d for the whole kingdom to plummet. Once King Claudius had control of the kingdom, this point is proven, everything else just fell apart, one by one, like dominos. As Claudius brought his corrupt reign to Denmark, the seeds of his corruption spread to the people around him. As Rice stated in his article, "Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly." (Rice 3). The corruption displayed by some is contagious, and unless it can be halted at the root, it will keep spreading throughout the world and contaminating the innocents. Once there is only evil distributed throughout the country, than nothing beneficial can be the result, and the ultimate outcome is death.
             Many characters in the play were morally corrupt. They lied, cheated, stole, killed, and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and gain their trophies. One character in particular that was unmistakably evil was Claudius. He was an evil character based on the sins he has committed and what escalated from them. He gained many luxuries through his usage of deceit and murder. He became the King, but only after he destroyed his brother, through murder. He also gained a Queen and became the ruler of the kingdom. When Marcellus states, 'something is rotten in the state of Denmark.' (Act I, Sc. iv, 90), it could be interpreted that he is speaking of a threat of war. When looked at as symbolic, he could very well have been referring to Claudius' corrupting effect on the kingdom, which is brought on by his unpunished crime. "His evil deeds carry
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