Shakespeare's tragic play "Hamlet" conveys several images of both sickness and disease; these images support the theme of political corruption.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Shakespeare's tragic play "Hamlet" conveys several images of both sickness and

disease; these images support the theme of political corruption. This theme can be

examined by focusing on three distinct aspects of the play. These include: the

foreshadowing mood in Act I, the fact that all of the novel's corruption stems from

misdeeds of various characters, and Hamlet's wisdom and concoction for vengeance.

The foreshadowing images in Act I, which revolve around sickness and disease,

help devise the novel's central theme of corruption. Act I is critical in establishing the

mood and tone of the novel; more importantly, though, the central theme of both political

and moral corruption is evident from the start, and directs the course of the novel. When the ghost of King Hamlet is conversing with his troubled son, he tells Hamlet that "[he] could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood...But this eternal blazon must not be To ears of flesh and blood" (I.5.19-25). When the audience or reader is at this point in the play, they are completely taken in.