Illness imagery and Hamlet are used by writers to describe the setting of a play. These images not only provide more description, but also give a philosophical twist to the interpretation of the work. William Shakespeare uses imagery in all of his works, especially in the play Hamlet. In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare uses imagery of disease to describe the leadership of Denmark and how corruption has infected the kingdom. Similarly, Shakespeare compares the fact that an untreated infection can spread to those least expected to become infected. First, the corrupt nature of Denmark's authoritarian government is compared to a pest infestation in a garden. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet sees Claudius (the king) as the parasite, as he committed crimes such as murder to become king (i.e. Claudius poisoned his brother Hamlet Sr. who was the former king). Hamlet feels as if Claudius is a weed in a garden, which needs to be removed. Hamlet demonstrates this when he says, “It is a weedless garden that grows like seed. Gross and gross things in nature simply possess it. (Hamlet, Shakespeare, 1992, 1.2, 139) This observation shows how Shakespeare uses the image of illness to describe the unscrupulousness of the Danish leadership.12 Secondly, in many of his plays, Shakespeare uses ghosts as a symbol of illness. In the play Hamlet the ghost of Hamlet Sr. appears, bringing concern to the kingdom. This concern is shown when Marcellus says, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Hamlet, Shakespeare, 1992, 1.4, 100) after the ghost appears from the clock. Furthermore, in the play Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo taunts Macbeth, which ultimately causes fear in the audience. In other words, the ghost is like the symptom of a disease, and if not detected and destroyed, the disease could be fatal. In Hamlet's case the disease is Claudius. The overall effect of the ghost produces an eerie atmosphere