hamlet and macbeth comparison essay

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Compare and Contrast Hamlet and Macbeth

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Hamlet and Macbeth: Contrast and Comparison

Introduction.

Being written with only seven years in between, Hamlet and Macbeth reflect the writer’s artistry at its pinnacle. For the centuries to come, Hamlet and Macbeth gained international recognition and were adapted for TV, theater, cinematography, and even comic novels an uncountable number of times. In Hamlet , the young prince of Denmark is summoned back from the university to be at his father’s funeral. Hamlet is shocked to receive the news, but as he returns home, he is even more surprised to know that his mother had married his uncle, Claudius. Through a mystical encounter with the supernatural forces, the prince learns about his uncle’s betrayal which pushes him to take revenge. In Macbeth , Shakespeare also develops the theme of power hunger, and treachery. A Scottish general Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches about him becoming the next king of Scotland. Blinded by ambition, he kills King Duncan and takes over the throne. This essay will elaborate on these commonalities and point out some differences between the two tragedies.

The Supernatural in Hamlet and Macbeth

In literary works, the supernatural is often used for creating a dramatic effect. It is said that people are often drawn to the darker, forbidden side of life and events that are not quite explainable by common logic. For the reader, such works as Hamlet and Macbeth might be providing a safe medium to encounter the paranormal and experience a wide range of emotions from amusement to terror.

In both The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth , Shakespeare introduces supernatural creatures early on, which in each case, sets the mood for the entire play. The ghost of King Hamlet, Prince’s late father, and the three witches caught the main characters, Hamlet and Macbeth by surprise. As the readers sympathize with them, they also conclude that coming into contact with something as perplexing and terrifying must be disruptive to the characters’ lives. It becomes clear that Shakespeare sets them for a tragedy – a seemingly intractable dilemma that will test their sanity and good morals.

The supernatural plays a significant role in both Hamlet and Macbeth . When the Prince of Denmark encounters the ghost of his father, he does not believe what he sees right away: instead, he is in doubt about its “questionable shape” ( Ham. 1.4.24). Even though he promises to avenge late King Hamlet, he is not completely sure whether he should trust the specter. As the narration unfolds, this hesitancy stops him from murdering Claudius.

When put into the historical context of the period when the events were unfolding, Prince’s uncertainty becomes exhaustively understandable. To him and to those who witnessed the play around the time when Shakespeare was in his active years, there were only two possible explanations. First, a person who sees a ghost or a witch is deluded or insane. Second, this said person is unfortunate enough to meet the devil himself taking the shape of something that he or she is familiar with. Were Hamlet a pagan, he could interpret the event as a reunion with his late father and even be happy about it. However, as a Christian living during the Elizabethan era, he must believe that after death, all souls depart to either heaven or hell, thus, making the apparition strikingly abnormal (George 2). Eventually, for Hamlet, encountering the specter becomes a turning point to depression and madness, which distorts his personality throughout the play.

Another compelling interpretation of the ghost’s appearance in The Tragedy of Hamlet is being the main character’s moral compass. Hamlet was already judgmental of his mother’s choice of spouse, to begin with. However, he would never find out that Claudius murdered his father, King Hamlet, in cold blood if he never saw his specter. Despite its eeriness, the experience makes Hamlet realize the gravity of his uncle’s betrayal and their current family dynamics. It makes him ponder the importance of taking action as opposed to staying passive, which is depicted in the iconic soliloquy “To Be or Not to Be.” Another proof that the ghost provides moral guidance is its invisibility to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, who is either blind to Claudius’ intentions or an accomplice.

In terms of morality, the role of the supernatural in The Tragedy of Macbeth is very different from that in The Tragedy of Hamlet . While the specter in Hamlet compels Prince to seek justice for the murdered father, which is a righteous thing, the three witches in Macbeth help the general uncover the darker side of his personality (Griffiths 2). He does not want the king overthrown because it is something that needs to be done. Macbeth is only acting on a whim, seeking to satisfy his hunger for power and domination. While Hamlet reflects on the nature of life and death and his choices at length, Macbeth’s change of character is almost instant. Soon after the prophecy is made, he turns from loyal and likable to evil and immoral.

This drastic change aided by the paranormal is quite refreshing to interpret in the historical context. The first viewers, who were Christians, must have seen the character development as a descent into madness and insanity. Only a crazy person could meet the witches in the first place and then act on what they told him. Another interpretation is Macbeth’s corrupt nature that had been hidden right up until the moment when he encountered the witches. If the second is true, it is safe to assume that Shakespeare might have attempted to show that every person can abandon his or her morals if a situation predisposes them to do that.

The Theme of Power Struggle

The power struggle is one of the common motives found in both The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth . In Hamlet , Prince of Denmark and Claudius are in juxtaposition to each other. They both crave to be in power, but their motives are vastly different. Claudius is not only selfish: he is violent and aggressive in his pursuit. To Claudius, his goal justifies the means, and he shies away neither from manslaughter nor incest (marrying a late brother’s wife was considered incestuous back then). Throughout the play, the uncle does not feel remorse, nor does he ever hold himself accountable for ruining the perfectly fine royal family. What leads Hamlet is not power and greed per se; however, one can say that the kind of control that he wishes to gain is control over the situation on the whole. Hamlet’s uncle is wreaking havoc on his family, and Prince is torn between taking action, which might put him in danger, and disengaging himself.

In Macbeth , Shakespeare presents the theme of power and ambition as something tantalizing but with the potential to corrupt when not handled with caution. Even though from the first reading, Macbeth’s change of character might seem unexpected, upon further examination, it becomes clear that the author foreshadowed his development. In the first, the king of Scotland receives a report that praises Macbeth’s military prowess. Namely, one of the soldiers tells the king that he “unseamed [one of the enemy’s soldiers] from the nave to the chaps” (Mac . 1.2.40). In modern English, this would mean that he ripped another man’s body from his neck up to his chin, thus, instantly killing him. In this episode, Shakespeare shows that Macbeth is capable of brutality if put in the right conditions. After the mystical occurrence, Macbeth’s actions are guided by both his strife for power and his wife’s vision of his life and military career. However, as opposed to Hamlet where both Prince and his uncle are driven insane, Macbeth’s opponent, King Duncan, is in sound mind.

What makes analyzing The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth especially interesting is that the reader gets to compare two different perspectives. In Hamlet, the reader gains an insight into the world of a teenager crushed by his father’s death and his uncle’s betrayal. It is possible to observe the devastation that murder causes for the victim’s closest relatives. Shakespeare shows Hamlet’s gradual development as he goes through the commonly known stages of denial, anger, and depression. Reading Macbeth allows a person to see things from a different angle. It is highly unlikely that Shakespeare would want the reader to sympathize with someone as corrupted as Macbeth. Yet, he or she at least can have a better understanding of what might motivate a person to commit a crime.

