Saturday, June 1, 2019

Corruption in Hamlet :: Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

Corruption in hamlet An incidental comment from a minor record lays down, in the opening moments of Shakespeares Hamlet, the theme which is to pin together all its aspects. Francisco the guard says, I am sick at heart. Act I. Sc. I, 29. Franciscos sick melancholy is in keeping with the atmosphere of corruption and decay which permeates the play unexplained, difficult to define, but with a clear component of dread. And, typically, his expression of misgivings is misinterpreted, perhaps even underestimated. Barnardo, seeking patent reasons for Franciscos distraction, asks whether Francisco has had a quiet watch. Perhaps he wonders if the ghost has disturbed Francisco, but whatever is ailing Franciso remains secret, simply becoming a part of the burning atmosphere. We are constantly reminded of the pervading atmosphere of decay through the imagery used in the play. It is a significant point that the ghost, the only character that could arguably be termed an outside observer, an d who is certainly qualified to make some form of prophetic judgement, should be one of the prime sources of imagery of decay, poison and rotting. Upon my secure hour thy uncle steal With juice of cursed hebona in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment . . . . . . doth posset And curd, like eager droppings into milk, the thin and wholesome blood. So did it mine. And a most blink of an eye tetter barked about, Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust All my smooth body Act I, Sc. v, 66 - 78 A graphic description, especially since only moments before the ghost had instructed Hamlet not to pity it Throughout the play we can trace a progression of corruption, that leads to death, through disease in the characters of Polonius, Claudius and Hamlet. Polonius is perhaps the most obviously corrupt character in Hamlet. His corruption has occurred long before the play begins the progression is in the extent to which it is revealed to us. From this c ourteous, almost comically long-winded member of the court, emerges a personality that is starting line dominating (as he instructs Laertes These few precepts in thy memory/ Look thou character. Act I, Sc. iii, 63), clearly abusive towards Ophelia Affection? Pooh You speak like a green girl, Unsifted in such perilous circumstance,

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