Preview

Hamlet Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
687 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hamlet Essay
Corruption in Hamlet Corruption has and always will be a problem in our society. More specifically, corruption was one of the main themes in the novel Hamlet. Hamlet revolves around corruption between the characters, which makes corruption one of the most important themes of the novel. Corruption is such a broad topic and you are able to make connections to many things in life with it. But here I am going to connect corruption with: Animal Farm, August Burns Red. “The Truth of a Liar”, and Avenged Sevenfold. “Critical Acclaim”. My first connection is to the novel Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, corruption is shown when Napoleon and the other pigs break the commandments they had written up. They also illustrated corruption when they began to execute their own animals, and the last way corruption was shown was when the animals couldn’t tell the difference between Napoleon, who was a pig, and Pilkington, the farmer. In Hamlet, King Claudius is corrupt because he murdered King Hamlet to marry his wife, Gertrude. Animal Farm and Hamlet relate because in both stories the people of highest ranking do corrupt things to get or keep power. This ties in with my next connection to Hamlet, August Burns Red’s “The Truth of a Liar”. My second connection is to the song titled “The Truth of a Liar” August Burns Red. “This is not a one way road, you’re headed for the dead end”(August Burns Red). Those lyrics show that when you’re on the path of corruption you think that you will have no problems and simply cruise through life without anybody stepping in your way, but you are sadly mistaken if
Franzen 2 you think that. “You’re not a perfect man in a perfect world, look at where your ignorance has brought you.”(August Burns Red). This next set of lyrics shows how those who are corrupted think that they are doing everything perfectly and that there are no problems, where in reality their corruption or ignorance has caused a lot of problems. This relates to Hamlet because Claudius



Cited: August Burns Red. "The Truth of a Liar." Messengers. Solid State Records, 2007. MP3. Critical Acclaim. Perf. Avenged Sevenfold. Www.youtube.com. Warner Bros. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. Orwell, George. Animal Farm;. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    American author, John Steinbeck once said “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” The theme of corruption is demonstrated in Hamlet by a series of events that lead to devastating decay. The “beginning of the end” is caused by Claudius, the present king of Denmark, Gertrude’s new spouse, and Hamlet’s uncle. Claudius is an intelligent antagonist whose Machiavellian plan of fratricide and his thirst for power drives Shakespeare’s tragedy. His powerful ability to manipulate brings Hamlet to insanity, but also brings short-term peace to the kingdom of Denmark. Critics argue that this trait would not leads to Claudius’ demise if it were not for Hamlet. However, Claudius’ own fear of his corruption being exposed destroys his facade of a capable king and ultimately leads his downfall.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, shows a lot of different themes throughout this eye opening novel. But one main theme was really prominent and that was corruption. Corruption was shown in almost every aspect of the book. The Jungle shows corruption in the political system, the corrupt political bosses, and the horrible horrors of the meat packing industry. Jurgis’s family saw a lot of dishonesty, misconduct, crime and a lot more. They saw things like laws that were not enforced and salesmen who lie about their product just to make money. Most of these actions were happening were going on in the 1900’s, but even now these types of actions are very popular.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through the imagery of nature in a degenerated state such as an “unweeded garden” the idea of corruption in the kingdom is established. Such imagery continues throughout the play and Denmark becomes synonymous with a state of decay. The Jacobean thoughts suggest that the nation reflects a ‘diseased body’ because a state has the wrong king and thus the natural order is unbalanced. Further, moral corruptION is set up in Act One through the character of Claudius and establishes the theme for the later exploration for the moral corruptness of Hamlet. That is, in Act One, the catalyst for Hamlet to become morally corrupt occurs. Moral corruption is most obviously…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the theme of corruption and decay is a running feature. We follow a sequence of this corruption mostly through one character, King Claudius, which inevitably leads to all other characters who come in contact with this man being ultimately tarnished also. The very moment we are informed of Claudius’ “foul and most unnatural murder”, the state of Denmark begins to perish. I believe that this evident theme of corruption and decay is reinforced by Shakespeare time and time again by his masterful use of dominant images throughout. Shakespeare tends to create patterns of imagery to define his characters and in this case his themes.…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay Example

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    "The goal of procrastination is escape the immediate necessity of demand, obligation, or work" (Pickhardt). Hamlet's goal is to avoid killing Claudius, and he fabricates many schemes that delay this murder, and provides himself with many reasons not to kill him. Hamlet is very similar to modern teenagers because both have a tendency to procrastinate, and both feel the negative effects of their actions. In today's society, teenagers are masters of the art of procrastination. Teenagers procrastinate in many areas of their lives; the most common areas are school and work. Procrastination puts pressure on what once was a normal demand, and makes this demand take much longer to be finished. As Hamlet continues to delay killing Claudius, the pressure on him to kill his uncle increases. Likewise, modern teenagers put themselves in many difficult situations because of procrastination. Last minute studying, hurrying to finish tasks at work or putting off telling someone bad news are all common examples of the types of scenarios teenagers are often in because of procrastination. Teenagers often feel stressed or pressured in their lives because of all the things that need to get done. Similarly, the pressure on Hamlet to kill his uncle causes him a great deal of stress. It can be argued that this stress causes Hamlet to go mad. Hamlet, like teenagers in today's society, feel the pressure that procrastination puts on people. Moreover, the reason why teenagers procrastinate is the same reason why Hamlet continues to procrastinate throughout the play. At first, teenagers procrastinate to avoid something that needs to be done , such as homework. Then, once they see that they can get away with it, they continue to procrastinate to no end. In the same way, Hamlet first procrastinates so that he does not have to kill his uncle. Once he sees that he will have many chances to kill him, he chooses to…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages

