But like the owner of a foul disease, / To keep it from divulging, let it feed / Even on the pith of life.
Act IV, Scene 1 · Claudius
Context
Claudius admits to Gertrude that he failed to restrain Hamlet earlier because of his love for him, and now compares his inaction to someone hiding a deadly illness rather than seeking treatment.
Analysis
Claudius figures his political negligence as a medical failure, using the visceral verb 'feed' to show the disease consuming the body's core ('pith of life'). The metaphor does double work: it deflects blame by making Hamlet's madness sound like a pre-existing condition Claudius merely failed to treat, while the imagery of internal rot quietly echoes the larger decay Claudius himself introduced into Denmark by murdering his brother. The syntax buries his agency—'let it feed' is passive, as if the disease grew on its own.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Claudius's disease metaphor is ironic—he describes Hamlet as the hidden illness destroying the state, but the language of corruption ('foul,' 'feed,' 'pith') applies more accurately to Claudius's own concealed crime, making this a moment of unintentional self-description.