We are constantly reminded of the pervading atmosphere of decay. Right at the beginning of the play a guard, Francisco, says ‘I am sick at heart,’ setting the tone for the whole text. with weeds overwhelming healthy plants, everything decaying and rotting, and with poison killing wholesome things. The rottenness in the state of Denmark is reflected everywhere in images of ill health. Images of corruption- decay, rotting, disease – proliferate throughout the text. It reveals itself, not only in the actions of the characters but very strongly in the imagery. Political corruption is a major theme in the play. The word “state,” points to the body politic: the play has a strong political element, and the word “rotten” indicates a corroding, decaying, unhealthy condition. However, the line heralds two basic things about the text. He is not only talking about the ghost but also about Denmark’s problematic relationship with Norway, a subject that the guards had been discussing. On the surface he is saying that something bad is happening in the country. While he is away, one of the officers, Marcellus, commenting on what the ghost’s appearance may mean, observes, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” They all tell him not to go but he insists and threatens them with violence if they try and stop him. The ghost appears and beckons Hamlet, who follows it. Horatio tells Hamlet about it and Hamlet goes out on to the battlements to see for himself. While he is there the ghost appears but when they challenge it it refuses to talk to them and leaves. The play begins with Hamlet’s friend, Horatio, who is visiting the royal castle, Elsinore, going out on to the battlements because he has heard that the ghost of the recently murdered king, Hamlet’s father, has appeared to the officers on guard duty. The line, ‘ To be or not to be, that is the question,‘ is without doubt the most famous quote in Shakespeare, and ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,’ also a Hamlet quote, runs close. Its hero, the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, is probably the most famous of all Shakespeare’s characters. Shakespeare lovers tend to consider Hamlet to be Shakespeare’s greatest play, and certainly, it is arguably his most famous. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order.
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