Prince Hamlet’s Crusade for Righteousness Under the Depraved Regime of King Claudius

Man is capable of great virtue and of great evil, but his nature drags him into degeneracy. It is oft the great challenge of man to pull himself out of this hole, the challenge few can aspire to overcome. It is something all must be aware of in everyday life, otherwise, one is living in a blissful ignorance that ravages society. Fortunately, William Shakespeare was intelligent enough to model his play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark on reality. He comes to present the state and ruling class of Denmark as in decay compared to the previous eras, whilst displaying Prince Hamlet as a righteous man increasingly afflicted by his environment, as if plagued with a disease. The entire country of fourteenth century Denmark is declining in prestige and morality as the new king, Claudius, begins his reign that is stained with rumors and foul play. Prince Hamlet is the last upright nobleman and remains the last obstacle to the flood of depravity, only to be drowned in its relentless tides. His last and desperate action of killing Claudius ends the disease, bringing forth a new dynasty that strengthens and upholds the moral integrity of Denmark, free from the reins of the old regime.

A nation’s government may be an inanimate institution, but its nature depends upon the people of the nation and whom they allow to oversee the operations of government. As with most Western nations of the fourteenth century, Denmark had long implemented the feudal system, giving divine right to a sole authority. Of course, the monarchy was elective, meaning the lords and nobles of the land were able to vote for eligible candidates for the crown, a system slightly more difficult to corrupt than primogeniture succession. As in the case of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Denmark’s government undergoes a regime change under Claudius, the previous king’s brother and Prince Hamlet’s uncle. He “kill’d my king and ♥♥♥♥’d my mother, / Popp’d in between th’ election and my hopes” (Ham.5.2.64-65), pushing Prince Hamlet out of power. By seducing Gertrude, the queen and Hamlet’s mother, Claudius managed to have Gertrude influence the electors, allowing an unconventional regime change all the while Hamlet was away. This power grab is a testament to the new king’s cunning and manipulative skills for his own gain. With Claudius in power, he now represents Denmark to the nations, his character supposed to be the embodiment of the Danish people. Of course, in his early reign he:

...doth wake to-night and takes his rouse,

Keeps wassail, and the swagg’ring up-spring reels;

And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down,

The Kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out

The triumph of his pledge. (Ham.1.4.12-16)

Other nations look up Denmark as “drunkards, and wit swinish phrase / Soil our addition” (Ham.1.4.19-20). Thus, with his immorality, he drags down the nation alongside with him into the chasm of sin, the hellish darkness, and a den of iniquity, all because of his appointed power at behest of the electors. It is according to the way of nature that such a tragedy to take place, for “By righteousness a nation is lifted up, but sin is a cause of shame to the peoples” (Proverbs 14:34). A just and moral ruler will raise his people up whilst his counterpart’s transgression tears them down.

It is plausible to compare Claudius with a disease that rapidly spreads its destruction to its surrounding environment. Said explanation may be entirely credible with logical arguments and analysis’ that agree with the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The queen, Gertrude, fell under Claudius’ sinful influence and allowed herself to become a symbol of grotesque incest. With the queen in the palm of his hand, he can easily seize control of the crown of Denmark with no legitimate claim. Furthermore, Polonius and the rest of the aristocrats fail to question Claudius’ questionable reign, allowing themselves to be swayed by Gertrude’s influence with no sense of duty to the Danish people who certainly deserve better. The dissidents and onlookers comment on the matter, for they state: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Ham.1.4.90). Geroge Eliot, in her poem “A College Breakfast-Party", describes the reign of Claudius as “Naught but a hurrying change toward lower types, / The ready rankness of degeneracy” (577-578). The word “rotten” gives the connotation of something stricken with disease or decay, as the state of Denmark is. There is a general saying that “And if there is pain in one part of the body, all the parts will be feeling it; or if one part is honored, all the parts will be glad” (1 Corinthians 12:26), whereas the head of the body is diseased, the government in this case, the entire body is afflicted, the entirety of Denmark and the opposite holds true as well. This concept of a deadly and destructive disease spreading through the ranks of the nobility will bring forth another point that is equally important to the tragedy if not more.

As the disease of Claudius’ reign seizes the hearts and minds of the members of the Danish nobility, young Prince Hamlet remains steadfast. He is the last one to still mourn over Old Hamlet’s death, “But I have within which passeth show; / These but the trappings and the suits of woe” (Ham.1.2.85-86). In the wake of the degradation of Denmark, Old Hamlet’s ghost visits Hamlet and commands him to right these wrongs and serve justice which the Danish people wholeheartedly deserve. The state must be saved from the hands of the wicked, severed from the decay and rot. Of course, Hamlet, being the righteous and sensible man he is, decides to investigate into the possibility of Claudius’ murder of the king, for he is not entirely persuaded by Old Hamlet’s ghost’s testimony. Joseph Westlund, in his essay “Ambivalence in The Player’s Speech in Hamlet”, describes Hamlet’s dilemma: “Hamlet as murder of Claudius would himself become a kind of Claudius” (252). By murdering Claudius in cold blood without complete confirmation of his crime, Hamlet would just be as much as a murderer as his victim. This does not please Prince Hamlet, for hypocrisy and murder does not sit well with an upright man. Of course, his investigation and dislike of Claudius leads many of the nobility to oppose him, such as Polonius who spreads foul rumors of Hamlet’s mental state. Hamlet, therefore, is essentially the last man standing against the wave of iniquity heralded by the new king. The Man who is the standard of righteousness Himself, the Christ Jesus, states "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19) whereas servants of righteousness will be repressed for they rebuke the world for its wrongs; the world is too arrogant to accept it is wrong, so it degrades itself further by martyring those of God. This truth and fundamental concept applies to Hamlet’s worsening situation, being one of the few to question Claudius.

