William Shakespeare's Hamlet tells a sad story of loss and tragedy. Unfortunately for those who suffer loss in Shakespeare's tale, the tragedy is not as natural as one thinks. Indeed, all the invented tragedy in Hamlet is caused by a single act of betrayal; the poisoning of Hamlet's father, the king of Denmark. Claudius, King Hamlet's brother, serves as the steward of the poison that physically kills King Hamlet, as well as the poison that seeps into the lives of the Danish people. Arising from this situation, poison, or disease in general, becomes a very important topic. Not only is poison used physically as a weapon, but it is also highly metaphorical. Shakespeare deals with the themes of poison and disease in an extreme way. Denmark is thought to have been "healthy" when King Hamlet led the state. The act of poisoning King Hamlet is the introduction of a metaphorical disease into the health of the state of Denmark itself. Francisco's line "it is bitterly cold / and my heart is sick" (1.1.9-10) works in concert with Marcello's "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." (1.4.90) to show the effect of the new disease state on its population. Claudius's treacherous act has a seemingly supernatural effect on the Danish people as they have an instinctive feeling that something is wrong. In addition to this supernatural effect, the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost is also very supernatural and represents an omen of illness and ill health. The idea that Claudius so easily killed King Hamlet and plagued the entire state of Denmark is disturbing and allows him to be seen by the audience as an evil villain. His greed and selfishness take the lives of everyone he loves, including his own. Ironically, Claudius is killed by his own method of murder; poison. Laertes, who agreed to join Claudius in Hamlet's murder, admits his own death ironically by stating "I am justly slain by my own treachery" (5.2.318). It was through poison that King Hamlet was murdered and Denmark was tormented by an evil leader, and it was through poison that the evil leader was defeated and Denmark was cured with a noble leader. Poison strangely becomes the antidote to one's illness