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

Death, Sickness, and Decay in Hamlet    Decay is defined as "a gradual decline; deterioration," disease as "any departure from health."   Both have many forms: physical, psychological, social, etc.   Multiple examples of illness and deterioration can be found in the tragedy Hamlet.   In this drama, Shakespeare uses imagery of decay and disease and the emotional and moral decay of his characters to enhance the atmosphere of the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The drama Hamlet abounds with images of decay and disease.   Celestial bodies are described in this manner; in Act I Horatio says that the moon "Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse," and in Act III, Hamlet says that the moon is "thoughtsick" at his mother's sin.   Abstract ideas such as wealth and peace are also associated with such imagery by Hamlet in Act IV: "This is th'imposthume of much wealth and peace, / That inward breaks, and shows no cause without / Why the man dies."   In addition, in Act I Laertes uses an example from plant lore to convince his sister Ophelia to preserve her virginity: The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed, And in the morn 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 death: 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 vigor it doth posset And curd, like eager droppings into milk, The thin and wholesome 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 audience's disgust for the situation.   Secondly, disease leads to death, so this figuratively diseased society is doomed.   Because of this sense of doom, there is a slight foreshadowing of the play's tragic end.   The tragic atmosphere is enriched by the motif of disease and decay.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The atmosphere of the play is reinforced 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.   Shakespeare's skill in weaving this motif into the play is evidence of his genius as a playwright and quality of his writings. Works Consulted: Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet. ca. 1600-1601. Ed. Edward Hubler. A Signet Classic. New York: Penguin Publishers,1963.