Throughout history, there have been several startling examples of strange and unknown diseases ravaging entire unsuspecting populations, most notably the Black Plague of the fourteenth century and the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. Both of which were completely unexpected and undetected whilst it infected and killed millions. Claudius is analogous to devastating diseases, for the nobility has fallen to his whims and Denmark’s prestige has suffered. He snuck into power with the masses eating out of his hand. His influence is so great that it erodes at the will of even the strongest and most upright, which is what happened to Prince Hamlet. In the beginning of the tragedy, it appeared as if Hamlet feigned mental instability to gain the advantage of discretion, but as the story progressed, he seemingly became genuinely mad. Paranoia took hold of Prince Hamlet as he...

began doubting himself and his senses, debating whether the ghost was truthful or a devilish specter, for the protagonist states:

The spirit that I have seen

May be the devil: and the devil hath power

T’ assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps

Out of my weakness and my melancholy,

As he is very potent with such spirits,

Abuses me to damn me. (Ham.2.2.537-542)

He is losing faith in himself and the ghost, perceiving such as his own madness and the trickery of Satan. If Hamlet wishes to carry out his vengeance, he must assure himself of Claudius’ crime so that his vengeance is justified killing rather than murder, the act of lawless men. To be consistent with the theme of disease, Hamlet’s mental transformation is analogous to one becoming afflicted with sickness. Once a healthy and stable character, Hamlet is now perceived as a deranged madman. The new king’s charisma and intrigue casts doubt on Hamlet’s part, like that of the ancient civilization of Babylon: “Intoxicating all the earth. / The nations have drunk of her wine; / Therefore the nations are going mad” (Jeremiah 51:7). Just as Babylon deceptively took advantage of her bordering states and grew to an empire, so does Claudius seduce and murder his way to the Danish crown and does so to his opposition, Hamlet.

Finally, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ends in a bloodbath resulting in the death of much of the main cast, including Hamlet and Claudius themselves. The entire significant nobility of Denmark has perished in one fell swoop in Act V, except, of course, for Polonius in Act III. It appears as the “disease” is over, for all those seemingly affected by it are now dead. Of course, to end such a disease, if by no other means possible the entire area afflicted must be severed to prevent further infection of the whole body. Old Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, and Claudius are all of the same house and all have perished. The dynasty of old has come to an end as there is no eligible candidate for the monarchy of the house of Old Hamlet. Returning from his own bloodbath and conquest, Fortinbras, the prince of the Kingdom of Norway arrives. Seeing the effects of the disease that has ravaged Denmark’s nobility, he realizes the nomination now lays with him, for he states “For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune: / I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, / Which now to claim to my vantage doth invite me” (Ham.5.2.355-357). Depravity has been pushed back and the Danish state has been saved, allowing it to recover and prosper under new administration, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). With his nomination to the throne, Denmark has the chance to become a stronger nation with a personal union with the kingdom of Norway. Thus, all is well in the state in Denmark.

The nature of man is something truly marvelous, for he is able to choose for himself to do good or evil. Ever since man has been allowed this privilege, men of great evil have ruled some of the nations of the Earth. People have been oppressed and suffered from the depravity of others, as the entire state of Denmark has under Claudius’ rule. His degeneracy has brought disaster upon the state and nobility, bringing forth an era of ill repute. Of course, there is a light in the darkness, for God has reserved a nobleman to carry out justice. Prince Hamlet, son of the murdered king, is on a warpath to exact vengeance on his father’s behalf. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet is slowly being engulfed by the tidal waves of Claudius’ iniquity on his righteous quest. He is losing his mental stability fighting the good fight. Only until Claudius is dead does good prevail at behest of Hamlet’s sacrifice. Once the bloodshed is over does the light shine brightly upon Denmark, ushering in a new era and dynasty.

Eliot, George. "A College Breakfast-Party." Complete Poems of George Eliot, Stokes, n.d, p. 147. LitFinder, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/LTF0000202211WK/LITF?u=pl3062&sid=LITF&xid=43f4e09c. Accessed 1 Feb. 2019.



ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016.



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Westlund, Joseph. “Ambivalence in the Player’s Speech in Hamlet.” Shapkespeare’s

Reparative Comedies: A Psychoanalytic View of the Middle Plays, by Westlund,

Chicago, U of Chicago P, 1984, pp.245-56

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