Corruption
KEY IDEAS:
- Corruption due to regicide/fratricide
-> origins of corruption
-> creates a foundation of deceit/mistrust/moral decay reflected in the
surveillance/espionage - reflects Claudius’ paranoia
-> leads to Hamlet struggling with oral integrity
Marcellus: ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ -> metaphor of decay and corruption
which has happened as a result of regicide (we will find this out later) – links to A1S1 ‘sick at heart’,
A1S2 ‘all is not well’ [1.4]
Ghost: ‘Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder’ [1.5]
Hamlet [to R+G]: ‘Denmark’s a prison’ [2.2] - responding to the corrupt climate, triggered by just
discovering R+G are spying on him/betraying
Claudius: ‘O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven’ - metaphor for heaven being able to smell
his offence, apostrophe = despair / imagery of corruption/decay - regicide/fratricide disrupting the
natural order [3.3]
Claudius: ‘Is there not rain enough in the heavens / To wash it [his ‘cursed hand’] white as
snow?’ - metaphor of cleansing/purity vs corruption [3.3]
Hamlet: ‘Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, / Drink off this potion’ - finally
takes revenge [5.2]
A05
Hytner: “Dishonesty is at the heart of the regime”
Gardiner:
-> Claudius is a usurper
-> Claudius has “corruption beneath a dignified exterior”
Atlick: “The cunning and lecherousness of Claudius’ evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of
Denmark”
Whilst a modern audience clearly sees the destruction Claudius’ corruption has on Elsinore, a
17th century audience would have seen the usurpation as a truly corrupting force/concerning -
the origins of all subsequent trouble
Modern technology – CCTV in Doran’s production to show surveillance – a paranoid, corrupt
atmosphere
, - Corruption of women
-> Claudius’ corruption triggers a corrupt Oedipus complex + obsession with
purity/possession? - Hamlet fears he has a lack of control?
-> Hamlet is disgusted by his mother’s complicity in Claudius’ corruption, suggesting her
sexual behaviour proves moral weakness
-> through Hamlet’s perspective, she is just another part of the Danish court that his been
corrupted – leads to an obsession with purity reflected in his hateful speech directed at
Ophelia regarding her chastity
-> Corruption of women is not only a reflection of the rotting state of Denmark but a
lens through which Shakespeare explores betrayal, sexual morality and the breakdown
of trust
Gertrude: ‘His father’s death, and our o’erhasty marriage’ [2.2]
Hamlet: ‘frailty, thy name is / woman.’ [1.2]
Hamlet to Ophelia: ‘are you honest?’ - asking if she is chaste – making comments like Polonius and
Laertes [3.1]
Hamlet: ‘rank sweat of an enseamed bed / Stewed in corruption’ - continues to upset his mother
despite her protests – marital bed described as incestuous and disgusting – the sex is the worst
part for Hamlet [3.4]
Hamlet: ‘How stand I then, / That have a father killed, a mother stained, / Excitements of my
reason and my blood, / And let all sleep, while to my shame I see / The imminent death of twenty
thousand men’ - how can he have true cause but not act / pun of ‘blood’ referring to revenge and
his legacy [4.4]
Laertes: ‘from her fair and unpolluted flesh / May violets spring’ - still putting emphasis on her
purity/chastity [5.1]
A05
Branagh, 1996 - Hamlet and Ophelia have had sex – shown through flashbacks
Doran, Tennant, 2008
-> Doran: Gertrude and Claudius have a “vigorous sexual relationship” - Gertrude is presented
through Hamlet’s view as shallow and lustful in his production
-> In the Mousetrap, the queen player is played by a man, who acts in an absurd manner, showing
his bare chest indicating lust/lecherous nature – unflattering portrayal of Gertrude + player
representing Claudius wears shorts with a love heart on the crotch that opens to reveal a spring
(phallic, innuendo), indicating licentiousness
-> Hamlet kisses Gertrude on the lips in the closet scene – Oedipus complex, corrupt/wrong
