Corrupt Character In Hamlet example essay topic

It seems that all of the characters in Hamlet spy, eavesdrop, use trickery and assemble plots in order to find out what the other characters are up to. Evidence from Shakespeare's Hamlet demonstrates quite clearly that any form of deception will lead to corruption. Deception acts as a major factor to the characters' downfall. Treacherous acts in this play lead to nothing but trouble. Throughout the play there is a progression of corruption that leads to death. Deceit plays a major role in Hamlet, causing the deaths of about half the characters in the play.

Everybody who dies in the play is either lied to by those who want them dead, or stabbed in the back by those dearest to them. In Act 3 Scene 3, Polonius agrees to eavesdrop on Hamlet's conversation with his mother by hiding behind a curtain. This act of deception gets Polonius killed because Hamlet stabs the curtain thinking that Claudius is behind it. Laertes is also a participant in deception, although he is unaware, he is a pawn in Claudius' evil scheme to kill Hamlet.

For Laertes and Claudius plan to kill Hamlet in a cowardly form of deception by poisoning the sword, and drink. Other cases in which deceit is the cause of death include the death of Ophelia, given the impression that she is no longer loved, by Hamlet, who is just pretending to be mad and really has feelings for her Treachery, another type of betrayal often results in death or punishment. The first and foremost case of treachery is the basis of which the play began, Old King Hamlet's murder by his brother Claudius for the crown. This treacherous act opened the door for revenge, which lead to Claudius' death. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were killed due to their treachery, and Hamlet fooled them when they were escorting him to his death, which leads to their own demise. Throughout the play we can trace a progression of corruption, that leads to death The war going on outside of Denmark only added to the corruption going on inside.

'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. ' (Act I, Scene 4) it could be interpreted that he is speaking of a threat of war, but when looked at as symbolic, nothing could better sum up Claudius' corrupting effect on the kingdom which is brought on by his unpunished crime. Polonius is perhaps the most obviously corrupt character in Hamlet. He's meddling and subversive, as he sets spies on his own son, and finally irredeemably and ultimately fatally corrupt and subversive, as he schemes and plots around Hamlet. His death - physical corruption - is a precursor, signifying to the audience the ultimate fate of all those characters exhibiting signs of corruption. In certain situations, the ones who create the deception, are the ones who fall victim to their own treacherous plan.

In other cases, it is the innocence of a person that leads them to their fatality. One thing is clear, Hamlet lived in a world of lies, treason, and cold hearted murder, while all he searches for is retribution. Although he does get it in the end, it comes with a costly price: his own life. After all, Hamlet himself best describes the amount of honesty in the world by saying, "Ay, sir. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man / picked out of ten thousand". (Act 2, Scene 2)..