Metaphorical Poison In Hamlet

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Whether it is a poisonous substance or a symbolic poison of the mind, an incidence of either may result in death. In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, both a literal and metaphorical meaning of poison may be traced. The motif of poison is literally and metaphorically portrayed through Claudius’ poisoning of the king and his empire, Laertes, Hamlet and Gertrude’s affiliated death as a result of poison, Hamlet’s poisoned conscience as a result of the emotional turmoil he endures, and finally, Ophelia’s distraught and poisoned mind leading to her eventual demise. Firstly, the most significant evidence of poison in the play is the poisoning of the late King Hamlet and consequently, of Denmark itself. Literal poison is seen when Hamlet gets to …show more content…
Claudius literally poisons his brother for the throne of Denmark, thus conceiving and bringing forth the metaphorical poison to Denmark. The metaphorical poison in Denmark can be traced when Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: “Denmark’s a prison” (2.2.240). The position Denmark is in directly relates to Claudius’ horrific actions of murdering the king, which appears to be poisoning the kingdom as well. The morally unjust claim of the throne by Claudius is what brings evil and poison to the kingdom. This evil represents the figurative poison throughout Denmark. To continue, poison can be further metaphorically seen when Hamlet says: “Fie on ’t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden / That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely” (1.2.135-137). In a state of profound misery, this is how Hamlet describes the world; a garden that has gone wild, with only disgusting weeds; a poison of sorts. Through this nature symbolism, one can infer that the weed in the garden is actually Claudius, and that he is the poison ruining the whole garden; the whole garden being the country of Denmark. Poison can be traced to Claudius within the play as displayed with his literal poisoning of the king, resulting in proceeding effects of metaphorical poison unto the whole kingdom of Denmark. Claudius is truly a character that brings corruption and poison to the state of
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