Crisis in Denmark is an article written by William Shakespeare in the 1590s. The play is set in the kingdom of Denmark, whose King is Claudius. He killed his brother King Hamlet and was engaged to his brother’s wife Gertrude, the queen of Denmark. Gertrude had a son known as Prince Hamlet, who is eager to revenge his father’s death (King Hamlet). Back in his mind, he knows his uncle Claudius is the course of his father’s death after his father appeared to him as a ghost, also seen earlier by Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio Hamlets’ colleague. Old Hamlet was quite a good leader, and the people of Denmark knew that the bite by the snake caused his death. Claudius poured poison in his ear when he was in his garden. There is a significant difference in both of their rule. During Old Hamlet tenure people believed Denmark was a strong kingdom.
Under Claudius rule, corruption and grabbing of land never stopped after Fortinbras wanted to take opportunity of the lands his father lost to Old Hamlet. Old Hamlet took the lands and titles of King Fortinbras after defeating him in a battle. The dramatization depicts themes of vengeance, incest, treason, and feminism. This dramatization means that there is a crisis in the royal family of Denmark. At first, the Old Hamlet appears in the form of a ghost to Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio whereby Marcellus tells Horatio to address the ghost. They conclude that the spirit is real and that Prince Hamlet should see for himself. This scene shows the difference between facts, illusion, and appearances. Hamlet, on the other hand, learns that Claudius poisoned his father. Claudius killed Old Hamlet because of his ambitions to take the crown and marry his brother’s wife. The Ghost speaks to Hamlet to avenge his death as Horatio and Marcello swear not to say a word of what they saw as the ghost of his father (William Shakespeare 37)
However, Ophelia daughter to Polonius the chief counselor to the king is madly in love with Gertrude’s son Hamlet. Ophelia’s brother does not want his sister to fall in love with the Prince, and he advises Ophelia on the same. Therefore, Ophelia takes back Hamlets love and affection to him. Hamlet gets mad at Ophelia, but everything was uncertain to the King. Hamlet knew his uncle was guilty because he runs off from the room in the court. Consequently, Gertrude was not aware of this after which she fought with his son Hamlet. Polonius is eavesdropping on the conversation, and mistakenly he is stabbed by Hamlet thinking that it is Claudius eavesdropping (Guernsey 43). Hamlet is in a position to kill his uncle so that he can avenge his father’s death, thus an act of treason because his uncle Claudius is the King. The ghost appears to Hamlet and tells him not to rebuke his mother the queen as he decides not to stay with King Claudius.
King Claudius gets afraid of Hamlet and sends him away to England, as Queen Gertrude perceives that his son is still mad. King Claudius is now convinced that Hamlet has something to do with his brother’s death. Hamlet is brought before the King to disclose the body of Polonius and he leaves for England as King Claudius plans for Hamlet to be killed. Hamlet, back in his mind sees that his mother was made a whore by being Claudius wife as an act of incest.
The theme of feminism is depicted precisely when influential men surround Ophelia, his brother, father, and Hamlet, but in the end, she is left alone after Hamlet abandons her and her father dies mistakenly. In addition, feminism comes about when Hamlet kills his father after he has satisfied his sexual needs, therefore, using her. Hamlet sees his mother the Queen as a whore because he is not faithful to his father; hence, he mislays trust in women as he reasons that Ophelia is a slut too. Hamlet’s act is an act of feminism.
The complete royal family becomes dead as Hamlet kills King Claudius by stabbing him with a poisoned sword. Queen Gertrude, on the other hand, drinks a poisoned drink intended to kill Hamlet, and she dies on the spot. Horatio takes the throne for himself, promising to tell the story as he witnessed the entire crisis in the royal family. Hamlet dies after a fight with Laertes, brother to Ophelia. Laertes stabs Hamlet with a deadly sword too after he won two rounds of the fight. Moreover, jealousy and sibling rivalry lead to the death of Old Hamlet too.
Works Cited
Guernsey, Otis and Jeffrey Sweet (eds.) The Applause Best Plays Theater Yearbook 1991–1992, Hal Leonard Corp., p. 43. ISBN 9781557831477
William Shakespeare, Jenny Muelle. Hamlet. Chicago: Barrons Education Series, 2007. Print.