Fatal Flaws

As in his other tragedies, Shakespeare uses fatal flaws to give more complexity to his characters’ personalities and make a disaster that awaits them at the end inevitable. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to action: for the majority of the play, he ruminates over his father’s death and tries to decide whether he should take revenge. The specter keeps haunting him only fueling the feelings of madness that he cannot quite process. Deep inside, Hamlet knows that there is not enough space for him and Claudius in the royal house and that one of them must go. Thus, he has to deal with both his inability to commit suicide and his hesitancy to kill his treacherous uncle. It is not like an opportunity never presents itself: at one point, Hamlet sees Claudius praying – a moment during which Prince could have caught him off guard. Yet, he does not use his chance to avenge King Hamlet.

Macbeth’s fatal flaw is his unchecked ambition that turns his greatest strengths into his greatest weaknesses. Back in his army days, people praised him for being respectful and courageous. Probably his most distinct personality trait was determination which allowed him to rise through the ranks in the military and survive in many battles. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare shows that there is a darker side to everything. After the mystical occurrence and not without his life’s persuasion, the general grows determined to do whatever it takes to take over the throne.

The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth end up in the death of the main character. In the world of Shakespeare, death is often the final solution to the most intractable of dilemmas (Apt 6). When Hamlet dies at the hands of Ophelia’s brother, he is liberated from the harsh reality in which he has to make choices that affect other people’s lives. Claudius is murdered as well, but his death does not exactly symbolize the triumph of good over evil. It seems like death in the works of Shakespeare plays the role of a great equalizer. It is indifferent to wealth and status and knows no mercy. At the moment of death, the characters are reminded about the nature of life which they have so far lived succumbing to vanity and greed.

At the end of The Tragedy of Macbeth , neither good nor evil wins: both King Duncan and Macbeth die. Even though Macbeth never acknowledges his misdeeds, death becomes his redemption. One may say that eventually, justice is served because the treacherous general never gets to enjoy his reign. Shakespeare shows exhaustively well where power and ambition can lead any person who lacks self-awareness and is easily malleable.

While it is unarguable that Shakespeare left a very diverse literary legacy, researchers were able to point out common themes and motives in some of his plays. It is possible to draw many analogies when comparing Hamlet and Macbeth . In both of them, the plot development is kickstarted by a paranormal occurrence. However, while the specter of Hamlet’s father compels the prince to seek justice and righteous revenge, the three witches push Macbeth to act on his unhealthy ambition. The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth employ the theme of power and greed shown through the characters of Claudius and Macbeth. Another commonality is the presence of a fatal flaw in Hamlet and Macbeth – inaction and unchecked ambition respectively. Throughout the plays, the main characters are gradually losing their sanity. However, Hamlet never takes action whereas Macbeth eventually commits a murder. Death makes all these men equal: it frees them from their fatal flaws and saves them and others from more pain and suffering.

Works Cited

Apt, Bryan. A Wave of Destruction: Time’s Inexorable Effects in Hamlet and Macbeth . 2015. Web.

George, David. “Hamlet, the Ghost, and a New Document.” Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference , vol. 7, 2014, p. 1-29.

Griffiths, Charlie. “More Things in Heaven and Earth: The Role of Ghosts and the Supernatural in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.” Diffusion – The UCLan Journal of Undergraduate Research, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1-10.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Penguin, 2016.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Classic Books Company, 2001.

Essay Editor

William Shakespeare: Hamlet and Macbeth Essay

1. introduction.

William Shakespeare was one of the most outstanding playwrights of his time, conducting his work in the early 17th century. He was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Bard of Avon, as he was known by this nickname, wrote a total of 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems, which today are considered to be some of the most famous works in the English language. Shakespeare made a massive impact on how we perceive literature in modern times, and many of the plays written by the English playwrights are still widely staged and read around the world. "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" are two of his most renowned plays, and they both share the same themes that run through them. "Hamlet," believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601, is the most staged play in the world and the best known and is a play that raises issues about politics and ethics. It is about the story of a Danish prince whose father, the king, was murdered in life by his uncle who then goes on to marry the king's widowed wife. "Macbeth," on the other hand, written in 1606, is a totally different story that raises the issues of the impact of evil on innocent people. It tells a tale of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Both of these plays are definitely worth reading and studying, as they focus on the themes of power and its corruption, ambition, the effects of tyranny and despotism, the nature of trust, and the use of appearance to cloud the truth.

1.1. Background of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright and is considered a key member of the English literature canon. He was born in 1564 and grew up in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where he received education at the King's Grammar School. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway and together they had three children: Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith. However, between the years 1585 and 1592, there is very little historical trace of Shakespeare's life; this period is often referred to as the "Lost Years". It is not until 1592 that Shakespeare is mentioned in the London theatre scene, but there is no real and solid proof of what Shakespeare did during those years. From then on, he became a very respected and honored writer, and his reputation continues to grow to the point where in 1597, he was able to buy one of the most prestigious houses in Stratford, New Place. He later retired to this same house after his successful career in the city of London. He died, and Anne were laid to rest together in 1616. The causes of his death are unknown, but scholars believe it might have been due to illnesses such as typhoid fever, a consequence of too heavy drinking, or a possibility of a heart attack. His plays were mainly associated with the "Globe Theatre," a theatre that he owned. "The Globe" was a magnificent three-storied, 3000 capacity, and 20-sided polygon-shaped building, most likely tall and colored. In 1613, a fire burned the theatre to the ground when a cannon shot set alight the thatched roof. His big hits, however, include Macbeth and Hamlet - two very successful plays. The versions recorded by John Heminge and Henry Condell in 1623 (seven years after William Shakespeare's death) are the first publication of thirty-six of Shakespeare's plays, which includes Macbeth and Hamlet. Today, Macbeth is known to be one of Shakespeare's darkest and most powerful tragedies, while Hamlet is one of the most renowned tragedies in the whole of English literature. These two plays have been read and performed throughout the centuries and continue to be culturally significant around the world.

