Hamlet Analytical Essay

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“Shakespeare created theatre. He had a genius full of strength and fertility, natural and without any spark of good taste and any knowledge of the rules.”-Voltaire Shakespeare’s Hamlet reflects 1601; a period of great change, political tensions and uneasiness affiliated with the attempted monarchal usurping. Hamlet holds profound resonance throughout generations.The construction of the world of Hamlet creates its value and relevance as a text; Shakespeare creates extensive atmosphere through characters, symbols and the juxtaposition of opposites that weave together to form a setting, plot and a final denouement that are authentic. Captivating traditional and modern audiences who become engrossed by the dexterous word-play and deep character …show more content…
One example being Polonius, attempting to increase his power and importance by spying for selfish means, this was a serious crime and was his downfall. The atmosphere of corruption and decay is set early in the play. Act 1, Scene 4, we encounter old King Hamlet’s ghost, who, betrayed by his power-hungry brother, is a symbol of revenge and corruption. Marcellus famously states, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” [ I.4.90], unknowingly referencing to Denmark’s rotten monarchial core and it’s effect upon Denmark. Continual linkages between corruption and decay are made, the ghost being the most evident. Hamlet refers to the air in Denmark as "a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours." [ ll.2.5], permeating far and wide, symbolic of the infectious quality of sin that Claudius brings. Imagery highlights the transforming of a being into a decaying mass symbolising sin’s effect on the human soul. In Act 5, Scene 1, Hamlet philosophises about humanity’s “returneth to dust” and how the eventual decaying of the human body is a great leveller of

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