Hamlet And Macbeth Comparative Essay

"Macbeth" is a tragic play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It revolved around the character Macbeth and his urge to become king of Scotland. Macbeth had to do anything possible to become the king including murder, lying, and deception. However, Macbeth committed these evil deeds due to some influential people in his life. Between Macbeth’s wife persuading him to do anything to become king and the witches prophesying over him causes Macbeth to try and bury the past and control the future.

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

Shakespeare had written many plays in his life time, some of them included various tragedies which included King Lear and Macbeth. All of Shakespeare’s plays had a theme which was used to help the story’s plot to advance further, making events much more interesting. King Lear and Macbeth both have a common theme of madness that is apparent throughout the play which has been depicted differently. They are both written in different ways but still share a same purpose. The essay will be broken down into three parts; firstly we will look at the way madness is viewed in Macbeth. Secondly, we will look at the way King Lear portrays madness lastly we will compare the two to see how differently madness is displayed. While both plays share this

In the play Macbeth, ambition, strength, and insanity play major roles in how the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth behave and react. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth present all 3 of these behaviors at one time or another during the play. However, there behaviors progress in very different ways. While Macbeth gets stronger and more ambitious, Lady Macbeth does the opposite. She starts out strong and ambitious, but becomes weaker and more reserved.

“In the mind of Lady Macbeth, ambition is represented as the ruling motive, an intense overmastering passion which is gratified at the expense of every just and generous principle, and every feminine feeling.” (Jameson, 191). Lady Macbeth is a very ambitious woman with a relentless hunger for power, longing to satisfy her role among the high society. She urges her husband Macbeth to commit a murder, and comes up with a plan for him to kill the king while he sleeps, then blame the kings’ guards. “Lady Macbeth, upon receiving word that King Duncan of Scotland will be arriving that night, begins sharpening her talons. She isn’t sure there’s enough manhood to go around between herself and her husband, so she calls scheming spirits to ‘unsex me here.’” (Macrone, 1). When Lady Macbeth says “unsex me here”, she is basically saying that she wants power. “But having evoked her husband’s murderous ambition, having dared him to stop being a child, she suddenly finds that when he is a man, she is powerless.” (Orgel, xli). Act 3, Scene 4, is when the king is found dead and Lady Macbeth makes a scene by saying, “Help me, hence, ho” (Orgel, 35). She then pretends to faint, hoping to divert the attention from the king’s murder, and all of the men immediately refocus their attention on her. It is very obvious that Lady Macbeth is not worried about the murder at all, when she tells her husband that “a little water clears us of this deed”

Presenting in the Huskies Showcase was a very new experience to me. I have never had the experience to conduct research and present it in a setting like the Huskies Showcase. I feel I learned a lot through the process and grew as a student. I gained a great deal of useful skills relating to collecting research and presenting what I learned to an audience. I will be able to apply these skills to future skills and become a more successful student.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth and Macduff are very similar in many aspects including rank, leadership, belief, and loyalty. But as the play unfolds, Shakespeare reveals these two characters are as different as night from day. In this essay I will compare and contrast the characters of the murderous Macbeth, and the forthright Macduff. I will consider their status within the Scottish society and the depth of their intelligence. I will also evaluate their actions and their relationships with other characters, including their families and I will discuss their degrees of ambition.

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

To understand Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth it is necessary to fully comprehend the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The differences between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are profound. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare skillfully changes the role of the two characters. Macbeth is frightened at the beginning then confident at the end while Lady Macbeth confident at the beginning and frightened at the end.

Villains are crafty and skillful while using their mastery of manipulation in an attempt to gain power. Shakespeare presents the tragedies, Macbeth and Othello as plays filled with plots driven by manipulation. Shakespeare uses the power of language in the characters Iago and Lady Macbeth by using influential rhetoric to sway those around them and also lead to the deadly downfall of Othello and Macbeth. In both of their cases, Shakespeare reveals the power of power because when things do not go according to plan, their own downfall is inevitable as well. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s actions show that women too can have the ambitions that men have and perhaps be just as devious and evil. It is this ambition and ease of cruelty that fuels her

A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet MACBETH stands in contrast throughout with Hamlet; in the manner of

According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are many issues that may have had an affect on the play. The complex marriage between the power hungry Macbeths, lady Macbeth’s dominant character directing Macbeth in the murders, the role reversal during the murders, Macbeth’s reaction to his wife’s death, and male and female marriages for authority. When analyzed these issues help describe the Macbeth’s relationship. They are the very issues that eventually lead to the “Great Tragedy”.

As Horatio puts it, “Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Hamlet (5.2 97-98). On the other hand, even though he dies in battle on the battle field, Macbeth isn’t able to die honorably, because of all the lives he has taken, purely for his own potential need. So says Macduff as he enters with Macbeth’s head. “Hail, King! for so thou art. Behold where stands Th’ usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free. I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl,” Macbeth (5.8 65-67)

   William Shakespeare has written many literary works - from his sonnets to his plays, each has it's own individual characteristics.  One popular characteristic that comes from his plays is the tragic hero.  The audience can always relate to the tragic hero and the many trials he faces.  Macbeth and Hamlet are just two of Shakespeare's plays that involve the tragic hero.  Through their nobility, tragic flaws, and dignity Macbeth and Hamlet prove to be tragic heroes.