Role Of Corruption In Hamlet

The Corruption of a Kingdom William Shakespeare is known for creating dramatic plays with sudden deaths and intense morals to show how people’s behavior affects everything around them. Hamlet is a prime example of dramatic deaths and the play’s morals are based on the lines of what is considered sane and insane. Insanity and corruption are vital roles in the play. Major events in the play are a king being murdered by his brother and the new King’s nephew going insane while plotting to kill him after murdering his father. Hamlet is full of death, decay, and corruption. Prince Hamlet ultimately causes all of the chaos by trying to avenge his father’s death and destroying the life of anyone that gets in his way. Shakespeare uses Hamlet to show …show more content…
The citizens of Denmark believe that the King was killed due to a snake bite while in battle, but if the citizens knew the truth, there would be chaos amongst everyone. The new King of Denmark, Claudius, is actually responsible for the death of King Hamlet and even marries Gertrude, which is King Hamlet’s newly widowed wife. Queen Gertrude and Claudius marry only two short months after King Hamlet’s death. In the article Wormwood, Wormwood!, it is said that “In second husband let me be accurst! None wed the second but who kill’d the first,” (Hockey, 174). Hockey says this to show that Gertrude should not have married Claudius; instead, she should have at least waited and grieved for a longer amount of time. Claudius committed grave oppression and treachery all for the rulership of Denmark. Most would think that his actions are a bit extreme and would question Claudius’s mental state. Claudius creates the snake bite story so people would not think that he is the cause of the death of King Hamlet. Claudius, the new King of Denmark, is a prime example of how power and wealth can cause an individual to go insane thus leading to the corruption of a