Student Question
How does Shakespeare employ diction, syntax, and figurative language in Hamlet to represent global politics?
Quick answer:
Two important global issues of politics that are emphasized in Hamlet are corruption and the correlation between the political order of monarchy and the natural order. William Shakespeare expresses the corruption theme through figurative language with the metaphor of “rot.” In addition, diction and syntax in Hamlet’s speeches convey the idea that the political situation in Denmark is operating in violation of natural ways of being, including time and a son’s rightful succession.
The overall context of Hamlet is concerned with the political situation within Denmark and with the country’s relationship with other nations. Two closely related aspects of politics that have global applications are corruption and the ways that the political system, which is monarchy, corresponds to the natural order of things. One way that playwright William Shakespeare expresses the theme of corruption is through a metaphorical association of Denmark’s political situation with rot: Marcellus states, “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.”
Hamlet frequently comments on the ways that the political order has gotten disconnected from its rightful association with the natural order. His diction and syntax convey this theme in numerous ways. One key example relates to time, which is personified and said to be “out of joint” or dislocated.
Another aspect of the incorrect disparity between the political and the natural orders is conveyed by Hamlet’s comparison...
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of Denmark to
an unweeded garden
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely.
The play overall upholds the system of monarchy and the correctness of primogeniture, the pattern of succession in which the eldest son inherits the throne. Hamlet again uses the idea of “gross,” earthly things to reflect on the son’s succession as regards Fortinbras’s succession, to his father and the “delicate prince” as commander of the army:
Examples gross as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such mass and charge
Led by a delicate and tender prince.
How do diction, syntax, and figurative language represent global issues in Hamlet?
Diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices help in developing and representing global issues in Hamlet by communicating the issues in the play as larger universal ones that most people find relatable, rather than focusing on the microcosm of Denmark and Hamlet and his world. Moreover, through the use of allusion to other peoples, other lands, and well-known myths or stories, the play further takes the story out of the small stage of Hamlet’s court in Denmark and parallels it to other larger and symbolic worlds.
For instance, when Horatio sees the ghost of Hamlet’s father, he recalls the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar that was preceded by sightings of ghosts. The story of Julius Caesar and the Ides of March is well-known, and most readers and audiences would be able to understand the larger issues at play in Hamlet’s court through the comparison. Horatio says,
A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell.
Caesar was betrayed by those closest to him just as Hamlet's father was. This shows the reader that the story has universal application. Horatio then makes an even broader comparison to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. This reference takes an even larger view of the situation in Denmark by taking it to a celestial plane. The issue has broadened to include, as Horatio notes, “heaven and earth together.”
In fact, just including the ghostly image of Hamlet’s deceased father underscores the universal message of ambition, regicide, fraternal jealousy, and love. Marcellus tells Horatio that the ghost is “as the air, invulnerable.” This shows that the ghost transcends the corporeal beings that see it and is as universal as the air.