Running head: ROTTEN THINGS IN THE STATE OF DENMARK: AN ANALYSIS
Rotten Things in the State of Denmark:
An Analysis of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Alison Godar
English 132
Professor Deffenbaugh
March 15, 2013
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ROTTEN THINGS IN THE STATE OF DENMARK
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Rotten Things in the State of Denmark
One of the most famous lines from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is “Something is rotten in
the state of Denmark” (as cited in Folger Shakespeare Library, Act 1, Scene 4, Line 100). Most
people have been led to believe that Hamlet is the one to have coined this iconic phrase, but that
is not so. The speaker of this phrase is, in fact, Marcellus, a soldier who is keeping watch at the
front gates of Elsinore Castle when Hamlet first encounters the ghost of his dead father. He is
referring to “the state of Denmark” rather than just Denmark because he means that the head of
the political powerhouse is rotten, not just the living conditions within the country itself.
Something is, in fact, rotten in the state of Denmark. There is an underlying cause for
every unfortunate event that occur within the walls of Elsinore. Something is causing all of these
problems. Could they be paranormal? Due to the actions of those inside? Both are viable
answers.
Hamlet believes that he is seeing the ghost of his father in Scene V of Act 1 when he
states: “I’ll call thee ‘Hamlet,’ ‘King,’ ‘Father,’ ‘royal Dane.’ O, answer me!” but is he really?
(as cited in No Fear Shakespeare, 2013, lines 46-47) Is his father really coming back from the
dead to command his only son to risk not only his life, but the life of those he loves, for revenge?
Unfortunately we cannot ask William Shakespeare if he intended Hamlet to be sane or insane,
leaving many professional actors to take the interpretation into their own hands. Some analysts
say Hamlet could have been legally insane, as he says:
ROTTEN THINGS IN THE STATE OF DENMARK
“Give me your pardon, sir. I’ve done you wrong
how I am punished
With sore distraction.
What I have done,
That might your nature, honor, and exception
Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.
Was ’t Hamlet wronged Laertes? Never Hamlet.
If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away,
And when he’s not himself does wrong Laertes,
Then Hamlet does it not. Hamlet denies it.
Who does it, then? His madness. If’t be so,
Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged.
His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.”
It is possible he had periods of lucidity in which he was able to plot the revenge for his father’s
death (as cited in No Fear Shakespeare, 2013, lines 212-224). Though this explanation is thin,
and periods of lucidity were not necessarily known to exist in the 1600s, it is possible. Another
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possible explanation is he was never really mad at all, but feigning to make his plan work faster.
When Hamlet explains:
“Ecstasy?
My pulse as yours doth temperately keep time
And makes as healthful music. It is not madness
That I have uttered. Bring me to the test,
And I the matter will reword, which madness
Would gambol from,”
he is explaining to his mother that he is, in fact, not crazy at all by saying he would repeat every
word he just said which a crazy person would be unable to do (as cited in No Fear Shakespeare,
2013, Act 3, Scene 4, lines 142-146). He is saying that he would rather everyone think of him as
insane than chase him and bother him about his father’s death. Hamlet’s solitude allowed for the
plotting of Claudius’ demise.
The other possible reason for the rotten stench in the state of Denmark is the actions of
those residing in and visiting Elsinore castle, not only Hamlet himself, but Claudius, Polonius,
Gertrude, Ophelia, the list goes on and on. Hamlet’s actions reflect poorly on the royalty because
he refuses to stand tall, be a man, and move past his father’s death, though he has many reasons
not to. Claudius is a horrid person anyway you try to look at him. He killed his own brother,
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married his brother’s wife, and concocted the death plan for his nephew/step son, while
capitalizing on Laertes’ recent grief from his father and sister’s recent passing. Gertrude should
never have married Claudius in the first place. Ophelia handled her father’s passing in a
completely, well, psychotic manner. Laertes should never have agreed to kill Hamlet. The
thought had barely even crossed his mind until Claudius brought it up. Every important person
within the castle had some major issues, and they needed help that no one in that time could
provide.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s more interesting works. It capitalizes on familial
differences, arguments, and loyalties; three common problems and themes in families and lives
today. These themes are the problems presented, confronted, and tried in this tragedy. While
most of the confrontations in Hamlet ended in death, Horatio seems to be the only one to survive.
As hamlet said with his dying breath: “The rest is silence” (as cited in No Fear Shakespeare, 5.2
line 356).
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References
Shakespeare, W. (1992). The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. (New Folger ed.
ed.). New York: Washington Square Press.
"Was Hamlet Really Crazy?." wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions.
Conjecture Corporation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.org/was-hamlet-reallycrazy.htm>.