Something is rotten in the state of Denmark - Shakespeare Quotes Home > Study Guides > Shakespeare > Shakespeare Quotes > Something is rotten in the state of Denmark Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
Horatio:
He waxes desperate with imagination. Marcellus:
Let's follow. 'Tis not fit thus to obey him. Horatio:
Have after. To what issue will this come? Marcellus:
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Horatio:
Heaven will direct it. Marcellus:
Nay, let's follow him. [Exeunt.] Hamlet Act 1, scene 4, 87–91
This is one time when the popular misquotation—"Something's rotten in Denmark"—is a real improvement on the original. But you ought to be careful around purists, who will also remember that the minor character Marcellus, and not Hamlet, is the one who coins the phrase. There's a reason he says "state of Denmark" rather than just Denmark: the fish is rotting from the head down—all is not well at the top of the political hierarchy.