1.2. Brief Overview of Hamlet and Macbeth

In Hamlet, the protagonist of the same name as the play is the Prince of Denmark and a student in Wittenberg, Germany. He is grief-stricken by the recent death of his father, King Hamlet, and deeply disgusted by his mother's marriage to his uncle, King Claudius, which took place less than two months after his father's death. The play is set in Elsinore, Denmark, at a royal castle. It is Hamlet's pretense of madness that allows him to approach and kill Claudius, and this gives the outward appearance of madness and its ability to conceal its own opposite and eventually expose not only truth, but also the forces that work against it. On the other hand, Macbeth, the central character's life changes throughout the play as a result of several key incidents. Firstly however, the transformation begins with the murder of the king. Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that state Macbeth will become King. Although initially he dismisses these and other prophecies after the visit from Ross and Angus Macbeth's ambition begins to grow and so does his woman's. After the king's retreat Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to lie and betray the king to fulfill the prophecies. This implies that Macbeth actively chooses his actions, knowing what the consequences may be and betraying the king's trust and loyalty towards him. After killing Duncan for the kingship the characters continue to change until in the end Lady Macbeth eventually destroys her husband by the manipulative nature of her ambition. The murder draws Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's love and dependability into a confused spiral of madness. His loss of morals and humanity has led Macbeth and his wife to simply be a shadow of an ideal couple and in this contrast the tempest plays an enormous role. The physical tempest causes the ship carrying King James the sixth and the first to break down and when he eventually arrives on the island his kingship restores the rightful order. His mere presence is a physical symbol of the king as the supreme authority and thus the elimination of politically corrupting influences. In the tempest, the disenchantment with ambition drawn in both the deterioration of the couple's relationship and the eventual downfall of Macbeth himself compared to the stresses of ambition in Hamlet is emphasized. The reduction of nobility in Macbeth is definitive, with the character reverting to upset epileptic turmoil as oppose to internal struggle; a difference used by Shakespeare to further demonstrate the insanity provoked by ambition. By stark contrast, Hamlet's soliloquy in act four shows the dejection and homesickness that comes with loss. However it is the subtleties in the lines that convey the power being taken by madness: "Now, whether it be / Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple / Of thinking too precisely on the event." This madness is clearly defined as the cause of deep thought and the turmoil between life and death, demonstrating a complete contrast to the havoc and destruction displayed by Macbeth. The gradual essential nature of lunacy caused by all-consuming ambition merely hinders the Macbeths, with the key prophecies and motivations failing to bring any relief. In comparison, Shakespeare uses Hamlet as a battlefield for the twisted mind of the protagonist, cleverly linking soliloquy and effective use of language - as oppose to focused actions - to portray the increase in despair caused by the knowledge of nobility and rightful kingship.

2. Ambition and Power

"Throughout the play, we can see Hamlet's unrelenting ambition to take down Claudius and the corrupting influence of this ambition. This is best illustrated by the way in which Hamlet's attitude and behaviour towards his peers changes as the play progresses. In the initial stages of the play, Hamlet is described as being very popular and having a high level of integrity and morality. However, as the play develops and Hamlet becomes more fixated on bringing down Claudius, these good traits seem to disappear and Hamlet becomes more and more prepared to hurt those around him in the pursuance of his ambition. For instance, he is happy to use Ophelia and even his long-standing friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in his pursuit to uncover the truth about his father's murder. The author uses the other characters in the play as parallels to Hamlet to ensure that the audience is aware of the negative impact that ambition can have. Shakespeare clearly portrays King Claudius as an ambitious character who is driven by his darkest desires. However, by including a comparison of Hamlet to Fortinbras at several points in the play, Shakespeare subtly suggests that Hamlet's ambition is perhaps not so bad after all. This is validated for the audience when Fortinbras actually takes over the kingdom of Denmark after Hamlet's death and Horatio refers to the fact that the country will be put back on the 'correct' path. Such elements reinforce the idea that ambition can sometimes be a positive force and the devastation Hamlet faced was because he sought to overthrow a villain as opposed to taking greedily that which he had no right to. In Macbeth, on the other hand, the plot is driven by the unrelenting power that Macbeth desires and the extreme lengths that he will go to in order to achieve this goal. From the opening scenes, we can see evidence of Macbeth's ambitious nature. When the witches first meet Macbeth, he seems to be fairly content. However, when they show him a vision of his ascent to power as a result of Duncan's death, Macbeth becomes completely fixated on this aim and this was the starting point of the corrupting influence of power. As soon as Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth about the prophecy, she acts as the catalyst for his ambition, as she becomes intent on plotting to murder Duncan in order to ensure that the prophecy will come to light. The juxtaposition of Lady Macbeth's character having the portrayed power in the relationship and the vulnerable, indecisive Macbeth can be seen to challenge the gender expectations within the seventeenth century. This irony would not have gone unnoticed by the original contemporary audience and would serve to represent the power of ambition in a negative light; as it pushes even the most seemingly stable character over the edge. The idea that ambition has the ability to deform morality recurs in the play and can be seen in the end stage of Macbeth's life. After being so unrelentingly fixated on having the prophecy of the witches' come true; when it is clear that Macbeth's ambition has led him to a path of evil and destruction, Shakespeare uses Macbeth's reflections on his own life and the pointlessness of it in order to highlight the extent of the corruption of power."

2.1. Ambition as a Driving Force

As the primary motivation for the main characters in both plays, ambition serves as the engine for the plot in Macbeth. This is illustrated notably through the eponymous character, as his unchecked ambition results in his downfall. Similarly, the play also explores the concept that ambitions can become all-consuming and ultimately lead to the destruction of a person. However, in Hamlet, Prince Hamlet is driven by a desire for knowledge about the death of his father while Macbeth is led by ambition and the coveting of the throne. Hamlet's ambition is much more subdued and reserved, while Macbeth's ambition is pronounced and improper, and ultimately leads to his moral deterioration. Lady Macbeth and the Three Witches are his primary influences in spurring him to think as ambitiously as he does. Macbeth's ambition is first introduced in the form of the witches' proposition, the prophecies. This contrasts with how King Hamlet's image of Hyperion is put forth by Hamlet, which functions under the guise of modesty as he seeks to satiate his father's thirst for the truth of his death. As a result, Hamlet in many senses projects an image of obedience and respect than Macbeth. However, there are notable similarities in which Hamlet shifts from a focus on knowledge and intertwines the ambition for revenge and destruction resulting in moral degradation. This is in contrast to Macbeth as he consistently and openly voices ambitions to become king, and later his ambition shows itself in the way it turns into a driving force compelling action.

