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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A five page paper which looks at the main themes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with particular reference to the images of decay, corruption and poison which recur throughout the text. The way in which these images reflect both the degeneration of Denmark and the deterioration of Hamlet’s mental stability is examined, and how an obsession with the physical rather than metaphysical elements of death comes to motivate Hamlet’s thoughts and actions.
Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLhamletdecay.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
appear consistently throughout the text of Hamlet, such as the protagonists indecision, his obsessive self-analysis and declining self-esteem, which is evidenced particularly in the soliloquies. Madness, too, is a substantial
element in the play, as Hamlets feigned insanity gradually becomes more and more credible, and exemplifies a true state of mental imbalance under the stress of his knowledge of Claudius
evil deeds. The issue of misogyny, as shown in Hamlets relationships with his mother and Ophelia, is also an interesting theme which underlies the development of the narrative.
However, perhaps the most consistent image which pervades the text is that of decay and corruption, which runs through the narrative like a thread
of destruction and degeneration. Images of decay, rottenness and poison are ones which recur continually throughout the play, representing both the way in which the state of Denmark itself is
founded on the corruption of Claudius regime and also the degeneration of Hamlets own mental state as he becomes more and more obsessed with death and his own incapacity to
act. Chalquist (2001) notes that Hamlets constant self-examination and introversion results from his refusal to face the realities of death and corruption; this is something which must be experienced rather
than debated, and therefore Hamlets problems cannot be solved by introspection and self-analysis. The themes also symbolizes the deterioration of Hamlets
relationship with those around him, as he becomes estranged from his mother, Gertrude, his girlfriend Ophelia and his friends. At the beginning of the play, the appearance of the ghost
reminds Hamlet and his companions of the grave, and the ideas of decay and corruption, even before Marcellus states openly that something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I,v,90).
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