[Altick argues that Shakespeare not only emphasized the theme of bodily corruption in Hamlet, but also the "revolting odors that accompany the process." The critic then provides an analysis of various elements of the play Jo cusing on such images of decay as the sun as an agent of corruption, cancerous infection, and the stench which accompanies rotting. This stench, Altick observes, represents the cunning and lecherousness of Claudius's evil which has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark According to the critic, these and other image patterns demonstrate that "the text reeks with tenns symbolic of the loathsomeness of moral disintegration. " Altick also discusses the olfactory (relating to the sense of smell) connotations of such key words as "foul," "ranic," and "offence," and examines instances of punning (akind of wordplay which manipulates the use of.....
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