Corruption Flashcards
Something is rotten…
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
- Marcellus, guard on duty at castle of Elsinore
- foreboding, ominous tone, foreshadows impending tragedy & turmoil that will unfold
- metaphorically likened to a decaying body, implying that corruption has infiltrated the highest levels of power
- comments on the legitimacy of Claudius’ rule
O, speak to me no…
O, speak to me no more; these words like daggers enter in mine ears
- Gertrude pleading hamlet to stop hinting at the truth of Claudius’ murder
- simile conveying disruptive nature of the truth
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The memory be green…
The memory be green, bear our hearts in grief contracted in one brow of woe
- Claudius unnatural, scripted speech on old hamlet’s death
‘Tis an unweeded…
‘Tis an unweeded garden…things rank and gross in nature
- hamlet using natural imagery to describe the true nature of Claudius’ flourishing court facade
Confess yourself to…
Confess yourself to heaven..do not spread the compost on the weeds To make them ranker
- hamlet begs Gertrude to repent & uses metaphor of decomposition to emphasise her moral decay
