Anthonia Akitunde
“The Rotten Fruit of Denmark; Sullied/Sallied Relationships in 'Hamlet'”
In the monologue following the revelation that old Hamlet was killed by Claudius, young
Hamlet begins with “O, that this too too sallied flesh would melt/ Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew”
(I, ii, 129130). “Sallied” taken
here to mean “sullied”, “to pollute, defile; to soil, stain, and tarnish”
(OED, 2nd ed., s.v. “sully,” 1) is
used right after the ghost confirms that the relationships around
Hamlet are corrupted. The word acts as a doorway for a common theme to fully enter the play: none of
the relationships between the characters are pure or grounded in conventions of normalcy. While the
reader knows the imbalance in the royal family (Claudius as both father and uncle to Hamlet, Gertrude
mother and aunt) soon after the first few lines of Act I, scene 2, Hamlet's use of “sallied” lets one see
how truly rotten the state of Denmark really is.
Many examples of “sallied” characters and unnatural relationship dynamics are in the play after
Hamlet's monologue. Polonius pollutes the relationship between father and son, father and daughter. In
Act 2, Scene 1, he sends his servant Reynaldo to spy on Laertes (“You shall do marvellous wisely, good
Reynaldo/Before you visit him, to make inquire/Of his behavior” [II,i, 36]).
The way Polonius sets
Reynaldo to find information runs the risk of ruining his son's reputation but little, true concern is
shown for this possibility. It is no coincidence that the only other derivative of sallied is found in
Polonius manipulative directions (II,i, 39). His daughter Ophelia is used as a pawn in his plan to
discover what is the cause of Hamlet's seemingly manic state to solidify his place as the King's right
hand man (“At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him.../And be not from his reason fall'n thereon/Let
me be no assistant for a state...” [II,ii, 161, 165]). We see in the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
that friendships are not safe. Once Hamlet's school friends, the pair quickly become agents of Claudius,
attempting to use their friendship as a guise to spy on Hamlet.
Shakespeare's choice of “sallied” is paradoxical; the word, according to the Norton Critical
Edition of the play, means “sullied' or “solid”. While both are equally acceptable translations, I agree
with Norton's footnote: “Since Hamlet's primary concern is with the fact of the flesh's impurity, not
with its corporeality, the choice clearly lies with...[sully]. 'Sally' is a legitimate sixteenthcentury
translation of 'sully'...” (I,ii,footnote 129). However, the other definition of “sallied” is “to issue
suddenly from a place of defence or retreat in order to make an attack; specifically of a besieged force”
(OED, 2nd ed., s.v. “sally,” 1). Both definitions work with each other to provide a mix of character
development and foreshadowing. Hamlet is like a besieged force with all of the events swirling around
him: his father's death, mother's hasty marriage to his uncle and the subsequent loss of the crown. “Sallied” also foreshadows Hamlet's lack of action to avenge his father's murder, hiding behind the “Dumb Play” and grandiose speeches (places of defense) before attacking Claudius. More interestingly,
sallied alludes to the state of Denmark – it is a country on the brink of war.
“Sallied” and “sullied” do work for the play that no other word would be capable of. If one takes
the word at face value it alludes to the state of Denmark hovering over the characters and provides
character analysis at the same time. Its translation, sullied, prompts the reader to acknowledge the state
of relationships as well as the larger theme of duality of words and their meanings. Both words engage
in a push and pull that brings deeper meaning to the text.