Something's Rotten in the State of Denmark

The amount of times that the motif "rotten" appears in Shakespeare's Hamlet is astounding. The word carries an incredible amount of meaning and can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. First of all, all the dead bodies in the play are "rank", dirty, and infested with worms. This can be seen in Polonius's death. As soon as Hamlet stabbed Polonius, his downward spiral began. It was the climax of the play and the next few acts were his undoing. When Hamlet commits this sin he begins to seem more mad, driven by a passionate rage. He jokes about Polonius's body being rotten to Claudius, but I think he could also be hinting at the underlying meaning of the word body. The body of Denmark, the political state itself, is rotting. As soon as Hamlet the "royal judge", the "savior" took the drastic step of murder, all hope was lost, and the political state began to unravel. It was rotten, ruined, and dead. This was demonstrated by the end of the play when almost all of the nobles, except for Horatio, are dead, and Fortinbras takes over. The final scene shows the consequences for Hamlet's actions. Why do Hamlet's actions have such catastrophic results? Hamlet's constant internal struggle between good and evil concluded as soon as he stabbed the fool behind the curtain, and evil wins within him. There is no turning back once he kills Polonius, causing him to commit to the purpose given to him from Hell. Evil won within his heart and took over Denmark. The infection spread rapidly from within and caused the destruction of the whole political state. The "something" rotten in the state of Denmark was definitely Hamlet.

"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark"

We grow accustomed to the Dark -
When light is put away -
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Goodbye -

A Moment - We uncertain step
For newness of the night -
Then - fit our Vision to the Dark -
And meet the Road - erect -

And so of larger - Darknesses -
Those Evenings of the Brain -
When not a Moon disclose a sign -
Or Star - come out - within -

The Bravest - grope a little -
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead -
But as they learn to see -

Either the Darkness alters -
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight -
And Life steps almost straight.

 

            It is speculated that Emily Dickenson suffered from an anxiety disorder called agoraphobia, which is a psychological disorder characterized by someone being unable to interact in society because of an extreme anxiety. This might filled her with panic and rendered her to live a secluded life. She wrote over a thousand poems, many of them reflecting about the deeper thoughts that plagued her during her years as a recluse. In her poem “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark”, Dickenson explores the difficult adaption to a lonely life by comparing her isolation to the darkness.

            In the poem, darkness, the loss of light, is symbolic of the emptiness the speaker feels when she loses her friendships. In the first stanza the speaker says “as when the Neighbor holds the Lamp/ To witness her Goodbye” to highlight the loss of her neighbor’s light in her life (lines 3-4). She attributes the light to the companionship of another person, and the loss of it to darkness. The “goodbye” experienced leaves the speaker feeling empty, without the “lamp” of her neighbor in her life.  The speaker’s eyes adjust to the darkness, allowing them to step “and meet the Road erect” (line 8). This symbolizes the transition into accepting that loneliness. The comparison of one’s eyes adjusting to the dark to the adjustment into isolation makes the process seem more bearable and possible. Perhaps Emily Dickinson was trying to convince herself that she could survive alone, a recluse from the rest of the world. The tone of the poem is gloomy yet almost hopeful in the last stanza as she writes that “Either the Darkness alters-/ Or something in the sight/Adjusts itself to Midnight-/ And Life steps almost straight” (17-20). This demonstrates her ability to cope with her distressing disorder. The adjustment to the lack of light shows how one can become habituated to any circumstance. While at first the lack of light may seem worrisome, eventually the darkness becomes the norm, and life adjusts to the new situation. This analogy compares with Emily Dickinson’s life and supposed disorder. If she was truly unable to leave her household because of her anxiety, then loneliness would have become her new norm,  her life adjusting to the lack of companionship.

            Dickinson uses the contrasting light and darkness throughout the poem to convey the effects of isolation. Light is commonly known to symbolize purity and goodness, enlightenment, and truth. Darkness on the other hand has a gloomier connotation, and is used to symbolize the unknown, evil, and hopeless. Dickenson uses a contrast between the two to explore how vital human relationships are to the soul. They are the lamps, stars, and moons that bring light into our lives. This is significant when examining Emily Dickinson’s life because she suffered a very lonely existence. If she truly did have agoraphobia, then it would explain her anguish at not being able to leave her household and interact with others. We can only hope that she truly became accustomed to the darkness, the loneliness, where she resided.

