Furthermore, power struggle in a feudal society results in everyone considering advancement as a need when it solely depends on one’s circumstances. Polonius attempts to find solid evidence of Ophelia being the ultimate cure of Hamlet’s madness by showing love letters from Hamlet to Ophelia because “he is mad, ’tis true ’tis true ’tis pity, [a]nd pity ’tis ’tis true: a foolish figure;” (2. 2. 95-98). Polonius is already a part of the bourgeoisie class since he is advisor to the king but he doesn’t necessarily need to improve his status.
He has two kids and it would be in all of their interest for Polonius to dedicate is time and effort to showing them fatherly love. Although it is agreed that he wants his children to progress in terms of economic status, Shakespeare is challenging the status quo in implying that being a part of a bourgeoisie class doesn’t guarantee happiness and satisfaction. Secondly, King Claudius becomes king through royalty and the help of an exception in society, hence giving him the opportunity to think about the position of Denmark and how “[o]ur state to be disjoint, and out of frame, [c]olleagued with this dream of his advantage,” (1. . 20-21).
Claudius is already King Hamlet’s rother and when one is at that sort of position, there is not very much room for improvement and if there is, it involves going against virtues and values. Therefore, power struggle for Claudius who is extreme bourgeosie even during King Hamlet’s lifetime, is not necessary and only results in a corrupt soul. Shakespeare is implying that someone staying in a social class/ position for too long can motivate someone else to misuse the superstructure of society and advance forward.
Next, the desire for power is there on behalf of everyone but it is not granted to veryone, in fact, “[a]ccording to Shakespeare, the value of life is in heroic struggle even if this struggle ends in defeat” (Smirnov 1). There must have been other possible candidates for the position of king but because of Claudius’s actions, those people were oppressed from potentially being a beneficial leader to society. A lot of people must have been hoping to become king, subsequently they must have been doing whatever it takes in a feudal society.
However, since they are unsuccessful, they must have learned the importance of advancing out of one’s social class. They would support their kids similar to Polonius’s effort in making his daughter the queen of Denmark. Although it is not a need for these people to become bourgeoisie, it definitely is the society’s need. As a result, this corruption does not allow Denmark to progress. Thirdly, power is portrayed as undesirable for those people who have kids because Hamlet became bourgeoisie by birth.
It causes Hamlet to not realize the importance for everything he has, along with the inability to focus on the incentives of living (advancement) and only focus on his problems as well as society’s. As a result, he questions the topic, “To be, or not to be, that is the question;” (3. 1. 56). Hamlet cannot possibly bring about a big difference in the social class in which he resides so he has nothing significant to look forward to, and can only be depressed by “[society’s] instability and political immaturity; he is surrounded by a tragic emptiness. ” (Smirnov 2).
If Hamlet cannot think about himself as progressively improving in society, competing with all other citizens, he will have no choice but to see the corruption that people use to get to the top and possibly question how he is the rince. Therefore, advancement is beneficial only to certain people, apart from its obvious monetary reward, but not everyone is in need of it and does not necessarily mean a happy life. Class struggle directly accompanies a society in which everyone wants to reach one destination but it is simply not possible and such is the case for Denmark.
Therefore, it is “an indication of the general corruption of the age, of universal and irreparable evil. ” (Smirnov 1). Whether one is proletariat or bourgeoisie, they want to move forward so there is practically no limit. Even if Prince Fortinbras becomes king of Denmark, there will always be someone who is jealous of his social status and will find a way to take over. Therefore, Shakespeare is implying through Hamlet that one person leading a state or country is not the way to go; instead, there should be no dictator-like leadership at all.
Class struggle also makes a society corrupt in the sense that members of the bourgeoise class are so busy in their luxury activities that they ” [succeed] in [withdrawing] [their] sexual impulses from [their] mothers, and in forgetting [their] jealousy of [their] fathers. (Freud 2). On the other hand, proletariat members might be stuck in Oedipus complex and when they seek the assistance of those higher than them, they will not get it; therefore demonstrating the tension and clash between poor and rich.
From the opinion of a sincere religious person, Hamlet would be categorized as proletariat because he has everything except the most important thing being attention from the ones he loves and whom loves him back. No matter how much Claudius tries to love him, he will always be a step-father while Gertrude is too distracted and in her own world to possibly think about Hamlet’s depression. As a result, Hamlet’s desire for attention is the only thing that he focuses on, and the ones above him like Claudius and Gertrude obviously cannot help him.
Furthermore, class struggle has such a tremendous impact that it “has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation. ” (Smirnov 2). Class struggle not only affects *When the poor are given monetary rewards, they begin to realize the unimportance of money for them while naturally pitying themselves and how they are being slaves for an amount petty to the bourgeoisie. For example, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern must feel ppressed internally when they are offered a reward for finding the cause of Hamlet’s strange behaviour.
The worst class struggle is obviously the one where there is no reaction in words or emotions; instead, it is a realization of the fact that a certain person is meant to serve the rich and receive a reward. Also, class struggles are an inevitable result of the pursuit of power and it might be considered by some to be an essential component of society since it creates a balance of rich-poor and is a systematic approach to allocating dirty jobs and desirable jobs. However, it makes a person want to own more of the ame thing.
Prince Fortinbras wants “gain a little patch of ground [t]hat hath in it no profit but the name. ” (4. 4. 18-19). Fortinbras wants to take over the land that his father was entitled to in addition to the worthless land near the end of the play but fails to realize that there perhaps may be a lack of churchyard space for the proletariat and heavenly people to reside in. He should focus on that more, and less on expanding his empire. As a result, class struggle forces people to forget the essentials of life that really matter, therefore a reflection of corruption.