    "No place indeed should murder sanctuarize; revenge should have no bounds." (iv, vii, 128-129). Revenge comes from intense hatred, anger and determination. Hamlet, the tragedy of the "melancholy" Dane was written by more than four hundred years ago by English playwright William Shakespeare, never seems to slow down, much less to stop and rest. The play itself demonstrates explicitly the dark side of human nature: dishonesty, betrayal, scheming, spying, abuse, aggression, and war. Revenge, being one of the important themes, plays a crucial role in the book. Throughout the years critics have fiercely disputed Hamlet 's indecision about avenge his father 's murder. What makes him too slow to respond to his revengeful will? In this essay, this will be addressed. Some original views will be offered and based on these ideas; a possible understanding of Hamlet 's delay will be suggested.…

    • 1800 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Procrastination: the act of avoiding tasks that may be dangerous, boring, difficult or morally conflicting. For some, procrastination can be an occasional occurrence, and for others it has become a reoccurring habit. Sometimes, it can have serious consequences. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, many characters voice their opinions about procrastination including The Ghost of Hamlet’s father, Claudius and Hamlet. Audiences are provided with many opportunities through a variety of characters to see Hamlet as a chronic procrastinator.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In Hamlet

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This is seen through Hamlet by William Shakespeare, as King Claudius becomes corrupt and presents an image of a caring and loving leader, when in fact, he has ulterior motives.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s death, however, he procrastinates throughout the play and doesn’t seek revenge until the end, when Hamlet finally acts, and kills his father’s murderer. Hamlet is delayed in seeking revenge by a number of factors throughout the play. He needs to know if the ghost is telling the truth before he seeks revenge. He fears the horrors of purgatory warned by the ghost. He also needs to get himself together before seeking revenge, and he procrastinates through discovering that revenge is easier said than done.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Shakespeare had written many plays which affected the audience of the Elizabethan era. His play Hamlet had the greatest effect on this audience. There are many important themes which lead to this great effect on the audience. This is demonstrated by Claudius’ speech in act IV scene V, the speech begins with “O, this is the poison of deep grief,” the passage summarizes what is happening at that particular point. Claudius, the king of Denmark, is reflecting on some of the events that have taken place. The way Claudius expresses this actions affect the Elizabethan audience by showing what a king does affects the authority, humanity, and inefficacy.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A majority of the characters in hamlet all face the problem of having conflicting feelings about their actions and desires. One of these characters is the new king of Denmark, Claudius. Claudius must choose between what is right and what is wrong, but his desires get the better of him. Claudius faces two different forces that actually end up illuminating the meaning of this famous piece of literature.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Essay

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Human beings are multifaceted creatures. A human is made up of thousands of different elements, each one setting one person apart from another. One of these elements is one’s personality. Everyone is made up of thousands of personality traits, and therefore, it cannot be said that a person is good or evil and left at that. An animal follows three main principles of survival: eating, sleeping and breeding. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the character of Hamlet states, “What is a man/ If his chief good and market of his time/ Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.” (IV, iv, 33-35) Hamlet believes that if a person lives to eat, sleep and breed, they are no more than an animal. Hamlet is accurate in his theory as these three actions are the basics of an animal’s continued existence, meaning that a person who does the same must therefore be alike to an animal. In today’s world, people are content with just being. They would rather just get by than doing something worthwhile that takes extra effort. In Hamlet’s opinion, God created people with the ability to remember and the power to 58reason for a greater purpose than just existing. This is relevant to today’s society as people only want to eat, sleep, and breed instead of attempting to use their other abilities to their full potential.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hamlet can be defined as one of William Shakespeare’s greatest creations. One theme that often occurs in a Shakespearean play is appearance vs. reality, the idea that a character or many characters appear one way, but are secretly planning to make a completely different decision. This choice is usually a selfish one and a decision that will only benefit a small group of people rather than an individual person. These choices often results in harming the majority of the population. In the play “Hamlet,” Characters such as Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear to be innocent, but in turn are actually attempting to accomplish a much larger goal. In “Hamlet,” playwright William Shakespeare uses conflict to portray the idea that people will conceal their inner thoughts and plans in order to gain the trust of those around them to complete their ulterior motive.…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He said that in the Third World corruption is not effectively confronted, but it is sometimes overlooked and not punished. It leads often to promotion of…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethics in Business

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power."…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays