Macbeth And Hamlet Essay, Research Paper
Macbeth is a Shakespearean tale about a confused Scottish noble that does not
know how to utilize his ambition. He succumbs to temptation, which is partly
supplied by his wife, and he kills to get the position of king. Hamlet, on the
other hand, is another Shakespearean masterpiece that deals with a torn prince
of Denmark that has to deal with the untimely death of his father. Hamlet and
Macbeth are similar in many ways, and reveal many sides of the human heart
through their dynamically dramatic plots. Both of these works deal with great
inner conflict in the main character. Macbeth cannot decide whether or not to
kill Duncan, who is the king of Scotland. He sees an imaginary dagger floating
in front of him that is a figment of his imagination, which portrays how much he
is lamenting over the act of genocide. He finally commits the murder, and gets
the position that he longs for. The main conflict that Hamlet has to deal with,
portrayed by his fated "To be or not to be?" speech, is how to deal
with the suspicious death of his father – by suffering the ills of this world or
taking resolute action against them. Both stories carry with a great amount of
deceit. With Macbeth, the witches explain that no one born of a woman will ever
kill him. Macduff, his slayer, was born by a Cesarean section. Of all the things
that the witches tell him, all are true, but are spoken in confusing riddles
that are misleading. The witches trick him into believing that he and his
descendants will rule the land forever. Hamlet’s father is killed by his uncle,
which is revealed at the end. Hamlet is tricked into going to England where his
uncle orders him to be executed, but Hamlet is clever enough to get out of that
predicament. Each of these tales deals with many tragic deaths. Macbeth is
killed in the end for the folly of having misdirected ambition. Lady Macbeth is
also killed, and Macduff’s family is senselessly wiped out simply for Macbeth’s
conquest. King Duncan is murdered so that Macbeth can acquire his position as
king. In Hamlet, the prince is slain by a poisoned sword blade. His father is
the victim of a power hungry uncle. A poisonous drink meant for Hamlet
senselessly kills Hamlet’s mother. Ophelia, Macbeth’s girlfriend, goes insane
and commits suicide because of the events that take place through the harrowing
plot of this work. As it is plain to see, these are extremely dynamic
literatures. The two have a few differences, but mostly have points that are
common. The inner conflict, deceit, and tragic deaths that compose the stories
spur the tales on and add immeasurably to the plot. These three core elements
drive each story to its moral and never let up. Without one of these included in
each, the story line would suffer greatly and not have the impact that each
does.