Disease, Sickness, Death, and Decay in Hamlet Essay -- Shakespeare Ham

Death, Sickness, and Decay in settlement Decay is defined as a gradual adjust deterioration, illness as any departure from health. Both have some(prenominal) forms physical, psychological, social, etc. Multiple examples of illness and deterioration can be prepare in the tragedy Hamlet. In this drama, Shakespeare uses imagery of downslope and disease and the ruttish and moral tumble of his characters to enhance the atmosphere of the find. The drama Hamlet abounds with images of decay and disease. Celestial bodies are described in this manner in prompt I Horatio says that the moon Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse, and in personation III, Hamlet says that the moon is thoughtsick at his mothers sin. Abstract ideas such as wealthiness and peace are also associated with such imagery by Hamlet in characterization IV This is thimposthume of much wealth and peace, / That inward breaks, and shows no cause without / Why the man dies. In addition, in Act I Laertes uses a n example from plant lore to convince his sister Ophelia to preserve her virginity The canker sore galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, And in the daybreak and liquid dew of youth Contagious blastments are most imminent. Furthermore, in Act I the ghost uses words associated with disease to describe his poisoning and goal The leperous distillment, whose effect Holds such an enmity with blood of man That swift as quicksilver it courses through The natural gates and alleys of the body, And with a sudden heftiness it doth posset And curd, like eager droppings into milk, The thin and totalsome blood. So did it mine, And a most instant tetter barked about Most lazarlike with vile and loa... ...this play. The atmosphere of disease serves to heighten the audiences disgust for the situation. Secondly, disease leads to death, so this figuratively diseased friendship is doomed. Because of this sense of doom, there is a slight foreshadow ing of the plays tragical end. The tragic atmosphere is enriched by the motif of disease and decay. The atmosphere of the play is fortify by imagery of decay and disease and the emotional and moral decay of the characters. This atmosphere is an integral part of the play as a whole and contributes greatly to its impact upon the audience. Shakespeares skill in weaving this motif into the play is evidence of his genius as a playwright and quality of his writings. industrial plant ConsultedShakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet. ca. 1600-1601. Ed. Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. New York Penguin Publishers,1963.