Well, the term of morality is described as our standards that us as individuals possess that characterise what we believe to be right and wrong behaviours. Ideas such as moral standards with regards to our behaviour, our moral responsibility referring to our conscience, and our moral identity referring to an individual capable of completing right and wrong actions, are the framework which build morality. Concepts such as these are vital to understanding what morality is within Hamlet. As Shakespeare conveys to us morality allows us to define the principals that govern one’s behaviour and has created a play depicting that without theses set of principals societies lack the means to function and survive.
Shakespeare consistently uses allusions of decay or rotting flesh when symbolising abhorrent ideas. He habitually makes reference to a stench that is ‘rotten’ which emblematises a manipulative and lecherous type of evil. Shakespeare suggests the stench of decay present in Denmark occurred due to the influence of Denmarks new king, Claudius. Who we discover in the play killed his own blood to latch onto the throne. Subsequent to the murder of Old Hamlet the former king, Claudius begins to govern over Denmark, simultaneously a malodours stink of rotting flesh develops and cover the lands of the kingdom far and wide. The festering odour suggests and emphasises the highly infectious sin which corrupted the kingdom, this being murder. The vile odour also illuminating the symbolic meaning of rotting flesh, a depiction of a transformation of something once beautiful and healthy progressing to a symbolic mass of malodorous corruption or a barren being. Shakespeare stresses that a revolting odour is a companion to bodily corruption and in the process of decay comes the tainting upon the human soul. Thus, the olfactory imagery of sickness is embedded in the poetic fabric of the play to describe corruption.
In the elizabethan era agonising diseases such as plague and small pox were a characteristics that defined Elizabethan society. Thus, elizabethans knew the type stink that was omitted due to an infected boil or a cancerous disease. They were exposed to a type of decay and bodily corruption that did not begin after death, rather occurred before they lay at rest. Thus, Shakespeare persistently uses sickness imagery to depict repulsive ideas which easily related to someone living in his time. As mentioned before Denmark is concealed in a vile odour of decay and rotting flesh, essentially a type of sickness. The stench that has enclosed the kingdom is Shakespeare subtly reiterating that when fulfilling a sin you have embedded it in your soul. You’ve gone against human nature and have become infected with corruption tainting all you touch.
Shakespeare through Horatio subtly suggests that Denmark has become infected with something after the first appearance of the ghost in act 1. He writes ‘but in the gross and scope of my behaviour’, so stopping here Shakespeare is using a homophone of gross meaning something large, however also alluding to something repulsive which connotes to something having a bad smell. Shakespeare subtly embedding some disease and sickness imagery within the dialogue. Shakespeare also employs a hendiadys of gross and scope, both words meaning large, and utilised to emphasise the importance of Horatio, the scholars opinion. He writes ‘this bodes some strange eruption to our state’. The significance in the line is ‘eruption’, which is an important thematic word for the entirety play. Eruption could simply mean a disturbance. Alternatively, as of the persistent disease imagery within the text it may be an allusion to a boil, an infection which occurs underneath the skin, singling that something, and infection, occurring underneath the surface or in this case the skin of Denmark. Hence sustaining that a sickness has infiltrated Denmark and those who inhabit. This allusion a boil is Shakespeare relying on his audience, the elizabethans to recall the visual imagery of a boil, the suffering it brings to the individual and foul stench it releases due to infection, to convey the conditions of state.
Shakespeare utilises olfactory senses to exhibit the moral positions of leading characters. Characters who are more aware of the odour are considered to have a better morality than those who are oblivious to the stench. Thus if characters can identify the stench it allows for the audience to witness characters capabilities of distinguishing right and wrong, and by recognising the stench it makes us aware of how their conscience operates. These principals are a major concept in defining the term morality.
Hamlet expresses his feelings of Denmark becoming malodorous, thus, we may infer that hamlet has a good morality as he is aware of the corrupt state of the kingdom as of the foul olfactory imagery alluding to corruption being a present motif within his soliloquies. Shakespeare incorporates detached powerful words such as ‘rank’, ‘sickly’, ‘foul’ and ‘decay’ to emphasise moral awareness of characters, the persisting presence of corruption in Denmark as well as suggest a character’s ability to recognise evil. Moving through the play the presence of these words become more frequent and emphasised which accumulates to a symbolic sensory manifestation of disease. The emphasise on these sickness and disease orientated words convey the effect of physical smell and connotations to infection.
Walking through Hamlets first soliloquy, Shakespeare makes mention to an ‘unweeded garden’, a festering bed of a killing plant, or something that is out of control and isn’t being tended to, we can make inference to being an allusion to Denmark. Shakespeare then writes ‘that grows to seed’, suggesting that corruption breeds corruption or is attracted to it. Ultimately he describes the lecherous type of disease which has infiltrated Denmark. Further on he writes ‘things rank and gross in nature possess it’; this the first time rank has been used in identifying the gross conditions of the kingdom, and is an example of the detached powerful words within the play. This line is also an introduction to hamlet recognising the corruption of Denmark as Shakespeare is depicting something that is rotten which connotes to something that possesses a decaying scent. Both ‘rank’ and ‘gross are used in efforts to emphasise something foul, thus Shakespeare purposely employs a hendiadys which enforces the sickness imagery and foul odour themes present in the text. Allowing us to make inference that Hamlet is morally aware, as he identifies a corrupt atmosphere.
Claudius, speaks ‘O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven’. Immediately this is Shakespeare confirming that there is a rotten smell that blends with sin. However, this line also suggests that Claudius has a good morality as the use of rank tells us he is conscious that his sin has left a vile odour. But, as move through his soliloquy he states ‘Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens to wash it white as snow?’. Instantly, we discover Claudius isn’t morally aware, he is blinded by the scent of the ‘sweet heavens’ to care if his sin creates a vile odour. And instead of taking ownership of his foul deeds and repenting them he justifies his actions. He can still smell the sweetness in the heavens, conveying that he feels the sweet scent masks the vile odour he has created. Moreover, he ends his soliloquy with a question, ‘Forgive me my foul murder?’. Yes, he acknowledges that his murder carries a foul stench. But Shakespeare uses rhetoric question to emphasise Claudius intentionally pretends to repent his sins and acknowledge his ‘offence’ to portray someone of good morality. But in true form he is morally unjust.