Hamlet
Prompt #3 · Hamlet
Prompt Type: Scene Analysis
In the Ghost's revelation that Claudius murdered him by pouring poison into his ear while he slept in the orchard, Shakespeare presents the inciting incident of the revenge plot. Analyze how this moment develops the theme of corruption and decay, both literal and metaphorical, within the Danish court. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole / With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, / And in the porches of my ears did pour / The leperous distilment,”
Act I, Scene 5
Argument
This quote from the Ghost's revelation scene establishes the literal act of poisoning as the central image of corruption, with the 'leperous distilment' poured into the ear functioning as both physical murder weapon and metaphor for how corruption infiltrates and destroys from within.
Quote 2
Act I, Scene 5
Argument
Also from the Ghost's revelation, this metaphor transforms Claudius into the biblical serpent, establishing the murder as original sin that has corrupted the entire Danish court and linking the literal poison to the metaphorical venom of usurpation and incest.
Quote 3
“O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,— / A brother’s murder!”
Act III, Scene 3
Argument
This later confession by Claudius echoes the Ghost's revelation by using olfactory imagery ('rank, it smells to heaven') to externalize the internal decay, demonstrating how the initial poisoning has metastasized into pervasive moral corruption that cannot be hidden despite appearances.
Quote 4
Act I, Scene 4
Argument
This quote from early in the play, spoken immediately after the Ghost's appearance, establishes the pervasive nature of the corruption revealed in the murder scene—the poison poured into the King's ear has infected the entire state, transforming a literal act of physical decay into a metaphor for systemic political and moral rot.
Quote 5
“O Hamlet, speak no more. / Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, / And there I see such black and grained spots / As will not leave their tinct.”
Act III, Scene 4
Argument
Gertrude's confession during Hamlet's confrontation demonstrates how the Ghost's revelation of literal poison has exposed metaphorical corruption within the Queen herself, with the 'black and grained spots' imagery echoing the 'leperous distilment' and showing how the murder's moral decay has stained those complicit in the corrupted court.