Shakespeares Corrupt Society

Shakespeare presents Denmark as a corrupt society in a variety of ways in Act One of Hamlet. Claudius is the main example and source of corruption as he is the head of Denmark and the main role model for the country to look up to. This is a worrying factor as what we learn of Claudius actions does not reflect well for the overall ruling of the Country. In Act One scene two the audience is introduced to the new king Claudius and his queen Gertrude. During his speech we learn that he has married his sister-in-law Gertrude. “Our sometime sister now our queen” this already displays a corrupt society as the heads of state are involved in incestuous activity. The hast of their marriage, “the memory be green” also shows that there may have been plans before the loss of King Hamlet which then leads to the doubt of queen Gertrude’s intentions . The audience can chose how to interpret queen Gertrude , either as a confused and easily influenced women who is a victim of the society she lives in, or they can view her as a manipulative women who is power hungry and strives to hold her position in society , so she has married her brother-in-law to maintain the title of Queen. Claudius’s attack on Hamlets grieving process for his father is vicious, as he comments that it is “impious stubbornness, ‘tis unmanly grief” but this is unfair to Hamlet as he is unable to accept a new father figure whilst dealing with the loss of his father, where as his mother’s betrayal has affected Hamlet by inflicting damage to his respect and trust of her. In scene 5 when the apparition describes King Claudius as “incestuous, that adulterate beast” the audiences’ suspicions are confirmed and the description of Claudius’s part in King Hamlets death the opinion of his character completely deteriorates.
The ghost’s importance of revealing corrupt society in Macbeth is great as he reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered in a treasonous act by his brother Claudius. He explains how he was resting in his Orchard and how “with juice of cursed hebona” as a poisonous substance which “swift as silver it courses through the natural gates and alleys of the body” as Claudius pours it in the ears of King Hamlet. The ghost thorough description of the acts performed in the murder of the King, which details of the effects “curd, like eager droppings into milk” allows the audience to believe the story being told by the ghost. He then mirrors Hamlets views on the hasty marriage of his mother by calling the royal bed of Denmark as a “couch for luxury and damned incest”.
Shakespeare’s use of fratricide for profit to show corruption works well as it is the focal point for the downfall of the society and hamlets sanity. Hamlet becomes blinded by a lust for revenge which steers him to make bad decisions. His first issue is that he has been asked by the ghost to avenge his father’s death, “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” This applies pressure to hamlet because he feels it is his duty to fulfil his father’s wishes. The speed at which Hamlet agrees to murder his uncle the King shows how there are cracks within the society because has been unable to accept a new father and believes it acceptable to murder a king who has the ‘divine’ to rule Denmark.
Corruption can be viewed for the first scenes of the play by the situation which Denmark is in. Gertrude is a source of this as she usurped the throne and also denied Hamlet of his birth right which affects the clarity and function of the royal family. In Act one scene 2 when Gertrude and Claudius urge Hamlet to raise his spirits it shows moral corruption as she should understand towards Hamlets grief and also be going through the stages of loss instead of having a wedding and throwing large parties and banquets. When Hamlet is left alone on stage he expresses to the audience his outrage of his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle. “A little more than kin, and less than kind” shows how hamlet is unhappy and unsettled by the new marital arrangement between his uncle and mother. “She married. O most wicked speed” displays Hamlets views short period of time that the queen used to grieve her last husband. “With such dexterity to incestuous sheets” shows how Hamlets views mirror those which modern audiences have on the relation between Claudius and Gertrude and the consequent dysfunction of family and state, stemming from this situation.
Shakespeare also shows corruption in Hamlet within appearance and reality, the difficulty of discovering and exposing the truth in the society. He uses the characters Polonius and Ophelia to shows this in Act one scene 3 where Polonius instruct Ophelia to disassociate herself from Prince Hamlet who he insists does not love her, even though he may say he does. “Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers” and the he wants Ophelia to disassociate herself with Hamlet to remove temptation, “As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet”.
In conclusion Shakespeare uses his characters as a device to exploit the extent to which Denmark is a corrupt society. He highlights the faults from within the royal family by the use of King Claudius and his incestuous wife Gertrude. Shakespeare then uses Hamlet and the ghost to show the corruption in the society as murderous tasks happen within such highly respected families. The use of the ghost allows suspicion as Elizabethan audiences would have viewed the ghost as an omen and signal of bad fortune. Hamlet’s aside’s feature a great deal of information about his views on the corrupt society, allowing the audience a detailed view on the ‘incest’ of the King and Queen, the treasonous murder of King Hamlet and also the corruption of judgement between Hamlet and Ophelia.