I'm writing an essay on the motif of the poisoning of the state in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
I can't think of what this concept is called:
If the King is good, then prosperity will permeate the kingdom, but if the king is corrupt, then his corruption with permeate throughout the kingdom.
What is that concept called? It isn't the "divine right of kings" or the "wheel of fortune" is it?
2007-11-13 08:47:43 · 3 answers · asked by Steve H 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
It's a pretty common idea - I'm not sure if I know the term you are looking for (it is NOT "divine right of kings" or the "wheel of fortune")
In folklore/mythology it is often called the Fisher King motif, after the medieval/Arthurian legend. Wikipedia has a decent description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King (The Fisher King is the wounded king whose country suffers while he ails.)
2007-11-13 08:53:44 · answer #1 · answered by C_Bar 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I got this from a few websites, and the one below kinda pulls it all together.
I haven't been able to find a name for it. The relationship between a king and the prosperity, of lack of it, has to do with the Medieval concept of the harmony of the cosmos. Here's the crux of it, and you can use this quote to find the website if for some reason the link doesn't work:
"At the top of the human hierarchy sat the King, the only fully (in modern terms) individualized human.
"The importance of the King cannot be over-estimated: on him rest the fate of the state.
"If he is efficient and lucky then the state and all its people are successful. "
2007-11-13 17:31:08 · answer #2 · answered by Diana 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"There is something rotten in the state of Denmark."
2007-11-13 16:53:36 · answer #3 · answered by steve_geo1 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