Hamlet's Denmark Is No More

Hamlet's Denmark is no More

In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, Denmark goes through dark changes that ultimately end in the formation of a new ruling family. Throughout the play, family is torn apart and characters are murdered. Hamlet is centered around the theme of decay and corruption that gradually increases from Act to Act in the main characters and plot. The death that takes place can be said to stem directly from the corruption present in the characters who can be considered "vengeful". This "need" for characters like Hamlet and Claudius to enact devious acts on one another, plays into how they are corrupt. Along with Hamlet and Claudius, Ophelia's characteristics go through a falling that leads to more downfall in

This insanity stem off the ghost wanting him to avenge his father's death against Claudius. When Hamlet discovers the nature of the ghost's presence, he states to Marcellus and Horatio, "I perchance hereafter shall think meet/ To put an antic disposition on," (171-172). By saying this, Hamlet is admitting that he will be acting differently from this point on. He is telling his friends that they should not think much of it and to go along with it. What they do not know is that he is going to be acting insane due to anger against Claudius and his need to take revenge. Hamlet's self-corruption is due to his growing hatred for Claudius and will ultimately be the downfall of his character. While he is mad at Claudius for killing his father and now marrying his mother, Hamlet has a newfound disliking of his mother for letting it happen. This drives him even more to go out and avenge the one person who didn’t betray him, his father. With everyone turned against him, Hamlet "looses" his mind and creates a mindset that will get him through all the corruption around him. The scholar Judith Hamilton states in her article, "Something is Rotten…" in Hamlet's Denmark: Claudius as Perverse and Psychopathic Character, how his personality traits lead him to enact his set plan when he states, "…Hamlet has elements of each of the obsessional and the hysterical

To the people of Denmark he is seen as the brother of King Hamlet that is looking out for their interests. To his family and most importantly young Hamlet, he is the monster that killed his father and took away his kind mother. Claudius's corruption lies deep beneath his exterior and causes everything into motion. As the play progresses, Claudius is seen to only get worse with his actions. In Act IV, Claudius is talking with Laertes about a plan to kill Hamlet without having the people think it is foul play. He remembers how Hamlet has always been jealous of Laertes' sword abilities. They both hatch a plan where they will tempt Hamlet to a duel against Laertes and Laertes will use a sharpened blade that has poison on it. With this plan being made, Claudius has come up with a plan for Hamlet's demise, which will just add to the people he has killed. In Act III, Hamlet and Gertrude begin to talk and argue about the new "great" king. Hamlet is trying to get his mother to confess to how bad of a man Claudius is and to make her feel ashamed of going to him right after her first husband was killed. Hamlet is explaining Claudius's faults when he says, "A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe/Of your precedent lord, a vice of kings,/...That from a shelf the precious diadem stole..." (98-102). In this part of the play, Hamlet is exposing