2.2. The Corrupting Influence of Power

In Macbeth, the power that Macbeth has over others literally made Lady Macbeth insane. She confesses to murder, guiding Macbeth to commit the awful act of killing Duncan; however, she does not feel guilty. It is during the time when Macbeth's stature and with it his power increases that his mental decline begins. Macbeth loses all his moral principles and forgets what his values are. He is driven by power and a belief that his birthright should make it only natural for him to lead - but what he forgets is that it is how a man's life meaning is mortal term, not the power he can wield. This power not only corrupts his moral values but also his noble soul. Lady Macbeth is used to strengthen the evil and the weakness of Macbeth, but this driving force in his mind and soul always comes from his inner desires. At the time when this power made him mentally declining, it is he who kept adding fuel to his delusional mind and weakened soul. On the contrary, while in Hamlet, King Claudius' political power and importance to him because it represents the ultimate source of power in his life. In the play, Hamlet is a prince, which represents an ultimate source of his power and can keep his life prolonged. Hamlet never does focus on his ambition of being a strong leader unlike Macbeth. Instead, he tries his best to seek revenge for his father and explore the truth of his father's death in some ways that he wishes to protect his father's reputation. When King Claudius' attention is drawn away from his ambition he wants towards personal development, he will start focusing less on the commonwealth and his suppression of the people's opinion. This is the king that Shakespeare created; a man who feels things deeply and yet is willing to use the music of language to manipulate and control the people around him. He has made a connection between his personal desires and the influence of power that others hold. The feeling of despising King Claudius remains strongly in Hamlet's heart and this audience knows that King Claudius is going to be the next victim of Hamlet's. Visualize it in life, from his first to the last, everyone is the victim of King Claudius. Whenever he wants to pursue something he will use all his power to create opportunities to make his personal desires become a reality; he will commit any crime for his aspiration to move forward. His strategies and the ways he manipulates and controls people rose from the influences that people around him hold and this has made his despicable character become corrupt.

2.3. Consequences of Unchecked Ambition

In Macbeth, we see a completely different kind of ambition. Banquo warns Macbeth that the witches "win us with honest trifles - to betray's in deepest consequence" and sure enough Macbeth proves him right. Lady Macbeth's challenge to Macbeth to be a man and take charge, unchecked, leads to disaster. We see in this tragedy that Macbeth's unbridled ambition leads to catastrophic consequences not only for himself, but for the other characters as well. The world of the play is literally splintered as a result of Macbeth's uncontained, naked ambition and his numb willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. For the social world embodied in the play, group solidarity is compromised all because of one man's unchecked ambition. In other words, we see the effects of one man's life or character disintegrating. However, the important thing to mention here is that Macbeth never really wants to be king... he never wants to step outside of human morality. It is different with Claudius. We see one form of unbridled ambition in one king and yet, in the other, we see a very different kind of ambition. There is an idea that the King's two bodies in Elizabethan political thought refers to the body natural and the body politic. When the king is a body natural he is subject to all the human failings and ills and diseases that every other body is heir to. So the King's personal failings, his license, in allowing his demonical desires to become supreme over his reason, has consequences for the body politic of Denmark, the state, and that society in general. Macbeth's reign leads to a very interesting society, and so as an instance of literature and early modern literature in that thanks to Macbeth's unbridled ambition, we have a play where we see the disastrous effects of tyranny and the need for individual responsibility. This is beginning to sound rather like a political treatise, but, hopefully, it does help foreground for us the various ways in which we can begin to enjoy the play.

3. Madness and Sanity

Perhaps the most obvious subject or theme in Hamlet is madness. This theme is quite prevalent, especially considering that it is really hard to tell whether the characters are madder than they seem or the reverse is true. Hamlet, of course, is the main and most famous mad character in the play. It is easy to see him acting mad when he hears his father died, when he speaks to Ophelia and when he advises the king's men. Yet his madness only shows when he is in their presence, while as his soliloquies show, when he is alone he is perfectly sane. This can be seen as a shrewd move on the part of Hamlet. By pretending to be mad, he can expose the guilt of others while he remains unharmed. Indeed through his madness, Hamlet found truth. On the other hand, topical, that is, phoney, madness is employed as a strategy in the first instance that Hamlet uses it. In this passage we can see that in planning to feign madness, Hamlet embarks on a fundamental ethical challenge. He must blur the line between sanity and insanity so that his own rationality becomes uncertain. In the passage, sanity is likened to the condition where a man possesses his wits and where he can distinguish between right and wrong. Instantaneously, living up to his idea as the revenger, Reeds presents a horror of Gertrude's hasty marriage. As well as in this speech, he popularizes his role in the form of individual whose job is to eliminate a wrongdoer. He is appearing more and more ham but at the same time he keeps a kind of rational thinking left that he still has knowledge towards what he does. For this reason of progression of sanity turning into a retaliate mood, the transition of his mode of speaking and his action in the play is beginning to change as well. For each of his utterance, there is either a new intention revealed or a further development of his action.

3.1. The Thin Line Between Madness and Sanity

Madness and sanity are two common themes in William Shakespeare's plays. Both Hamlet and Macbeth address the issue of madness. However, there is much difference between Hamlet's feigned madness and Macbeth's transient fits. In Hamlet, the question of whether Hamlet is truly mad or is just using madness as a subterfuge is not clearly resolved. At various points in the play, he "appears" to be truly mad, but then, he may in fact be feigning madness as a clever strategy. For many critics and scholars, Hamlet's madness is a serious and unsolved problem of the play. However, there is also another interpretation of Hamlet's madness from another group of critics. They claimed that Hamlet was driven to the edge of sanity because of the untimely death of Ophelia. But the final scene of Ophelia's death suggests that she is not totally innocent, "Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind" (Hamlet, III.i.91). As she cannot withstand the shock of Hamlet's rejection and the sudden death of her father, it can be easily inferred that Ophelia's death is largely contributed by her own weakness and subservience to the male opinions. In Macbeth, the madness of Macbeth is step by step developed into the point when he was influenced by the ghost of Banquo. The first step to the madness is founded when Macbeth killed the King. After that action, he was unable to recover himself any more. When the ghost of Banquo first appeared to him, he maintained or tried to maintain his composure and not to surprise others. However, gradually, his mind was completely seized by crimes and Macbeth was finally led by his own mind and committed further atrocities. In conclusion, Hamlet's feigned madness is a crucial part of the play, providing a deeper sense of the complex character and advancing the plot. This is because Hamlet is seen as something of a philosopher in the play and yet is noble and brave in moral decisions facing him. On the other hand, Macbeth's downward spiral into madness is more easily understood as there is a clear causal relationship between his experiences and his personal deterioration. However, it is uncertain whether Macbeth was mad. Though the madness of both characters is indeed uncertain, the proposed reasons behind both characters' descents into madness are in stark contrast. The proposed reasons behind Hamlet's madness reflect a large part of the focus of the critical essays. On the other hand, Macbeth's motivations for his madness are taken for granted by the critics and the madness becomes the most important evidence for the cognitive decline of Macbeth. For Shakespeare, madness is finally led by the moral ambivalence in the human soul. And the causes of madness may not be directly rooted in something morally ignoble or sinful. As a result, like madness, it exists as a curious and complex fact of the human psyche and society, not a clear and straightforward phenomenon.

