The Theme Of Corruption In Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare is about how corruption destroyed Denmark. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word corruption is dishonest or illegal behavior, especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers), the act of corrupting someone or something, and something that has been changed from its original form. In the tragedy, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is trying to avenge his father 's death. Nothing is going right for Hamlet these days. His father has passed away and everyone else in his life has moved on. His Uncle Claudius tries to convince Prince Hamlet that it’s life and he needs to move on with his life. It’s only been a couple of weeks and even his own mother has found a new husband. The …show more content…
Some people think Prince Hamlet has gone crazy, but really he is the only sane person in Denmark. Shakespeare has created a world in Hamlet where most characters are sane on the outside but crazy on the inside. One night, Hamlet is told by the ghost that is in the figure form of his father, King Hamlet, that he was murdered by his Uncle Claudius. Hamlet is skeptical about the ghost on whether he is telling the truth or not. Later on, Hamlet creates a play about the murder of his father to see how King Claudius will react. Based on the reaction of King Claudius during certain scenes in the play, Hamlet will know if the ghost was being truthful. Due to King Claudius’s corruption, Polonius’s family and those loyal to Claudius are destroyed by corruption.

King Claudius’s corruption is the reason why King Hamlet is dead. The ghost tells Hamlet, “The serpent that did