Hamlet as the moral judge

Throughout the play we have seen him my act as a morally superior Individual, always judging the actions of others. Although he does have his own faults and is very self-aware of those faults as seen in his self pitying soliloquies, the focus is always on what others around him are doing wrong. From the murder of his father to the purity of Ophelia, Hamlet is consumed by his obsession with others sins. His preoccupation with their transgressions and the consequences that they must pay makes him seem like a judge or a priest. For example, he tells Ophelia "get thee to a nunnery", either meaning to go to a convent or a brothel. Either way, he is sentencing her to a consequence for living promiscuously. Even though it is not his place, Hamlet thinks he knows best what should be done. This is similar to the situation with his mother, Gertrude. After her husband's death, she quickly remarried Claudius, angering Hamlet because in his eyes this symbolized betrayal. Hamlet often refers to his mother's "incestuous sheets" and even advises his mother to "go not to [his] uncle's bed" (3.4.160). He tells her what to do and makes her heart heavy with guilt, all because he feels the need to condemn others, even though he is flawed himself. Hamlet was even present while Claudius confessed his sin of murdering the king, ironically acting like a priest who was hearing his confession. However, unlike a priest, Hamlet wants to not only kill Claudius, but he wants to damn him to an eternity in Hell, the opposite of what a priest helps an individual achieve. 

Hamlet constantly references God and heaven, and the play is filled with religious diction, yet his purpose seems to contradict his morals. First of all, his task was bestowed to him by a spirit from below, symbolically meaning Hell. This task is to murder his uncle, sending him to Hell in eternity. This seems like an evil task for someone who holds themself at such a high moral level. Perhaps that is the reason that Hamlet cannot find it within himself to carry out the act. While he does call himself a coward many times, the true reason that holds him back may be his unwillingness to fully abandon his values. To kill Claudius and damn him for an eternity would morally destroy him and go against everything he believes in. In fact, the reason he even wants revenge is because Claudius did the same exact thing. So while Hamlet does act like the moral judge for others, telling them what to do and how to pay for what they've done, he's hypocritical and fighting a moral battle within himself.  The battle between good in evil within him leaves him stagnant, unable to choose a purpose and act purposefully. He distracts himself and pretends that life is simply a game, where you can cleverly play everyone and speak in witty riddles, so that he doesn't have to deal with the fact that he has to make a decision. Whether Hamlet chooses to kill Claudius or not will be his choice of following good or evil, being moral or immoral. 

What does Hamlet really mean?

“To be or not to be” is arguably the most famous Shakespearean line of all time. In this speech Hamlet can be interpreted to be a depressed young man, contemplating ending his tumultuous life, or he can be contemplating the common theme of authenticity versus appearances. Throughout the play there has been a constant question as to whether someone is “is-ing” or “seem-ing”, and everyone seems to be caught up in the latter, secretly plotting against each other. Claudius seems righteous, but in reality is an “incestuous and adulterate beast” (1.5.32), keeping an eye on Hamlet by hiring Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him. Hamlet’s old friends, easily bought by the promise of thanks fit for “a king’s remembrance” (2.2.26) agree to pretend to be on a social visit; seeming to be something they’re not.  Then the players arrive, who “seem” for a living. Later on, Polonius instructs Ophelia to have a planned encounter with Hamlet where she pretends to be reading, wanting to gauge his reaction and see if he is truly in love with her. Even Hamlet secretly plots his own play within a play, hoping to “catch the conscience of the king” (2.2.617). All the characters secretly plot against each other and seem to be something they’re not, unable to say what they want to say or ask the questions they want to know the answers to.

                In Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech he compares the end of all “seeming” to death, not knowing “what dreams may come” afterwards (3.1.66). While this can be interpreted to be a speech full of suicidal thoughts, Hamlet questioning the point of his life, it could also have a second meaning, where Hamlet is wondering what life would consist of if everyone around him dropped appearances and became genuine and honest. After his speech, he even questions Ophelia, “Are you honest?” (3.1.103)-which can mean either modest of truthful. He continues to use the word honest multiple times within their conversation, the meaning of the word depending on the interpretation of the play. If read from the perspective that Hamlet is questioning why everyone lacks authenticity then we can see why he is so torn to be genuine himself. He says that “conscience does make cowards of us all”, meaning that we are all too self- conscious to be forthright with each other (3.1.82). He references to himself as a coward many times in his self-pitying spiral, contemplating his own role in the “is-ing” and “seem-ing” phenomenon.

                Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech can be interpreted in many different ways. Although he could be confused about his role in society and lonely, weary of the people who surround him, Hamlet could also mean that he sees the whole other layer that exists under the appearances everyone puts up, wishing to see some truth. And while his speech could just be Hamlet’s way of sorting out all the thoughts in his head, there are many perspectives on what he truly means- I mean, that is the question.