3.2. Feigned Madness as a Strategy

In Act 1, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father. He is told by the ghost to avenge his uncle's murder - Hamlet's uncle - and so he puts on an 'antic disposition' as a strategy. Hamlet pretends to be mad to buy himself time to figure out what exactly is going on. This allows him to investigate his father's death and Claudius's intentions carefully to acquire a better understanding of the situation. On the other hand, the feigned madness of Macbeth is very much a private affair between him and his wife. Unlike Hamlet, Macbeth does not confide in anyone about his plans, reasons or feelings. Macbeth's madness comes from a sense of guilt that he has really done something wrong. He pretends not to be affected by the murders, testing the other characters and forcing them to reveal information to him. In reality he is very anxious and paranoid and can very nearly be said to be paranoid as well. William empowers us to see what effect feigned madness has according to different circumstances and different people. Feigned madness provides a key element to the plays, but the way it is utilised is very different. There are differences in the circumstances of the characters involved as well as the nature of their mental problems. In Hamlet's case, the feigned madness is a kind of trap. It is a license to deceive. Laertes comments on Hamlet's "overthrow" thinking that he has gone mad due to Ophelia's lack of affection for him and so Hamlet thinks 'synchronized' and asks "how pregnant sometimes his replies are!" This ultimately helps Ham a lot. Yet Hamlet is a different man a part from this feigned madness. He is complex, so it isn't just as simple as being one person when in the 'state of being mad' and one when he isn't. But on the other hand Macbeth is a play of "dichotomy", of how one thing, if associated to the most severe degree, can express its near opposite, of the conflict of different elements and features of human nature. The mad scenes are famously unclear. They describe in great detail how wildly Macbeth gestures and how his brow is furrowed with a 'fiend', things only Macbeth and the audience can see. It's almost as if Shakespeare doesn't want us to decide one way or the other whether Macbeth's man agony is genuine or feigned, or at least is choosing to depict it in a way that emphasises Macbeth's turmoil, as if his mind 's tortured even as his body seems to thrive on action. It's clear that Macbeth shares no close relationship with his wife in comparison to how Hamlet "puts up a good show" for Ophelia, claiming to lack aspiration, sexual desires, whilst from the deep structure of his monologue to the spontaneous soliloquy it is clear that he has never felt anything else.

3.3. The Psychological Effects of Pretending to Be Mad

At the start of this section, introduce the idea that in Hamlet, a number of characters pretend to be mad and consider the impact of this on Hamlet's state of mind. Hamlet's meeting with his father's ghost has caused him to lose touch with reality, leading to the primary focus of the essay. The cause and effect of Hamlet's madness and his state of consciousness make all four corners of the material evidence for the theme of pretense. If he were not under the sway of superstition, his main obligation to avenge his father's murder would not be stayed or not produce the true objective for an argument in defense of his sanity. So, the pretense occasions the opportunity to attain his revenge and justification through set up that wear a uniform that will get menacing look, so Laertes claims that "he is mad". What the other lunatics pretend to be mad take the offer and his enrollment in the list of sinners in an act prompted by Heaven's wishes and will furnish the proof of his life for good edict and prophecy. "Here shows some visage", means he asked to show some appearance, so the manifestation of the living dead will take a shape of appearance and wink to verified. As well as there are others too. For instance, the relationship between Hamlet's words and actions - pretending not to be pretending - and those of Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Claudius. These people have to figure out what is behind the mask of words and the appearances of madness, and thus an illusion, stories, and acting is closely connected and slowly and inexorably a direction comes out through the essay. As mentioned earlier, the falseness, fake, counterfeit, and pretense are covering the real fact over the comparisons. Domain, acting of the people surrounding Hamlet, another inhabitant delusional world of Denmark, and Hamlet's own figures of truth are used as a disguise to suggest that duty will require his revenge. By using the malapropism and playing puns, with conniving what different from known and making become an actor, Shakespeare depicts the pretense as fundamentally unnatural action, in the absence, be pretended so long that it will take on the appearance of true nature and madness is a defense against the pretense. Lastly, "The Poison of Lying and Deceit" reflects on the state of mind of the principal character, and that the spirit of health and resolution will be critically affected by poisons of the soul. His mind inevitably is damaged by adopting the equivocation and becomes in turn infected by the same deceit shows, surely he would be caught up in defamation of his own blood; it gives provide the foundation of the three proofs for the skeleton of the essay and subsequent critical perspectives of analysis, such as Stanley Jones' belief in a matter of psychological importance to Hamlet's plot, perhaps the melancholy Dane was truly mad. However, taking such a position will therefore reveal the role of Hamlet's doubt and it has the way in which his make choices in the modernity of interpretation and the ethic of justice.

3.4. The Loss of Sanity and its Impact on Characters

The dramatic psychological deterioration of Hamlet is quite disarming, as his overriding passion for his father's death and his mother's 'o'er hasty marriage' exceeds the gradually decreasing sanity in relation to his 'wild and whirling words', as in its effect on the players: 'He does confess he feels himself distracted, but from what cause he will by no means speak'. Here, Horatio outlines the main difference between the loss of sanity experienced by Hamlet and that of King Lear. For King Lear, the descent into madness in Act 4 is an opportunity for him to highlight the poor treatment that the eldest members of society receive, as well as perhaps a direct critic to the unfair and complex inheritance laws in Shakespeare's time. However, King Lear's loss of reason is specifically incorporated into a perception of his character and the play does not ultimately lead towards a conclusive judgement. In stark contrast, the death of Ophelia marks a clear ending in Hamlet and the consequences of her and subsequently others, acting upon the insanity in Hamlet is far more tangible. In the final part of this research, we shall consider the various ways to perform the role of Hamlet and just how accurate the psychiatric and psychological reading of Hamlet's character is in terms of the loss of sanity and its effects, resonating with the conclusions of McIntyre, Jones and Jorgensen. From the research undertaken, it is possible to identify that the revised idea that melancholy is a precursor to madness, and together the two traits enhance the emotional and humanising. In addition, this demonstrates how Hamlet is more than just a spectacle of Elizabethan revenge tragedy, a narrative which dominated the genre of the time. Hamlet teaches the viewer not only about love, family and expressing feelings of sorrow and misery, but also the ways many different individuals may interpret what is right and what is wrong. His madness becomes the basis for the defining moments in the play, such as the 'Mousetrap', which is pivotal for the introduction of Claudius as the antagonist and a justification for the moral veneer assumed by Hamlet. It is derived from the basic principle that all individuals have a conscious and a goodness which they aim to produce. But the most pernicious is the obsessive, irrational dimension of insanity that possesses one's mind and consumes it. Hamlet uses three different personas throughout the play: a rash, rash, and bloodying his beloved's ear, Claudius' impulsive act of murder thereby sends Hamlet into 'a resolve: that will tend to his advantage, which his ear or fear can hold passion to', reflecting the contempt he holds for the supposed King. Very much plant himself in, Hamlet persists in a 'contriver and leading' manner, dragging others such as Horatio into this web of immoral and chaotic to resolve. In this way, it is possible to see that the exploration of Hamlet's loss of sanity produces a shift from the focus upon the internal battle between Hamlet and his conscience, to a more physical and group-orientated interaction between characters themselves. Likewise to Shakespeare's other tragic plays, such as Othello and King Lear for example, the use of madness can serve to provide opportunities for the characters and the audience alike to reveal and express their truthful internal thoughts to the world.

