdom and the corruption of the ruler himself. In Hamlet, he explores the extent to which corruption influences characters. By utilising animal and nature imagery, Shakespeare exemplifies how sexual and political vices corrupt characters and ultimately lead to their demise.

Corruption in Hamlet is shown through the many corrupt characters who perform a chain of events that show greed, manipulation, and revenge. First, Claudius is corrupt because he killed his brother King Hamlet because he was jealous of his throne and wife. The ghost then states, “And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,” (Hamlet, I.v.33-34) to compare him too a fat weed that’ll corrupt the garden that is the State of Denmark. He also states, “My custom always of the afternoon, Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebenon 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 That swift as quicksilver it courses through The natural gates and alleys of the body And with a sudden vigor doth posset And curd, like eager droppings into milk, The thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine. And a most instant tetter barked about, Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust all my smooth body.” (Hamlet, I.v.60-74) Basically saying that Claudius corrupted his body when he killed him. Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, is also corrupted because she fell for Claudius after her husband died and refused to see her wrongdoings even though they her Hamlet. Ultimately the ghost ends up corrupting Hamlet by putting revenge into his head. “If thou didst ever thy dear father love—Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (Hamlet, I.v.23.25) Ophelia easily gives away her love letters from Hamlet to Polonius when asked, as well as allow her father to listen in on their conversation. She is easily manipulated by her father without knowing. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also are manipulated by blindly following Claudius’ instructions to spy on Hamlet when they are supposed to be his friends. “ “But we both obey, and here give up ourselves, in the full bent, To lay our service freely at your feet To be commanded.”