Death, Illness and Decay in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay

Death, Illness and Decay in William Shakespeare's Hamlet William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is full of talk about death, dead bodies, murder, suicide, disease, graves, and so forth. And there is no traditional Christian comfort or promise of eventual justice or happiness for the good people. But the message is ultimately one of hope. Hamlet is also definitely no saint, however, unlike most of the other characters in the play, he chooses not to compromise with evil. Near the end of Act I, Scene IV, as Marcellus and Horatio are deciding to secretly follow Hamlet and the ghost, Marcellus remarks â€Å"something is rotten in the state of Denmark.† Death, illness and decay are one of the central themes throughout the play. Hamlet begins with some of the guards on watch seeing an apparition of the recently deceased king, father of Hamlet, in Act I, Scene I. Soon afterwards, in Scene V, we learn that according to the ghost, King Claudius killed his own brother, and married his sister-in-law to gain the crown of Denmark. The ghost then asks Hamlet to revenge this death. From the beginning of Act II, Scene I, Hamlet sets about faking mental illness and insanity, as part of his plan for revenge against Claudius. In Act III, Scene II, there is going to be a play performed for the King, Queen, and nobles. Hamlet slightly modifies the play, altering the lines for some of the actors, in his continuing quest to find out the truth about his fathers death and seek revenge. The play begins with a story that is pantomimed. The king and the queen profess their love for one another, the king falls asleep, and a villain pours poison into the king's ear and seduces the queen. During this time, Hamlet cracks dirty jokes and the king ment... ...orms Horatio that he has altered the King's sealed document so that it asks for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, his two friends which spied and betrayed him. Hamlet is challenged to a duel with Laertes. Hamlet suspects foul play from the onset, but expresses his willingness to take part in the fight anyway, even if it means his own death. During the match, Hamlet is mortally wounded, as is Laertes, The Queen accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup and dies, and a dying Hamlet first wounds Kings Claudius and then forces him to drink from the same lethal cup. Hamlet and Laertes forgive each other, Laertes dies, and Hamlet then names Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, as his successor to the throne after dissuading Horatio from joining him in death. The play ends with Fortinbras arriving, accepting the throne, and ordering a hero’s funeral for Hamlet.