Corruption is a popular theme in Shakespeare’s plays; almost always when corruption is interjected into his plays it is preceded by jealously. In the play Hamlet, King Claudius succumbs to the sting of jealously as a result, he totally corrupted himself.
Claudius wants what his brother has, his kingdom and his bride; this becomes his raison d’être; Claudius does not view his jealously as a sin that needed to be stemmed, nor is he willing to wait on chance for his brother to die. He wants what his brother has and he wants it now. Claudius is so driven by his desire for his brother’s possession he does not stop to analyze the end result of his passion, as a matter of fact he is not thinking at all. The consequences of his action do not affect him only but his nephew Hamlet who develops hatred for both him and his mother, Gertrude. Hamlet is convinced that their marriage is an incestuous relationship and that his mother no longer loves him or loved his father to consider marriage so soon after his death.
A little month, or ere[sic] those shoes were old/ With which she followed my
poor father’s body./ Like Nobe, all tears; within a month:/ Ere[sic] yet the salt of
most unrighteous tears/ Had left the flushing in her galled eyes./ She married. O,
most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets!/ It is not nor
it cannot come to good:/ But break my heart; for I must hold my tongue (act 1,
scene II) .
King Claudius now has his brother’s kingdom and his wife, but his troubles have only just begun; Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost that informs him that he was poisoned by his uncle. Hamlet is angry with his uncle and believes that he is evil but his generous heart causes him to weaver in his belief and wanders if the ghost is real, if his uncle really killed his father. “Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd,/ Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,/ Be thy intents wicked or charitable,/ Thou comest in such a questionable shape/ That I will speak to thee: I'll call thee Hamlet,/ King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me!” (act II, scene IV).
The discovery that his father was not bitten by a snake, as everyone thinks, but was killed by his uncle, Claudius, deepens his conviction that his uncle is evil, and should be punished. His feelings for his mother fared no better; forgiving her betrayal of his father’s memory is arduous. His father’s request (his father’s ghost) that he show leniency towards her is unheeded. Instead he says: “Yea, from the table of my memory/ I’ll wipe away all trivial records” (act I, scene V).
Even though Claudius does not know about Hamlet’s meeting with his father’s ghost, he is paranoid and every time he sees Hamlet, he sees a threat to his kingdom. He would not allow Hamlet to dismantle his hard work. The sad truth is, Claudius has spread his venom to Hamlet who wants an eye for an eye. If Claudius were not confident that Hamlet knows his secret, his conviction is absolute when Hamlet puts on his play, Murder of Gonzoyo. Claudius is the only one in the room who truly understands the meaning of the play. He realizes that Hamlet is toying with him; he also realizes that Hamlet has more backbone than he thought. He decides to banish Hamlet to England; but Hamlet is on to Claudius’ game and pretends to go to England. Hamlet is beating Claudius at his own game.
Daily, Claudius’, dosage of corruption increases and he emits this poison on everyone in his path. Claudius is able to turn Rosencrantz and Guildenstern against Hamlet and gets them to agree to take Hamlet to England. Claudius’ contamination of Hamlet buys him extended time. When Hamlet sees him praying and could easily have killed him, Hamlet begins to reason that if he killed him while he is on his knees that he might get forgiveness and would go to heave while his own father lingers in purgatory. “Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;/ And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven;/ And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd:/ A villain kills my father; and for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven”(act III, scene II). Only Hamlet does not know that Claudius prayer would not be taking him to heaven or give him forgiveness. Claudius would have to allow himself to feel remorse or regret for his crime for this to happen. That would be a sign of weakness and his ability to hold on to his kingdom needs strength. What he would have liked to do most is block the truth from his consciousness; but that is impossible.
Unable to free himself from the glimmer of guilt that is pinching him to death, Claudius tries to pray, despite his awareness that there is no salvation without atonement Even with that knowledge he could not bring himself to utter a confession, he would rather lose his soul than to lose his kingdom. Nonetheless, he tries to pray just in case; somewhere, somehow he could entreat heaven and attain salvation. Even as he prays Claudius knows his prayers are only lip service.
And what's in prayer but this two-fold force,/ To be forestalled ere we come to
fall,/ Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up;/ My fault is past. But, O, what
form of prayer/ Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?/ That cannot
be; since I am still possess'd/ Of those effects for which I did the murder,/ My
crown, mine own ambition and my queen (act III, scene III).
In the end Claudius’ corruption affects him the most, as hard as he has tried to keep his crown and his queen s he lost everything all in a day. As he tries to rid himself of Hamlet, the thorn in his side, he could not do so. He encourages Laertes avenge his father’s death; and the corruption that follows him throughout his reign has literally turned into poison. Not leaving anything to chance, he poison both the wine that he hoped Hamlet would drink if he were victorious and the sword Laertes would use in the duel. Claudius watches stoically as his kingdom fall apart before him. To his utter dismay he realizes the sting of corruption. Unable to write the end, in one day he causes the death of six people including his, however, he got his wish, he died king of Denmark.
As is customary of Shakespeare’s more popular plays corruption is a well-used theme. Hamlet shows that corruption is a never ending game; one bad deed needs another bad deed to cover it. It is a web that can easily spin out of control.
Work Cited
Shakespeare. William. Hamlet. web. 12 October 2012
