corruption key quotes

Corruption of Denmark

‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’, court and body politic, motif of disease. Marcellus - The vision of this ghost is symbolic of something bigger than it seems on the surface. Sets ominous tone and the idea that Denmark is seriously disturbed and amiss, 'rotting' denoting to decay and turmoil. Presence of the ghost suggests something larger than disruption but symbolises the corrupt usurpation of the throne - body politic the corruption has spread to the highest level of power. Said by minor character- everyone aware

its an unweeded garden/ that grows seed things rank an gross in nature

o wretched state! blossom blocked as death! oh dimmed soal that struggles to be fee art mortal engaged!
help angels

the cursed hand washed it white as snow

Hamlet states, "the body is with the king, but the king is not with the body". This is a very controversial statement as he is saying that "the body" i.e. the people support a king who is "not with the body" i.e. not supporting them. He is suggesting that the diseased body that Claudius literally created by murdering his brother, creates a diseased court and nation; the reason for every character- except Horatio's corruption.

Corruption of Claudius

'The serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown'

by killing Old Hamlet, Claudius would be breaking the Divine Right of Kings. He is hypocritical however as he references God's belief in the divinity of Kings ('There's such divinity doth hedge a king / That treason can but peep to what it would') despite his blatant disregard for the 'divinity' that would have surrounded Old Hamlet

"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."

‘Offense is rank’ ‘foul murder’ ‘cursed hand’ ‘corrupted currents’ ‘wretched state’

"I am still possessed / Of those effects for which I did the murder, / My crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen"

Ophelia corruption

I did love thee
indeed you made me believe so

get thee to a nunnery why wouldn't thou be a breed to a sinner? get thee nunnery

Corruption of hamlet? Or not? Actually i think its the opposite

ONLY CORRUPOT WHEN DOESNT THINK- IMPULSE UNJUSTIFIED MURDER OF POLONIOUS

Delay- yes delay has consequences however corruption is not one pf them

Need for justice

Rosencrantz and guildenstern as well as polonious

Spy quotes

Horatio

Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio (Marcellus) 1.1

Horatio: Horatio is introduced to us as a respected scholar. The soldiers
superstitiously believed that ghosts only speak Latin and
Horatio as a learned man can communicate then with this spirit.

Corruption key points

Spread, never just with an individual, especially an Ind w power

-from regicide as bad, surveillance and usurping

-dont have to be corrupt, external corruptive thoughts and pressures cannot penetrate through own moral judgement and awareness- education

Transgen trauma

Benedict cumberbatch- young die and suffer as a result of elders actions

Gertrude-
"I am still possessed / Of those effects for which I did the murder, / My crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen"

Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love'

Hamlet - Juxtaposing images shows the internal conflict Hamlet faces as he is also torturing himself with these thoughts. Idea of covering foulness over with sweet words and endearments

Spying and surveillance

There is much spying and surveillance in the play with Claudius describing himself and Polonius as "lawful espials". The constant surveillance of the court leads more innocent characters to corruption such as Ophelia and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern's who are ordered to spy on Hamlet. The reason that this atmosphere is evoked is due to Cluadius being corrupt and having to spy on people to watch his own back.

In Elizabeth England, spying was very common at court with Queen Elizabeth even having her own spymaster- Lord Burghley.
Playwrights were seen as controversial so Shakespeare himself was affected by surveillance by the State.

Doran's TV adaptation of Hamlet focuses very much on the theme of surveillance as the moden twist features CCTV cameras capturing Hamlet's every move. Doran states that "an atmosphere of surveillance purvades the play."

‘Denmark is a prison’

Hamlet as corruption critic- disagree

Wilson Knight states that "Hamlet is in fact the poison in the veins of the community". Although Hamlet does wreak havoc in the play through is lack of inaction, it is the corruption of the state and Claudius in particular that leads to the tragedy. If it had been Hamlet who was the corruption of the community, the audience would not have felt the sense of catharsis that they do at the ending because the protagonists eventual murder of Claudius would not be as fulfilling or cleansing if he was the source of corruption all along.

‘The revenge demanded of hamlet is itself a contamination’ - prove wrong by versions of the film at the time and revenge tragedies and critics of hamlet

Body politic critic

‘The decay of the state is mirrored in the moral decay of its inhabitants’

Harold bloom

The decay in Denmark…originates in Claudius a.c Bradley

Ghost critic

‘The ghost of king hamlet represents a spectre of political corruption that haunts the danish court. His appearance signals the moral decay that permeates the play; Stephen Greenblatt

Surveillance critic

‘Power in Denmark depends upon concealment’

‘The court is permeated by deception’ s greenblatt

Feminist corruption

Elaine showalter- Ophelia’s madness is ‘emblematic of the corruption inherent in a society that denies women agency and autonomy’

Gertrude marriage is ‘symptom of limited agency’ leading to ‘moral decay of court, highlighting the ways in which women are complicit in own oppression’ Carolyn Heilbrun

Hamlets ‘cruel treatment’ pf Ophelia ‘contribute to the corruption of relationships and degrading of women within the court’

Film for corruption

Ethan hawke- in city w pollution