Rot And Disease In Hamlet

Death is a concept that humanity has explored artistically and philosophically since the beginning of its existence. Although death is oft-seen as the finalities of all finalities, Shakespeare suggests through his play Hamlet that death is instead the overlooked gateway to new beginnings. In Hamlet, death leads not to non-existence, but rather to renewal and transformation, a recurring theme both in the text and subtext of the play. Shakespeare conveys this through the metaphor of rot and disease, the destruction and reformation of the Danish court and the transformation of Hamlet’s character.

Firstly, Shakespeare frequently uses the metaphors of rot and disease in order to represent both the decaying state of Denmark and its actors’ moral

To explain, the story initially begins with the Danish court in a state of unscrupulousness, marred by the supposed infidelity of Gertrude and the political murder of King Hamlet. To analyze further, through Ophelia’s emotional deficiency towards King Hamlet’s death and the despotic murder of King Hamlet, a subtext is created that implies that the members of the Danish court are driven by their own self-interests rather than focused on building their nation’s sovereignty. Additionally, the theme of the cycle of revenge is also prominent throughout the play, which creates the notion that if the Danish court were to carry on as it did in the beginning of Hamlet, only treacherous homicides and actions driven by selfishness and revenge would follow. With two prominent figures of the Danish royal family having been reduced to hate-driven machines guided only by their murderous intent, the cycle of corruption almost ensures that the Danish court will be led to implode by the members who are supposedly fighting to uphold its moral standards. On a similar note, the self-afflicted virtual suicide of the Danish nobility distracted its members from the foreign invasion of Fortinbras, who had arrived at the Danish court shortly after all its members perished. Examining the implications behind Fortinbras’ arrival, it would not have been possible for him to have overtaken the Danish nobility had it not been for the existing in-fighting and assassination plots between the political figures. Fortinbras’ arrival symbolizes the existence of newfound potential for Denmark, as it is most likely no longer plagued by the damage inflicted with the internal conflicts of Hamlet’s family. Despite the deaths of the entire Danish court, the nation of Denmark does not die, rather, it is being recreated under a different vision. Without the mass homicides and Fortinbras’ arrival, the state of