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Shakespeare's Use Of Corruption In Hamlet

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Hamlet Essay Explore how time and place are used in Shakespeare’s Hamlet to shape the audience’s understanding of corruption. In your response, make detailed reference to the play. Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, Hamlet (1892) encompasses perennial concerns on corruption that are not only applicable to the Elizabethan era, but also to contemporary society. As a result of corruption, Hamlet is perceived as an afflicted character struggling to live in a world of complex appearances and paradoxical actions. Consequently, his overwhelming desire and reason for filial revenge is instigated, reflecting the intricate nature of the human condition in the undertaking of his vengeance. Shakespeare expertly explores Elizabethan ideologies in the background …show more content…

Furthermore, Claudius’ Machiavellian nature is divulged, executing fratricide in his egotistical desire for power. However, his sinister actions are masked as he exhibits himself as a sympathetic king and husband, conveyed through his use of parallelisms, “with mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage”. He successfully stabilises the melancholic event of Old Hamlet’s death with the joy of his incestuous marriage, heightening his manipulative actions as he tries to attract and be compassionate with the court. Additionally, Claudius’ usurping of the crown interrupts the Elizabethan value of maintaining the social hierarchy, eventually causing a sense of corruption. This is depicted through the metaphor of an, “Unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things that rank and gross in nature”, underlining Denmark’s state of instability in conflict. Ultimately, from the realisation of Claudius’ facade in conjunction with the distortion of Elizabethan values, the audience sees the corruption that leads to Hamlet’s death, along with the demise many other innocent characters affected by this

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