The Restoration of Moral Order in Hamlet

The fabric of every society relies on a set of laws, morals and ethics. When these aspects of a "good society" are corrupted, disorder ensues. A play which examines the result of a corrupted state is William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. The audience immediately witnesses the corrupted nature of the play when early on in the story a character observes, " Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."(1.4. 99) In the Elizabethan era it was believed the king was directly appointed by God. This is known as the divine right of kings. When the divine order of kings is broken by unlawful means, the natural order is ruined, and this leads to a state if corruption. The moral order is upset when the king, Old Hamlet is murdered. Old Hamlet's murder upsets the divine right of kings and Denmark finds itself in a state of corruption. …