Misuse Of Power In Hamlet

Throughout the entirety of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, if one looks carefully, one can see many aspects of Marxist thought prevalent in the story. To effectively analyze a story through a Marxist critical lens, the reader needs to pay close attention to how characters of different classes interact with one another, especially in respect to class oppression and social inequity, particularly if the actions or words of a character talk of rebellion against the upper classes. “To Marxist critics, a society's economic base determines the interests and styles of its literature; it is this relationship between determining base and determined superstructure that is the main

Corruption and power have been inextricably linked for so long that many consider them to be one and the same, forever destined to accompany each other. Yet, corruption among the powerful has not been met with complacency in human history, rather the opposite instead. The Ancient Romans pioneered the first legal system with brutal punishments aimed to prevent ambitus, or political corruption. This strong desire to forcibly isolate corruption and power can be seen in China’s recent decision to declare severe cases of political corruption as worthy of the “death penalty”. Corruption even correlates with the development status of a country, which explains the common “African leadership is corrupt” rhetoric. Corruption and power may seem to be

Throughout history, class distributions have constantly been a serious issue. Many compositions today display social disparity; however, to recognize it, one needs to look through the proper lens. Literary critical lenses help to understand a work from a different angle which leads to a further interpretation of the composition. There are many lenses and aspects in literature, and one of them is the Marxist Theory. Also known as the Conflict Theory, this idea asserts that class struggle is a powerful divider in society. Although it is a social idea, this concept also relates to literature. In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare demonstrates class struggles. Looking at this composition through the lens of the Marxist Theory, one uncovers that the dominant ones suppress and exploits the others seeking to display their superiority.

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, various characters manipulate others in order to gain power and fulfill their personal desires. The character who portrays the most immense manipulation is King Claudius, the brother of the late King Hamlet. Thus far, Claudius advertises himself as a sensible, honorable man who lives to serve the greater good, yet his manipulation exposes his dubious intentions, leaving him with an unfortunate fate.

There is a lot of corruption in Hamlet by Shakespeare, but how does it effect the main character Hamlet? To start, corruption in this play is made up by multiple elements such as greed, manipulation and immoral choices. All of these elements and corruption as a whole may or may not have affected hamlet. This is the theme that I will be exploring in the following series of paragraphs.

“ Treat others how you want to be treated” , the golden rule. Basic yet powerful morality that spawns the best humanity. Humans are capable of great love, but capable of great evil. In Hamlet, Claudius, becomes king because of Old Hamlet’s sudden death. Claudius marries Gertrude following the king’s death. Hamlet discovers Claudius killed his father. Hamlet is determined to get revenge for his father’s murder. Claudius notices Hamlet acting strangely lately and arranges for Hamlet to be spied on. Hamlet realizes and acts insane to make others disregard him. Hamlet wins the duel against Laertes, Claudius poisons Hamlet’s cup, but Gertrude drinks from it instead. Laertes strikes Hamlet with a poisoned blade. Then Hamlet strikes Laertes with the poisoned blade causing Laertes’s death. Claudius is accused of treason and attempts to escape, Hamlet kills him, following that Hamlet also dies due to poisoning. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, family members are psychologically corrupted as their egotistical and spiteful actions desensitize them to committing acts of treason against family, which ultimately cause death of their kin. The selfishness, betrayal, and sabotage seen in the play will lead to the character’s inevitable downfall.

Many scholars classify William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark as a revenge tragedy, a genre popular during the Elizabethan era (Gainor 41). Shakespeare's tragedy focuses on three sons–Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras–seeking retribution for the unfortunate death of their fathers– King Hamlet, Polonius, and King Fortinbras respectively. In the play, the father-son relationship is the primary motivator for each son's revenge. Because Elizabethan society places a strong emphasis on the relationship between father and son, each son feels obligated to right his father's wrongs. According to Fredric B. Tromly, author of Fathers and Sons in Shakespeare: The Debt Never Promised, “A defining . . . feature of Shakespeare’s

Vladimir Lenin, a communist revolutionary displays the Marxist ideology by believing that “any cook should be able to run the country.” This quote reflects the view of evenly distributed power. According to the Marxist theory, it is best to eliminate social classes, for they spark class conflict and promote inequality between the upper class bourgeois and the lower class proletariats. The Marxist Lens mainly looks at economic power when providing arguments about the inconsistent treatment of people based on their social status. In Hamlet, Shakespeare demonstrates class differences by establishing characters that abuse their power and take advantage of others to get ahead, subtlety criticizing the bourgeoisie, and using what is occurring in society at the time to base the society within the play.

The theme of greed is seen though the play Hamlet portrayed by different characters under different circumstances. The opposing character of the play is Claudius, all the conflict is caused by him. Throughout the play audience gets aware of how he killed his brother so he can claim the crowned greed of being the new King of Denmark. His blinded by the greed which made him forget the relationship he had with his brother. Claudius “that cannot be; since I am still possess’d. Of those effects for which I did the murder, My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen(Act 3 Scene 3 56-59). In this soliloquy Claudius asks for forgiveness but he comes to notice that he can’t be forgiven because of what he possesses and what he has done. Due to what he possess he struggles to feel sorry for his actions. He sacrificed the happiness of others for his own selfish reasons.

   The legendary drama, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is a play illustrating the theme of virtue vs. villainy. The 17th century tragedy is plagued with treachery and deceit as it opens with the news of a foul murder in the kingdom of Denmark. Prince Hamlet, by word of his late father's ghost, is informed that his uncle Claudius is to blame for his father's sudden demise. Prince Hamlet's mission is to uncover the secrets surrounding the murder and to avenge his father's death. Thus, the insidious web of disease and corruption is formed. The relationship between disease leading to the greater corruption of Denmark plays a significant role in the lives of the principle players.

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.

While examining Hamlet through the Marxist Lens, one could see King Claudius as the powerful and abusing bourgeoisie and Hamlet as the proletariat trying to overthrow him. Claudius is the best representative of the wealthy and

Throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare shows the inherent complications and unintended conflict between rank and social class by making the members of the lower class experience hardships and conflict at the hands of the royal family and upper class. The idea of social class distinction is very prevalent in Hamlet and how each character interacts with every other character. Despite the fact that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet centuries before the Industrial Revolution and the rise a large divide between the one percent and the bourgeoisie, it was still written during a time of class struggle. During the time of Shakespeare, the feudal system of land-ownership was in full effect, and the people struggled for freedom from their monarcho-fascist oppressors.

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.”

Born 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, William Shakespeare became one of the uttermost iconic poets, playwrights, and pre-eminent dramatists of his era, and also of all time, bringing great attention to the dramatic arts industry. His works consisted of umpteen comedies and tragedies written in a conventional style with intricate metaphors and rhetorical phrases. Furthermore, several of his characters and plots resemble genuine humans with their wide span of emotions and conflicts among one another. One of his more popular tragedies includes Hamlet. In his 14th to 15th century play, Hamlet, written in 1599 to 1601, the characters in and around the royal palace of Elsinore, Denmark, face ample conflicts, followed by different physical and mental methods of reacting and dealing with their inner and outer consciences. Early on in the play, Marcellus, an officer who first sees a ghost of Hamlet Sr. in the royal palace after his recent death, states “Something rotten in the state of Denmark,” (I, iv, 99) foreshadowing the expanding corruption within Elsinore, starting with selfish greed, evolving into manipulation of people, and resulting in unprincipled revenge.