4. Moral Dilemmas and Consequences

The soliloquy illustrates Hamlet's continued lack of resolution to the appointed task of revenge that he is called to and the moral dilemma that is presented to him. He continues to debate the issue with himself and his hesitancy is seen at its greatest. It is here that the 1640 second Quarto version transitions to include an alternate line stated in the first Quarto version that is not found in the previously mentioned 1604 second Quarto version. The added line was, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all." This line both summarizes the entire soliloquy and most importantly that moral decisions hold a direct potential to be destructive to not only the psyche of an individual but they can also lead to catastrophic consequences. In the very next scene, the audience, along with Hamlet, is given tangible evidence to support the anger and revenge that has permeated throughout the play. It is during the fencers' sport in which Hamlet poses a toast to King Claudius that we see a guilt-racked King drink from the poisoned glass. This is an added example to the criticism of the King's character and the paralysis that Hamlet experiences when he is faced with "what he doubts...yet doubts much and long" (3.3.172). The weight of one's mortality and the complexities that come about from a lack of definitive actions to the moral aspects that a man must consider are all contained in Hamlet's soliloquy. As this thesis statement for Hamlet suggests, author William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" could also be titled "Hamlet's Conscience."

4.1. Moral Choices and their Ramifications

In both Hamlet and Macbeth, it is clear that the characters face some serious moral dilemmas. This is especially the case in Macbeth. When Macbeth first enters the stage, just after the witches' prophecies, he has already made up his mind about what he is going to do. Notice how he immediately reflects on the fact that the assassination of Duncan, King of Scotland, has been made necessary by the witches' words regarding his "dimetor". In his case, the horrid act is not something for which he has many choices. And yet, his swift application of the first possible course of action would seem to suggest that his approach to the prophecies should not be solely identified with this kind of predeterminism. Instead, there is a sense that Macbeth himself is responsible for choosing the evil over the good. Macbeth is faced with an interesting decision when his wife learns of the prophecy made by three witches. Upon hearing that he will become King of Scotland, Lady Macbeth consistently influences her husband. In Act 1, Sc. 7, she first tries to persuade to murder the King in his sleep. Although Macbeth has "no spur to prick the sides of my intent", as he does not wish to kill the King, his wife's persuasive attack by "art" changes his mind. The metaphor here suggests that she has calculated the way in which Macbeth can be coerced into action, and we might take the reference to "intent" as a clever transformation of its meaning in a sense parallel with the manipulation that can be forced by a cavalryman's refusal to use his spurs i.e. that it causes Macbeth to really want to kill Duncan. Like Macbeth, there is a sense that Hamlet is questioning the extent to which the witches are capable of controlling his destiny. He laments the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" in his famous soliloquy in Act 3, Sc. 1, claiming that most men would be forced to endure the injustices sent their way, were it not for the fact that they are inhibited by the fear of what may come after death. Laertes also falls prey to the suggestion that choice may not be real. The King's manipulative prowess upon his emotions can be seen in the way that he--ostensibly--comforts Laertes, claiming to feel a sort of fatherly sorrow in his heart at the terrible accident that befalls Polonius, Laertes' father. However, his subtlety leads Laertes to revolt, suggesting that eventually the King's manipulation--certainly of Laertes--will reach such a stage that it becomes counterproductive. In this case, he is manipulating Laertes' choice in a more direct way than that employed by Lady Macbeth.

4.2. The Weight of Guilt and Conscience

In comparison to Hamlet, in Macbeth, the effects of guilt and conscience take a heavy toll on the main characters. Macbeth's character is consistently tempted by power and ambition, but when he commits the murder, it is his guilt that keeps him sane while in Hamlet, Shakespeare also reveals another effect of his procrastination. The murder that Hamlet should commit is the murder of his uncle but he did not do it until his delay brought a misery end of losing his beloved mother and himself. In the third act of Macbeth, scene four, he says, "O! full of scorpions is my mind" which reflects his inner turmoil and his loneliness. He is not only without any real friend, but also now lies under a "mind" torture. This portrayal of guilt is also shown in Hamlet's monologue. In the play, Hamlet is commanded by his father's ghost to avenge his corrupt uncle, the murderer and new king, and Hamlet's plans to feign madness provide the reason for many of the play's other strange occurrences. He delays the moment of revenge and this is the pivotal part of the plot. It is clear that his delay is partly due to his moral scruples, which cannot understand how a vigorous avenger could be a just and principled revenger; but it seems that his suspicion about the nature and intent of the ghost precipitates a state of uncertainty which makes action impossible. However, as the play progress, the effects of different choices become clear. In a murder mystery, centrality has to solve whether a case and "who done it" in sequence and then end up with discovering how and why the murder took place. As the tension and intensity build up in Hamlet, it ultimately leads to the denouncing of men's sinfulness and the face of the "foul and most unnatural murder" it reveals the depraved character of men. All in all, from the character, to the situation and to the effects of guilt and conscience, Shakespeare has managed to create, in the field of literature, a genre typical to his own innovative and fantastic qualities, which has never been made possible in other writers. Shakespeare is indeed a "poet not for an age but for the all time".

4.3. The Price of Immorality

However, the theme of the price of immorality is brought in much later in the play. We see a number of times where Macbeth attempts to keep his actions a secret, for example by killing Banquo. However, after this there is a sense of paranoia and he visits the witches again. All this indicates that Macbeth is aware he is acting immorally based on his own morals and ethics as well as according to society's expectations. In Hamlet we see a completely different side to the price of immorality. When Hamlet kills Claudius it is an immoral act not only because Hamlet is seeking revenge, but also because he murders his own family member. This is where Shakespeare makes a comparison between two polar opposites, with Hamlet's much debated moral actions and the actions of the 'lust driven' Macbeth. This is reinforced sooner than in Macbeth through the dealings of the new king. After killing the old king, Macbeth decided to murder Duncan's servants and pin the blame on them. A completely unjust and multiple murder, which although might have been a more strategic move proves the price of his immorality. His mental state now relies on the continuation of immoral acts in order to maintain his throne, especially by him referring to the initial act as 'this dead butcher'. This metaphor suggests that he acknowledges the immoral act as being the beginning of the end of his humanity; and increasingly his own previous moral principles. Both Hamlet and Macbeth were written at a time in British history where the line of monarchy was frequently changing. The discovery of America meant that people were setting up their own Utopian societies and this branched out to literature of the time; a noticeable move away from The Great Chain of Being and divine right. Therefore, I believe that the theme of the price of immorality in Shakespeare's plays reflects the time in which it was written, as more attention was being brought to the consequences of such personal gain and moral decline.

