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Hamlet


             The definition of a motif is "a dominant or recurrent theme in an artistic, musical, or literary work." The play Hamlet has a definite motif throughout the entire play. The reoccurrence helps to build the scene, the emotion, and even the characters. It helps the reader gain a better understanding of what the underlining feelings and happenings are in the play. Hamlet's motif is that of both rotting matter and painted faces. These two topics may not seem to be related but there is a connection made in the play.
             The main motif of the play is the rotting matter theme. In every act, and almost every scene there are mentions of death, decay, and morbid descriptions that may send shivers up one's spine. The pictures are meant to set the mood as dark and dismal. After reading these lines one should not see Hamlet as a bright and cheery comedy, but rather a tragedy. The motif sets the understanding of other aspects of the play aside from the mood as well. .
             The lines in the play that describe the rotten views of Denmark and the decaying bodies could also be seen as a symbol. When Marcellus makes the comment "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" he was not talking about a foul smell that permeates from Denmark. He meant that the moral decay is great in the area. A king had just died, his wife had entered in what most would consider and incestuous marriage shortly after, and ghosts were appearing. Of course Marcellus was not the only one to notice this decay, nor was he the only one to express it through the same metaphors. Many other characters used the decaying matter to describe different aspects of the decaying morals of the people of Denmark.
             Hamlet himself described the situation of his mother's marriage almost immediately after his father's death as an " unweeded garden that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature posses it merely." Gardens of today are often viewed as being beautiful and symbolize health and growth.


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