Corruption Theme In Hamlet

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Hamlet is largely considered to be one of the greatest works of English literature of all time. Written by one of the greatest writers of all time, William Shakespeare, it tells the story of a young prince whose father is secretly murdered and his mother marries the king’s brother, and the prince avenging his slain father. As with all stories, there are themes that go along in the story that help to understand the story and to put the story in a real life perspective. The themes in this story are a applicable to real life now as they were back when the story was written in the 1600s. The themes of death, suicide, corruption, and revenge are things people back then were very familiar with. The themes of death and suicide are similar by …show more content…
The corruption starts before the story with the murder of King Hamlet by his brother Claudius. The corruption continues when Claudius uses Laertes’ grief and turns it into anger for Hamlet. Claudius manipulates Laertes into killing Hamlet for him, thus not tarnishing Claudius’ reputation (Hamlet, CITATION). Corruption is very common today in practices of business and in many governments. People in governments want to things: money and power. As a result they will do just about anything to get what they want, much like Claudius did in getting his nephew …show more content…
Its themes and plot are easily applied to the modern day, thus making the story somewhat relatable. Many of the readers are most likely not royalty in the exact same situation, but the ways that Hamlet deals with his misfortunes and the people around him treating him like he is crazy could be applied to modern people. The theme of death is quite obviously most applicable because everybody deals with death at some time or another. The themes of corruption and revenge slowly lose their wide scope because those are more isolated to certain groups. Despite all of this, though, these themes and many more in the story that were not mentioned can easily be applied to the modern

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