The Contagion In Shakespeares Hamlet - 1365 Words

In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the protagonist-Hamlet- is given a task to avenge his father’s death, but he is constantly procrastinating. The tragedy results in the death and corruption of many characters, including Hamlet. Hamlet’s conscientious neutrality and vitality during the spreading of the contagion prohibit him from becoming villainous or heroic, but his actions, infected by the contagion, indirectly affect other characters ultimately determining his final destination. The contagion that has been cast over Denmark is a result of Hamlet’s father’s ghost who is stuck in purgatory. After King Hamlet dies, Hamlet’s mother marries the dead king’s brother, Hamlet’s uncle. The motive of the Queen’s actions are unclear, but needless to†¦show more content†¦The king requests for Hamlet to avenge his death and kill the new king: Hamlet’s uncle, the king’s brother, â€Å"If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not. / Let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch for luxury and damnà ¨d incest† (I.v.88-90). He asks Hamlet avenge his death by removing the new king, and his request only deepens the contagion further because of the intent of another murder. Hamlet’s demeanor evolves to have scourge qualities as a result of his father’s ghost. The ghost allows Hamlet to decide how to approach avenging his father’s death, â€Å"But, howsomever thou pursues this act† (I.V.91). In Skulsky’s paper, he is baffled why the ghost gives Hamlet free reign to define revenge, â€Å"This evasive â€Å"howsomever† serves to point up the fact that the ghost has been disobliging enough to leave the task of defining revenge squarely up to Hamlet† (Skulsky 78). Hamlet is believed to be a young man who was not considered to take the throne, so it is confusing why the ghost would trust him to seek the proper revenge. The ghost’s unclarity promotes Hamlet’s negative and bloodthirsty thoughts, and corrupts his demeanor. After this point, Hamlet begins to deceive to people around him by acting differently to manipulate them while he decides how to seek revenge, but when heShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare906 Words   |  4 Pagesprotagonist, Hamlet, his mother Queen Gertrude and her husband King Claudius, along with Hamlet’s love interest Ophelia are all affected by human sin through the evocation of sickness and rot. Sin, the driving force of the play, impacts each character, decaying his or her mind, resulting in the emotional and physical demise of each character and the decay of the state of Denmark, which has become â€Å"rotten† after Claudius poisons his own brother and weds his sister-in-law. William Shakespeare’s tragic playRead MoreHow S Soliloquies Reveal His Character In William Shakespeares Hamlet816 Words   |  4 Pages In William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, the author writes about the Prince who seemingly goes crazy and kills many people that were once close to him after his uncle kills his father only to marry his mother. Shakespeare tends to have his characters talk through soliloquies in his plays to pr ovide specific details about what that character is feeling. Shakespeare is known for his depressingly gruesome writings and Hamlet is definitely in that category. In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet has seven soliloquiesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Tragedy Of Hamlet987 Words   |  4 PagesIn Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet speaks this soliloquy at the end of Act 3 Scene 2. At this point, the play-within-the-play has just been performed for the royal court and more specifically, Claudius. Hamlet was ready to observe anything unusual Claudius might do. The king’s strange behavior, after the Player King commits the same murder Claudius did to his brother, delivers the proof that the ghost of Hamlet’s father was right and that he can continue with his planRead MoreDeceit in Shakespeares Hamlet1062 Words   |  5 PagesDeceit in Shakespeares Hamlet In William Shakespeares Hamlet, deceit is a major cause of the downfall of Hamlet. This is demonstrated in three instances in the play. First, Polonius spies on Hamlet while he is talking privately with his mother Gertrude. Second, Claudius sends Hamlet away to England. Finally, Laertes and Claudius scheme to kill Hamlet. The first way that deceit leads to the eventual downfall of Hamlet is Polonius spying. In Act III, scent iii, Polonius decides to helpRead More Hamlets Sense of Humor Essay1391 Words   |  6 Pagesunrelenting angst would be a bit much for his audience to take, William Shakespeare strategically placed several humorous scenes throughout his masterpiece, Hamlet.   In particular, the character of Polonius fills the role of the comic fool; he is in two essential comedic scenes, one with his own children and then one with Hamlet.   Shakespeares acute ability to weave humor into this very heavy play is noteworthy, as his use of comedy goes beyond merely providing much-needed comic relief.  Ã‚   In factRead MoreThis Winter We Have Likely All Became Quite Familiar With1101 Words   |  5 Pagesdisease. In Shakespeare’s time, everyone certainly was. It was a significant part of life and it held significant symbolic value. Shakespeare made the most out of the motif of a physical disease or deterioration to address moral failures of the characters within the play. Much like a disease, moral corruption, and references to disease, spreads throughout the court of Denmark until it is at last purged with violence. Just as a disease starts with a single infection, the evil deeds in Hamlet start fromRead MoreCorruption in Hamlet by William Shakespeare1279 Words   |  6 Pagesbecome a barrier to continual development and make it so that essentially no room remains for justice to succeed. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the destructive force of corruption is clearly exemplified through the abundance of imagery concerning decay, death, disease, sickness, and infection as the play progresses. The first and foremost example of this corruptionis the murder of King Hamlet and the resulting incestuous marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, which forms the foundation for corruption becomingRead More A Darker Side of Our Soul Exposed in Hamlet Essay1477 Words   |  6 PagesA Darker Side of Our Soul Exposed in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   We live in a curious age of, tabloids, talk shows, and TV sound bites that purvey a shocking type of tawdry news. These sources of scandal make a lucrative business out of outrageous headlines. But this is nothing new.   Mankind has always had burning desire for uncovering secret truths--even in the time of Shakespeare.   For as Polonius said, If circumstances lead me, I will find/Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed/Within the centerRead MoreThe Nature of Evil in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay1739 Words   |  7 Pagesproves that good and evil cannot always be seen as simply black or white, but also as shades of grey making it difficult to label characters in various literary works, especially those of William Shakespeare. The ambiguity of evil in William Shakespeares Hamlet forces spectators to interpret each characters thoughts, actions, and personality in order to place them properly on the gradient of evil. Regardless of ones personal idea of evil, Claudius can be seen as a villain from many standpointsRead MoreHamlet Is Notorious For Its Critical Theme Of Revenge1042 Words   |  5 PagesDanielle Suchit Suchit 1 Ms. Ward ENG 4U 28 July 2017 Hamlet Essay Analysis Shakespeare’s Hamlet is infamous for its critical theme of revenge. However, the constant conflict between action vs inaction insinuates a deeper concern. For starters, Prince Hamlet frequently creates excuses to delay his father s revenge. He is always thinking of the consequences that may result if he proceeds with his treason