“
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
MarcellusHamlet · Act I, Scene 4
1
Act 1, Scene 4
Rising Action
Midnight on the battlements. The Ghost of King Hamlet has appeared and beckoned Prince Hamlet to follow. Horatio warns it may lead him to madness, but Hamlet goes anyway. Marcellus, left behind, utters this judgment on the kingdom.
Why This Matters
One of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines — a proverb for institutional corruption.
corruptionpolitical decayforeboding
Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus and the Ghost
Henry Fuseli, 1796 · Public Domain