Corruption In Hamlet Analysis

Hamlet is considered to be one of William Shakespeare’s most tragic and famous plays. The script is a story of death and mistrust. In Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays the message that corruption infects all it encounters. Beginning with the deceitful death of the noble king, and ending with the tragic death of noble Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the dissipation of characters to send his message to the reader. In Hamlet, the murder of the King in the beginning of the play ignites the corruption. When he reappears as the Ghost, who speaks to Hamlet, he says, “sleeping within my orchard, my custom always of the afternoon, upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, with the juice of curséd hebona in a vial, and in the porches of my ear did pour the leprous distilment.” The Ghost is explaining to Hamlet that he was murdered by the Hamlet’s uncle, the new King of Denmark, and wants to be avenged. Thus, the corruption starts. Three characters in the play whose deaths were significant in Shakespeare’s message …show more content…
Ophelia’s death is linked to Polonius’s death and Hamlet’s harsh words to her. Hamlet seems to suspect that the King is using her to spy on him, and tells her, “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” In the midst of all of her troubles, she goes insane and drowns in the brook near the castle. The corruption makes its way to Ophelia because of her relationships with Hamlet and Polonius. Ophelia’s death is perhaps the most important death in Hamlet because it is proof of Shakespeare’s message to the reader. Ophelia is the most innocent character in the play, not having anything to do with the death of the King, or the death of Polonius, yet corruption still takes her life. The deaths in this play are either murder or a planned murder that turn into an accident. However, Ophelia’s death was not murder or a murder mishap—it was solely the result of the corruption that happened around