KEY IDEAS:
- Corruption due to regicide/fratricide
-> origins of corruption
-> creates a foundation of deceit/mistrust/moral decay reflected in the
surveillance/espionage - reflects Claudius’ paranoia
-> leads to Hamlet struggling with oral integrity
Marcellus: ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ -> metaphor of decay and corruption
which has happened as a result of regicide (we will find this out later) – links to A1S1 ‘sick at heart’,
A1S2 ‘all is not well’ [1.4]
Ghost: ‘Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder’ [1.5]
Hamlet [to R+G]: ‘Denmark’s a prison’ [2.2] - responding to the corrupt climate, triggered by just
discovering R+G are spying on him/betraying
Claudius: ‘O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven’ - metaphor for heaven being able to smell
his offence, apostrophe = despair / imagery of corruption/decay - regicide/fratricide disrupting the
natural order [3.3]
Claudius: ‘Is there not rain enough in the heavens / To wash it [his ‘cursed hand’] white as
snow?’ - metaphor of cleansing/purity vs corruption [3.3]
Hamlet: ‘Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, / Drink off this potion’ - finally
takes revenge [5.2]
A05
Hytner: “Dishonesty is at the heart of the regime”
Gardiner:
-> Claudius is a usurper
-> Claudius has “corruption beneath a dignified exterior”
Atlick: “The cunning and lecherousness of Claudius’ evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of
Denmark”
Whilst a modern audience clearly sees the destruction Claudius’ corruption has on Elsinore, a
17th century audience would have seen the usurpation as a truly corrupting force/concerning -
the origins of all subsequent trouble
Modern technology – CCTV in Doran’s production to show surveillance – a paranoid, corrupt
atmosphere
, - Corruption of women
-> Claudius’ corruption triggers a corrupt Oedipus complex + obsession with
purity/possession? - Hamlet fears he has a lack of control?
-> Hamlet is disgusted by his mother’s complicity in Claudius’ corruption, suggesting her
sexual behaviour proves moral weakness
-> through Hamlet’s perspective, she is just another part of the Danish court that his been
corrupted – leads to an obsession with purity reflected in his hateful speech directed at
Ophelia regarding her chastity
-> Corruption of women is not only a reflection of the rotting state of Denmark but a
lens through which Shakespeare explores betrayal, sexual morality and the breakdown
of trust
Gertrude: ‘His father’s death, and our o’erhasty marriage’ [2.2]
Hamlet: ‘frailty, thy name is / woman.’ [1.2]
Hamlet to Ophelia: ‘are you honest?’ - asking if she is chaste – making comments like Polonius and
Laertes [3.1]
Hamlet: ‘rank sweat of an enseamed bed / Stewed in corruption’ - continues to upset his mother
despite her protests – marital bed described as incestuous and disgusting – the sex is the worst
part for Hamlet [3.4]
Hamlet: ‘How stand I then, / That have a father killed, a mother stained, / Excitements of my
reason and my blood, / And let all sleep, while to my shame I see / The imminent death of twenty
thousand men’ - how can he have true cause but not act / pun of ‘blood’ referring to revenge and
his legacy [4.4]
Laertes: ‘from her fair and unpolluted flesh / May violets spring’ - still putting emphasis on her
purity/chastity [5.1]
A05
Branagh, 1996 - Hamlet and Ophelia have had sex – shown through flashbacks
Doran, Tennant, 2008
-> Doran: Gertrude and Claudius have a “vigorous sexual relationship” - Gertrude is presented
through Hamlet’s view as shallow and lustful in his production
-> In the Mousetrap, the queen player is played by a man, who acts in an absurd manner, showing
his bare chest indicating lust/lecherous nature – unflattering portrayal of Gertrude + player
representing Claudius wears shorts with a love heart on the crotch that opens to reveal a spring
(phallic, innuendo), indicating licentiousness
-> Hamlet kisses Gertrude on the lips in the closet scene – Oedipus complex, corrupt/wrong
