Corruption in Hamlet

The theme of corruption appears frequently in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, signifying the moral decline of both the people and the government.

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," says Marcellus, one of the soldiers, to Horatio, after seeing the ghost of Hamlet's father. That's a significant quote that shows us something is wrong with Denmark— that something terrible is happening in Denmark. Moreover, the fact that it's not someone royal, some main character who utters these words, but rather, it's just a soldier, shows us that this rottenness is so severe that even the public is aware of the situation. In the play, the theme of corruption shows itself in the imagery, as well. We see that everything is rotting, and there are images of decay and disease throughout the text.

In the very beginning, we hear one of the soldiers, Francisco saying "And I am sick at heart," and the reason for that is the diseased situation of his country. Francisco's words, along with Marcellus', set the gloomy mood of the play, and emphasize the rottenness, once again.

There are many reasons for that rottenness, and that rottenness includes a general criticism of society. When we look at the relationship between countries, between Norway and Denmark, for example, we see that there's a hostility between them, and we see that Fortinbras attacks Poland and causes a great number of people to die just for reputation, just for fame. We learn that he has been planning to attack Denmark, but he's not allowed to do that, so he just attacks Poland instead.

One of the main reasons for this rottenness is the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius. A marriage that is seen as incestuous since Claudius is Hamlet's uncle. "She married. Oh most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets." Hamlet says. We learn that his mother quickly got married to his uncle, and didn't even mourn that much after her husband's death. We see that Hamlet is angry because of that, and he even compares his mother to a beast in the: "O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason / Would have mourned longer - married with my uncle" part.

Dishonesty of the characters is another thing we can relate to the rottenness. Throughout the play, all the major characters—except Horatio, who is always honest with him and who is the one Hamlet can trust with all of his heart till the bitter end—disappoint him as they're not honest with him. Claudius disappoints him by murdering his father, his mother disappoints him by marrying his uncle, and Ophelia by ignoring Hamlet and doing whatever his father and brother say. And his so-called friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern lie to him, for example.

Another key factor of this rottenness, the most important one, comes with something his father's ghost tells Hamlet: "The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown." which means Claudius is the murderer of Hamlet's father. After that, we see how the collective madness, rottenness in Denmark turns into a personal madness with Hamlet as he tries to figure everything out while acting like he's a madman. Hamlet finds himself overthinking all the time because he doesn't want to make the wrong decision and he wants to make sure that his father's ghost is right. In these: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself / a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." and "Denmark's a prison." parts, for example, we see that Hamlet feels like he's in a prison-like situation because of the rottenness in Denmark which he takes upon himself to solve by avenging the death of his father. We see that Hamlet is unable to act on his revenge quickly and he feels like he's trapped in that corrupted, diseased situation— he's trapped in the diseased, cruel plots of the corrupted people such as his uncle.

Hamlet wants to make sure of doing the right thing, but overthinking makes everything worse for him and the others. Because of that, one might argue that he becomes kind of corrupted, in a way, as well. When he finally acts on his revenge, things escalate rather quickly. He kills Polonius, thinking it's Claudius behind the curtains, causes Ophelia to die even though not directly, causes the death of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz—sending them to their death—his mother, Claudius, Laertes, and lastly, his own death. Even though Hamlet doesn't make it out alive, he brings the rottenness, the corruption down with him, as well. It's almost like Hamlet is a mirror absorbing, rather than only reflecting, all of the corruption around him and eventually sacrifices himself and shatters into a million dusty pieces when he finally decides that he had enough.