Michael Hall
Period 5
11/30/14
Hamlet
Essay: Quotes
A
simple line of text can tell a lot about the whole piece. From William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet the quote” something is rotten in the state of Denmark” gives a lot more
to the audience then first realized. It is a massive foreshadow that William Shakespeare
placed in an early part of the play. It also gives an insight into theme of the
play and how the play will go.
For
context, Marcellus says “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” after
Hamlet meets the ghost for the first time and Hamlet relays the information
that he learned from the ghost to Marcellus and Horatio. This scene was very crucial
and his ending quote was the pièce de résistance
for the scene. That quote has become very iconic for many reasons, one being that
it is a major element of foreshadowing. It shows that with the information that
hamlet got from the ghost will be used in some way and that King Claudius is a
sly and unworthy king.
One
theme of the play revenge, for specifically Hamlet taking revenge against the
man who killed his father and the line “there is something rotten in the state
of Denmark” plays right into that theme. The words themselves are important;
state of Denmark can refer to the whole country or more specially the
leadership. Rotten refers to something wrong and when the two are put together is
the context of the play it is a note towards the idea that King Claudius is a
criminal. It foreshadows that because of
this Hamlet is going to try to act against Claudius through the play.
The
play Hamlet by William Shakespeare has many important and iconic quotes that
was been used all through out literature and all arts. One of these quotes is “there
is something rotten in the state of Denmark.” It is so important because it
gives a massive foreshadow of things to come in the play and reinforces the common
themes of the whole play.
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