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Hamlet and Macbeth

Hamlet and Macbeth are two of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Though they were written centuries ago, they continue to be studied and performed today. Both plays explore similar themes, such as the nature of evil, the corrupting power of ambition, and the importance of family.

Hamlet is a tragedy that tells the story of a young prince who is haunted by the ghost of his father and must take revenge on his uncle, who killed him. Macbeth is a tragedy about a brave general who is seduced by ambition and turns to murder to fulfill his aspirations.

Though both plays deal with dark themes, they also offer hope and redemption. In Hamlet, Horatio remains loyal to Hamlet until the end, while in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth eventually realizes the error of her ways. Ultimately, both plays show that evil does not triumph in the end.

While other revenge plays potentially lack the depth that Hamlet poses, this play goes above and beyond to address difficult questions with introspection.

Hamlet seems uncertain about everything. He is unsure about whether or not his uncle killed his father, unsure about what sort of person his mother is, unsure about the ghost’s reliability, and unsure about Hamlet’s own sanity. Even when Hamlet finally takes action at the end of the play, he does so impulsively and blindly, killin Polonius instead of Claudius and thus setting off a bloody cycle of revenge and counter-revenge that ultimately destroys Hamlet himself as well as almost everyone else around him.

Macbeth is a tragedy about a nobleman who commits regicide in order to fulfill his ambitions to be king and then descends into tyranny, paranoia, and madness. Like Hamlet, Macbeth is also a play that poses many questions, particularly about the nature of evil and whether or not people can be truly good or evil.

Macbeth himself is a complex character who vacillates between good and evil, and his actions throughout the play cause us to question whether he is ultimately responsible for his own downfall or if he is simply a victim of fate. In the end, like Hamlet, Macbeth’s blind ambition and impulsiveness leads to his ruin and the destruction of everyone around him.

Witches, wizards, ghosts, and otherworldly creatures have played a long role in theater storytelling. Many literary works by different writers and playwrights feature these concepts. For instance, some of William Shakespeare’s plays and poems allude to unearthly beings or powers. In Hamlet and Macbeth, two of his most highly-praised works, these themes are present throughout.

Witchcraft plays a significant role in Hamlet. Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark, is murdered by his uncle Claudius, who then marries Hamlet’s mother and takes the throne. Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells him of Claudius’ treachery and commands Hamlet to take revenge. Hamlet feigns madness as he plots to kill Claudius but ends up killing Polonius, a courtier, instead. Hamlet’s girlfriend Ophelia goes mad after her father’s death and drowns herself. Hamlet finally kills Claudius but dies in the process.

The supernatural is also a key element in Macbeth. Macbeth is a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will one day be king. Driven by ambition and spurred on by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne. He becomes paranoid and paranoid and starts to kill anyone who he thinks might threaten his position. In the end, Macbeth is defeated and killed by Macduff, a Scottish nobleman.

Both Hamlet and Macbeth are excellent examples of Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural as a central theme. In both plays, the witches represent the otherworldly forces that drive the characters to their doom. In Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father is a key figure in motivating Hamlet to take revenge. In Macbeth, the witches’ prophecies drive Macbeth to murder and paranoia. In both plays, the supernatural is used to create an atmosphere of suspense and tragedy.

Both Hamlet and Macbeth are heavily influenced by supernatural forces, leading them to doubt their own morality. The ghost of Hamlet’s father and the three witches in Macbeth play a pivotal role in shaping the events of the plot and affect the mood of each respective play.

The ghost of Hamlet’s father asks Hamlet to avenge his death, and Hamlet agrees. Hamlet is then consumed by thoughts of revenge and his mental state deteriorates. The three witches in Macbeth make predictions that encourage Macbeth to kill Duncan and become king. They also give him false hope that he will never be harmed by any man born of woman. These prophecies ultimately lead to Macbeth’s downfall.

Both plays explore the theme of ambition, and how it can have a corrupting influence. In Hamlet, Claudius’s ambition leads him to kill his brother and marry his sister-in-law in order to become king. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s ambition is fuelled by the witches’ predictions and he becomes a tyrannical ruler.

The theme of appearance vs. reality is also explored in both Hamlet and Macbeth. In Hamlet, Claudius appears to be a loving husband and brother, but he is really a murderer. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears to be a kind and caring wife, but she is really ambitious and will do anything to further her husband’s career.

Both Hamlet and Macbeth are about the dangers of allowing oneself to be controlled by supernatural forces. Hamlet is controlled by the ghost of his father and Macbeth by the witches. In both cases, the protagonists are manipulated into questioning their own morality and ultimately end up destroying themselves.

The spirits that appear to Hamlet and Macbeth at the outset of each act provide them with important information. When Hamlet encounters his father’s ghost for the first time, he is commanded to “avenge his most foul and unnatural murder” (Hamlet 1.5.25). Hamlet becomes enraged with Claudius as a result of this encounter, although neither he nor the audience know if the spirit is telling the truth.

Similarly, Macbeth meets three witches who give him three prophecies; the first two come true, so when the third—“Macbeth shall be king” (Macbeth 1.3.50)—does as well, Macbeth becomes consumed with ambition. Both Hamlet and Macbeth are then driven by a single goal: to take revenge/become king.

The theme of betrayal is also prominent in both Hamlet and Macbeth. In Hamlet, almost every character betrays someone else at some point in the play. For example, Hamlet betrays his mother by killing Polonius, even though he was just trying to kill Claudius. Gertrude betrays Hamlet by marrying Claudius so quickly after his father’s death. Ophelia betrays Hamlet by telling her father and brother about Hamlet’s strange behavior.

In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to kill Duncan so that he can become king; however, once Duncan is dead, she immediately regrets her decision and is haunted by his ghost. Later, Macbeth has Banquo killed because he is afraid that Banquo’s descendants will usurp his throne; this act of betrayal causes Macbeth to lose the loyalty of many of his friends and allies.

The theme of appearances versus reality is also present in both plays. Hamlet is constantly questioning what is real and what is just an appearance. For instance, Hamlet stages a play called “The Murder of Gonzago” in order to catch Claudius in the act of murder; however, Hamlet is not sure if his own father’s ghost was really there or if it was just his imagination. Similarly, Macbeth is haunted by the apparitions of the three witches; he is not sure if they are real or if they are just products of his imagination.

