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Poison In Hamlet Quote Analysis

1006 Words5 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, there is an abundance of literal and metaphorical poison that creeps into the lives of the characters that are stationed throughout the play. Therefore, a death of a family member can be a temporary emotional poison, and can be received as both literal and metaphorical. Shakespeare uses the symbol of literal and metaphorical poison to not only illustrate the fall of the characters in the play, but comment on how greed, lust, and a desire for revenge can corrupt a person. Every incorporation of poison contains a significance to the play. William Shakespeare begins the play Hamlet, by introducing poison and planting the seed of death in Denmark. Claudius poisons his brother King Hamlet for the throne of …show more content…

Hamlet discovers that his father’s death was murder, and from his mother’s new husband, King Claudius. This fuels Hamlet with the poison of rage and revenge. With Hamlet fuelled with vengeance, he displays rebellious actions affecting the kingdom. In the midst of Hamlet’s blind anger he kills Polonius in haste. Claudius uses the situation to his advantage to persuade to Laertes that Hamlet is at fault for his fathers and sisters death. The kingdom continues to become poisoned when Laertes and Hamlet engage in a fencing match. However, Claudius prepares poison on Laertes sword, in addition to a poisoned goblet, “ I’ll have prepared / him / A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, / If he by chance escape your venomed stuck” (4.7.181-184). As the kingdom continues to have to the spread of the poison, it is very hard to …show more content…

The love and betrayal she feels for Hamlet, and also the unjust murder of her father poisoned her mind. This causes her to go mentally insane, and drives her to madness. Laertes says in the beginning, “The canker galls the infants of the spring / Too oft before their buttons be disclosed” (1.3.43-44). He tells his sister, the “infant of the spring”, that she is too young, and innocent to have her heart broken by Hamlet, the “canker”. Hamlet’s love is a poison to Ophelia, evident when he says he no longer loves her as she becomes upset since she believes she has been “deceived”. However, the death of Ophelia’s father is what truly pushes her over the edge into complete madness. The deep grief she feels since her father dies is like a poison to her mind. Ophelia is eventually driven so mad by the poison in her mind that she drowns herself, therefore the poison literally kills her as

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