The Corruption Of Power In Hamlet

Power in the Play Paired with the History     Shakespearean works, as well as the Bollywood adaptations, have purposes to why power is shown the way it is in relation with legitimate history, as seen in Hamlet. The play, Hamlet, and the movie, Haider, both show the power of certain women, and both have a distinct plot about the overthrowing of someone with power. Both, the play and the movie also have specific reasons why this overthrow happened related to the time they were made. Hamlet’s overthrow of power refers back to Queen Elizabeth the First. Haider’s overthrow has to do with the Indian army allegedly taking people.

“To be or not to be: That is the question” (Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1). The quote written by Shakespeare is one of the most known quotes in the world. From great scholars who have spent years studying works of Hamlet to the young adults who have never read a piece of Shakespearean literature. Almost everyone has heard or said this saying, but do they know what it means? The answer to that is not really. That saying is part of a great soliloquy, and people have been discussing what it truly means since Shakespeare has written it. Many will say it is about suicide, while others may argue that it is about taking charge. All that is known is that Shakespeare was an intelligent man, who was very hard to understand. However, throughout his stories

Hamlet is as much a story of emotional conflict, paranoia, and self-doubt as it is one of revenge and tragedy. The protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, is instructed by his slain father’s ghost to enact vengeance upon his uncle Claudius, whose treacherous murder of Hamlet’s father gave way to his rise to power. Overcome by anguish and obligation to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet ultimately commits a number of killings throughout the story. However, we are not to view the character Hamlet as a sick individual, but rather one who has been victimized by his own circumstances.

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.

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 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.

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.

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the power grasping people hold the positions of power, making them rulers of their people. Claudius, despicable usurper of crown, despite the magnitude of his evil actions deceives the kingdom with his cunning wit and rises to the epitome of power in his society. Rational Horatio despite his fear of ghosts finds the strength to not only challenge the ghost but also protect Barnardo and Marcellus. Even ruthless Old King Hamlet accepts the challenge and battles Norway through which he becomes both a national success and a hero. However, despite the typical valiant demeanor of a hero the weak Hamlet ascends to the malevolent mantle of heroism his father desires. Hamlet’s supernatural father holds Hamlet up to

The tragedy of Hamlet follows a royal family, in which a young prince Hamlet is approached his late father’s spirit. The spirit reveals to Hamlet that the king was actually murdered by his own brother, Claudius, and he asks Hamlet to avenge the king. Much of the story revolves around Hamlet acting out of his mind while his family watches on in dismay. In an attempt to kill what he thought was Claudius, Hamlet kills Polonius. Polonius is Ophelia and Laertes father.

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.

The achievement of power with the help of corruption is an aspect in this world that is timeless, however it was a lot more evident in the time of Shakespeare (five hundred years ago). The view of corruption is exemplified in the play Hamlet through the eyes and actions of Claudius. He is the one who took role in carrying out a cowardly and obscure method for the murder of King Hamlet so that he can take control of all power. It is evident that Claudius has fallen victim to the social dilemma of corruption. His uncivilized rise to power has demonstrated the roles of what a mind may do when corrupt. In Act 1 scene 5 the ghost of King Hamlet himself states, “The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown” (I.v.39). This line

Mo Ibrahim once said, “Behind every corrupt politician are 10-20 corrupt businessmen”. Corruption has the ability to not only ruin close family relationships, but also cause many others to follow in the path and help the spread of corruption. This theme is seen throughout the book, Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. As this mentality of sinful acts is evident in the antagonist, Claudius, his mentality and actions has affected many other characters such as Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia. Claudius’s efforts to gain power through sinful acts have caused an unstable chain of events that leads to the kingdoms, and the royal families, ultimate demise.

The epic tragedy in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, shares several tragedies of corruption. When Hamlet’s father’s eerie death happens, Hamlet seems to have heaps of problems. These problems position Prince Hamlet in a world of evil. William Shakespeare uses the dramatic elements of plot, character, and dialogue to illustrate the theme of corruption in Hamlet.

Throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, themes of rottenness and corruption are shown as the state of Denmark deteriorates when King Hamlet is murdered by his brother, Claudius. Hamlet Jr. knows of Claudius’ rotten deed, and spends a majority of the play conspiring to kill Claudius. In one of Hamlet’s many soliloquies, he states, “Tis an unweeded garden / That grows to seed”(i.ii.139). The “unweeded garden” begins with Claudius, and eventually corrupts Denmark as a country. Hamlet attempts to weed the growing garden of corruption to restore Denmark’s glory, but ultimately becomes a weed himself due to the nefarious acts he commits.