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Hamlet's Denmark Is No More

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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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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150-153), whom he holds accountable for his father's murder. Claudius's presence in their lives serves as a constant reminder of this betrayal, escalating Hamlet's feelings of hostility toward his mother. Hamlet's resentment towards Gertrude for marrying Claudius fuels his desire for vengeance and causes him to act impulsively and recklessly, further pushing him towards his inevitable destruction. Ultimately, Hamlet's inability to forgive his mother for marrying Claudius and let go of his hostility, contributes to his tragic fate leading

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Claudius expresses his thoughts on Hamlet to many people including Gertrude: “His liberty is full of threats to us all” (iv.i.14). Hamlet makes attempts to expose Claudius for murdering his father by putting on a play that mirrors the murder and he shames his mother for marrying Claudius. After seeing the play and hearing of Polonius' murder, Claudius felt even stronger about Hamlet being a threat. In order to prevent Hamlet from convincing everyone Claudius should not be king. He tells the people around him that Hamlet has gone mad and must leave.

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The other motive why to a public count I might not go is the great love the general gender bear him” (IV.vii.11-20). In this quote, Claudius talks to Laertes and reveals the only two reasons why he will not kill Hamlet which was because his mother, Gertrude, is his wife who loves her son Hamlet, and that he is admired by all the citizens of Denmark. Also anything Claudius says against Hamlet will end up hurting him and his power, rather than the one he was targeting for. Additionally, when Claudius is planning the murder of Hamlet, he is showing intelligence because he thinks ahead to all outcomes of the fencing match against Laertes and Hamlet. He decides that having another plan would be smart to make sure his plan is fully accomplished.

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Moreover, Hamlet wasn’t insane, he changed and was only focused on Claudius because of his desire to kill him for his father. He also let out such hurtful words to his mother from building up anger that spilled out, when he would never talk to his mother like that before. Hamlet and Claudius both lost themselves in having such a desire to kill, to feel they have accomplished their

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The story of Hamlet ends in a devastating

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Not only he was the innocent victim and the other the “cold-blooded fratricide” (Shakespeare 37), the rule of the two kings was very distant. Under the elder Hamlet, the kingdom of Denmark seemed to be a very successful government -- it was widely respected abroad. It seems to have been a kingdom which both citizen and alien recognized as strong and good. However, under Claudius, the name of Denmark was lost. Corruption stalked through the land, and foreign powers in Denmark became noticeably weak and debased.

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It seems that Claudius was not happy with just taking his brothers throne, he also took his brother’s wife. Hamlet feels that the new king is full of greed and has taken over their lives. On top of his obsession with revenge Hamlet also appears to have sexual desire for his mother. The loss of his father along with his mother’s marriage to Claudius and his confusion to his feelings for his mother have set hamlet on a dangerous.

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However, Hamlet’s goes through a journey of different feelings towards this motivation. Hamlet is initially ardent to kill Claudius, driven by his anger and hate towards him. For example, Hamlet describes his hate for Claudius when he exclaims, “O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!... At least I’m sure it may be so in Denmark (1.5.107–110). His description of Claudius as the villain shows that Hamlet seeks to commit justice for the corruption that Claudius has brought about.

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Hamlet Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare is a deep dark revenge tragedy of love and family betrayal. The revenge that Hamlet wants for the death of his father at his uncle’s hand consumes him so much that he loses his mind and causes everyone including the innocent to die. Hamlet is angry over the betrayal he feels when in discovers his uncle Claudius, who is now king killed his father. His mother marrying his uncle who, he now sees as a whore and Ophelia his true love repels his love.

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Hamlet sees Claudius' malicious ambition. Thus, the motive behind Hamlet’s revenge. Hamlet can no longer have sympathy toward Claudius and even his mother. This moment marks the beginning of Hamlet’s craziness. As one can see, Claudius is a villain due to his evil motives in killing the

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Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

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However, Hamlet soon discovers that Claudius has been lying to him, and Claudius’ real motive is to kill Hamlet in order to exterminate all possible threats to his reign. Claudius’ role play affects the entire country of Denmark, and he convinces the people that he is the rightful king, when he is not, and has murdered his brother for the throne. Gertrude, too, takes on a role; throughout the play, she seems oblivious to her wrongdoings. She claims that she loves Claudius, and did not just marry him for political reasons.

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Hamlet is stressed over his own father's murder, but he has to plan the right way to murder his Uncle Claudius. At one point, he thought he had finally murdered Claudius but it turned out to be Polonius, the chief counselor to the king . This murder only complicated things for Hamlet and caused him to be more confused about what to do with the situation. Shakespeare decided to depict Hamlet in a way that shows his flaws because it creates drama in the play.

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He felt betrayed by his mother who married his uncle, shortly after King Hamlet’s death. Prince Hamlet promised revenge to avenge his death thus he looked for a plan. He decided to feign madness as he spoke with Polonius so that Claudius questions him. The rest of the play questions Hamlet’s motives and whether he is, indeed, mad or acting. He’s convinced Claudius of his madness, although he knows not of his fate he delays the King’s murder.

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