Macbeth And Hamlet Tragedy Essay, Research Paper

The Tragedies of Macbeth and Hamlet

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.