How Does Act One of Hamlet Shape Your Understanding of the Main Concerns of the Play Essay

In the interactions of characters, Shakespeares critical point examines fundamental characteristics of society which trick result in moral ambiguity for both the characters and the audience. In a time of transition between the traditional church led tenets and the acclivitous Renaissance humanist views, the title character is related to other characters to look for the notions of corruption, loyalty and love. Contrastingly, it is also in the rejection of others and isolation of Hamlet that hesitations as the genius of life is unravelled.Indeed, whilst the world of Hamlet may appear unfamiliar to a 21st century audience it is the examination of such intrinsic qualities of populace that remains pertinent. Corruption is established as a main thematic concern of Hamlet from the opening and continues throughout the play. On a governmental level, corruption is explored through the dissolute nature of the Danish court. This reflects the contextual concerns of Shakespeares world with the belief in the Divine Right of Kings.This idea believes that a monarch is subject not to earthly authority but derives his safe to rule directly from the will of God. Thus, in having a king that has not been given the right from God, but rather withalk it and is corrupt there would be a corrupt country- as Denmark is established to be from Act One. by dint of the mental 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 dissolution. The Jacobean thoughts arouse that the nation reflects a diseased body because a state has the ill-use king and thus the natural order is unbalanced. Further, moral corruptION is strike out up in Act One through the character of Claudius and establishes the approximation for the later exploration for the moral corruptness of Hamlet. That is, in Act One, the throttle for Hamlet to beco me morally corrupt occurs.Moral corruption is approximately obviously seen in Act One through Claudius. His first talking to gives the impression that HE Claudius is a good man, upset by his familiars death. However, it is soon discovered that he is corrupt and has improperly interpreted the throne from Hamlet. In this first speech Claudius is very controlled and uses poetic voice communication to make the marriage seem normal despite the fact that Denmark has all recently been unbalanced by the death of their king. The use of our as the empurpled plural eans that he has adopted the language of kingship but because he has taken its wrongfully, a sense of corruption is immediately established. For a Jacobean audience, the wrongful king would make them question their own monarchy, where a very informative Elizabeth sat on the throne. When corruption presents itself, tensions arise between a tragic individual who condemns it and their society. It is in the interaction with Cla udius, as the embodiment of such corruption, that Hamlet becomes disillusioned with his state.In Hamlets first line a little more than kin/a little less than benevolent the pun directly attacks Claudius facade of benevolence, utilising a pun to highlight his cognisance of the deceptive appearances with the court. Moreover, Hamlet rallies against the superficial merriment of the court in his O, that this too too solid flesh would melt soliloquy comparing his gravel as a Hyperion to Claudius as a satyr. Claudius tries desperately to maintain a weak and unnatural court in the balance between the suppositious sorrow he feels for the kings death and the joy he must feel for marrying his dead brothers wife.This is supported in his inconsistency of through yet of Hamlet our late brothers death the memory be green, whereby the idea of death and decay is fused with imagery of greenery, growth and renewal. Such actions lead Hamlet to question the way in which corruption can grapple his e ntire state, consider it to all things rank and gross in nature. This isolates him, despite his clearly determine place in Denmark. His inky cloak becomes a metaphor for both his physical and mental isolation a result of Claudius corrupt action.