Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Hamlet - Trust/Deception - Coggle Diagram

- - - - this suggests that the health of the country is dictated by the health and status of the monarch
      - if the king was corrupt, corruption would spread through the whole land
      - 'Claudius' evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark' (Altick)
      - therefore, Claudius speech contrasts the reality of the 'rotten' state of Denmark, with the theme of trust pervading throughout the whole kingdom
- - - - the use of asyndeton here emphasises the full extent of the corruption and lack of trust in the kingdom
      - the use of 'prison' could suggest the bad character of those within, as trust is a rare commodity
      - alternatively, in this time prisons were used as holding cells before execution, so this could merely suggest that Hamlet is fearful of being murdered
      - this amplifies the feeling of distrust in Denmark
- - - - animalistic comparison could signify Shakespeare's self-awareness at the character's short existence
      - also shows Claudius' power, as Osric merely follows him and pesters him like a fly, through flattery and sycophancy to try and better his own position in court
      - according to Great Chain of Being, animals and insects were the closest to the devil and hell, because they lacked reason and morality
      - Osric is a microcosm of widespread corruption in the court, emphasised by the fact that flies tend to travel in numbers
- - - - or, in short, a 'goblin damned'
        
        indeed, it was custom for ghosts in tragedies to appear to the person who had wronged them, like Claudius. The fact that he visits Hamlet cements the Protestant suspicion that he is a manifestation of the devil
    - - thus they would have believed he was merely Old Hamlet waiting to reach heaven, or a 'spirit of health'
    - - perhaps Shakespeare used the ghost as a tool to showcase the power of duty and honour, especially in Father-son relationships
- - - - the use of alliteration and elongated 'w' sounds emphasises the concern of Horatio, who is Hamlet's closest friend and most trusted adviser, so knows him well
      - this suggests that Horatio believes Hamlet is truly mad, and he is 'the Harbinger of truth' (Mabillard)
      - this is echoed by Ophelia, who claims Hamlet seems as if he 'had been loosed out of hell', with the use of hellish imagery amplifying the serious tone of her words, and how she believes this fully.
      - This then indirectly leads to Hamlet's mistreatment of Ophelia and her own madness, suggesting his madness has made his untrustworthy
    - - he says that sufferers see 'phantasticall apparitions' which may suggest why the ghost appeared to Hamlet, instead of Claudius. Also, why Gertrude could not see the ghost
      - Bright goes on to explain how sufferers see their homes as a 'prison or dungeon' rather than a place of 'repose or rest', which is echoed by hamlet when he suggests that 'Denmark is a prison'
      - it is unsure whether Shakespeare was familiar with this work of Bright, but perhaps he wished to include elements of madness in Hamlet so as to fundamentally question his trustworthiness and the core of the plot itself