Hamlet Human Condition Essay

Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet explores the relevance of the human condition in a flawed society, through his treatment of morality and religion. Shakespeare addresses the nature of humanity and the societal flaw of corruption through the development of a diseased kingdom in Denmark. This can also be seen in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1990 production Hamlet, a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s conditioning of humanity and reflecting textual integrity through time. Analysis of these portrayals of Hamlet has shaped our understanding of Shakespeare’s utilization of the text as a source to educate audiences on the human condition. Hamlet’s focus on corruption and its subsequent impact on individuals and society is raised in Claudius’ usurping of the throne. Contextualised in a period linked with the Great Chain of Being, Hamlet see’s Claudius’ murder of the old king and consequent crowning as king, “the serpent that did sting my father’s life/now wears his crown” as a transgression of the natural order. This corruption of the throne quickly transmits to the rest of Denmark, the appearance of the ghost, “bodes a
In struggling between keepings his moral judgment and enacting revenge upon the King, Hamlet slowly loses his morality as he descends into madness. Through the use of garden imagery, “spreading the compost on the weeds/to make them ranker”, Hamlet suggests that Claudius is the source of society’s ills. This corruption within the society is paralleled in the nobles of Denmark – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern willing to betray Hamlet, Polonius’ venality towards Claudius and Laertes willingness to kill Hamlet in cold blood, and is also raised in Rosencrantz’s use of dramatic irony, “the cess of majesty dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw what’s near it”, implying the fall of Denmark as King Hamlet