In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the words “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (I.iv.90) were spoken by Marcellous shortly after Hamlet leaves to follow a ghost. Marcellous and Horatio both feel that Hamlet should not be left alone with the ghost. Even though Hamlet directed them not to follow him, Marcellous feels that it wouldn’t be right if they didn’t follow him because “Something is rotten in the …showed first 75 words of 519 total…

…showed last 75 words of 519 total…and the royalty is directly connected to well being of the state of Denmark. In that sense, the royalty resembles what Hamlet calls “...an unweeded garden / that grows to seed,”(I.ii.135) because in an unweeded garden the weeds will eventually kill and corrupt the once healthy plants. In the 1st act of the play, the rotten royalty is set on a course that will eventually spoil the whole country and bring it to ruins.