The main themes of Hamlet and Macbeth are very similar. Both plays deal with betrayal, revenge, and appearances versus reality. However, the way these themes are explored is quite different. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses a lot of verbal irony and sarcasm, whereas in Macbeth he relies more on visual images and symbolism. Nevertheless, both plays are excellent examples of Shakespeare’s genius.

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Macbeth and Hamlet : Compare and Contrast

MACBETH stands in contrast throughout with Hamlet; in the manner of opening more especially. In the latter, there is a gradual ascent from the simplest forms of conversation to the language of impassioned intellect,—yet the intellect still remaining the seat of passion: in the former, the invocation is at once made to the imagination and the emotions connected therewith. Hence the movement throughout is the most rapid of all Shakspeare's plays; and hence also, with the exception of the disgusting passage of the Porter (Act ii. sc. 3), which I dare pledge myself to demonstrate to be an interpolation of the actors, there is not, to the best of my remembrance, a single pun or play on words in the whole drama. I have previously given an answer to the thousand times repeated charge against Shakspeare upon the subject of his punning, and I here merely mention the fact of the absence of any puns in Macbeth, as justifying a candid doubt at least, whether even in these figures of speech and fanciful modifications of language, Shakspeare may not have followed rules and principles that merit and would stand the test of philosophic examination. And hence, also, there is an entire absence of comedy, nay, even of irony and philosophic contemplation in Macbeth,—the play being wholly and purely tragic. For the same cause, there are no reasonings of equivocal morality, which would have required a more leisurely state and a consequently greater activity of mind;—no sophistry of self-delusion,—except only that previously to the dreadful act, Macbeth mistranslates the recoilings and ominous whispers of conscience into prudential and selfish reasonings, and, after the deed done the terrors of remorse into fear from external dangers,— like delirious men who run away from the phantoms of I their own brains, or, raised by terror to rage, stab the real object that is within their reach:—whilst Lady Macbeth merely endeavours to reconcile his and her own sinkings of heart by anticipations of the worst, and an. affected bravado in confronting them. In all the rest, Macbeth's language is the grave utterance of the very heart, conscience-sick, even to the last faintings of moral death. It is the same in all the other characters. The variety arises from rage, caused ever and anon by disruption of anxious thought, and the quick transition of fear into it.

In Hamlet and Macbeth the scene opens with superstition; but, in each it is not merely different, but opposite. In the first it is connected with the best and holiest feelings; in the second with the shadowy, turbulent, and unsanctified cravings of the individual will. Nor is the purpose the same; in the one the object is to excite, whilst in the other it is to mark a mind already excited. Superstition, of one sort or another, is natural to victorious generals; the instances are too notorious to need mentioning. There is so much of chance in warfare, and such vast events are connected with the acts of a single individual,—the representative, in truth, of the efforts of myriads, and yet to the public and, doubtless, to his own feelings, the aggregate of all,—that the proper temperament for generating or receiving superstitious impres-sions is naturally produced. Hope, the master element of a commanding genius, meeting with an active and combining intellect, and an imagination of just that degree of vividness which disquiets and impels the soul to try to realize its images, greatly increases the creative power of the mind; and hence the images become a satisfying world of themselves, as is the case in every poet and original philosopher:—but hope fully gratified, and yet, the ele-mentary basis of the passion remaining, becomes fear; and, indeed, the general, who must often feel, even though he may hide it from his own consciousness, bow large a share chance had in his successes, may very naturally be irresolute in a new scene, where he knows that all will depend on his own act and election.

The Weird Sisters are as true a creation of Shakspeare's, as his Ariel and Caliban,—fates, furies, and materializing witches being the elements. They are wholly different from any representation of witches in the contemporary writers, and yet presented a sufficient external resemblance to the creatures of vulgar prejudice to act immediately on the audience. Their character consists in the imagina-tive disconnected from the good; they are the shadowy obscure and fearfully anomalous of physical nature, the lawless of human nature,—elemental avengers without sex or kin:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover thro' the fog and filthy air.

This is a preview of the whole essay

How much it were to be wished in playing Macbeth, that an attempt should be made to introduce the flexile character-mask of the ancient pantomime;—that Flaxman would contribute his genius to the embodying and making sensuously perceptible that of Shakspeare!

The style and rhythm of the Captain's speeches in the. second scene should be illustrated by reference to the interlude in Hamlet, in which the epic is substituted for the tragic, in order to make the latter be felt as the real-life diction. In Macbeth, the poet's object was to raise the mind at once to the high tragic tone, that the audience might be ready for the precipitate consummation of guilt in the early part of the play. The true reason for the first appearance of the Witches is to strike the key-note of the character of the whole drama, as is proved by their reappearance in the third scene, after such an order of the king's as establishes their supernatural power of informa-tion. I say information,—for so it only is as to Glamis and Cawdor; the 'king hereafter' was still contingent,— still in Macbeth's moral will; although, if he should yield to the temptation, and thus forfeit his free agency, the link of cause and effect more physico would then commence. I need not say, that the general idea is all that can be required from the poet,—not a scholastic logical consistency in all the parts so as to meet metaphysical objectors. But O! how truly Shakspearian is the opening of Macbeth's character given in the unpossessedness of Banquo's mind, wholly present to the present object,— an unsullied, unscarified mirror!—And how strictly true to nature it is, that Banquo, and not Macbeth himself, directs our notice to the effect produced on Macbeth's mind, rendered temptible by previous dalliance of the fancy with ambitious thoughts:

Good Sir, why do yon start; and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair?

And then, again, still unintroitive, addresses the Witches:—

I' the name of truth, Are ye fantastical, or that indeed Which outwardly ye show?

Banquo's questions are those of natural curiosity,—such as a girl would put after hearing a gipsy tell her school-fellow's fortune;—all perfectly general, or rather planless. But Macbeth, lost in thought, raises himself to speech only by the Witches being about to depart:—

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:—

and all that follows is reasoning on a problem already discussed in his mind,—on a hope which he welcomes, and the doubts concerning the attainment of which he wishes to have cleared up. Compare his eagerness,—the keen eye with which he has pursued the Witches' evanishing—

Speak, I charge you!

with the easily satisfied mind of the self-uninterested Banquo:—

The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, And these are of them:—Whither are they vanished?

and then Macbeth's earnest reply,—

Into the air; and what seem'd corporal, melted As breath into the wind.—'Would they had staid!

Is it too minute to notice the appropriateness of the simile 'as breath,' &c., in a cold climate?

Still again Banquo goes on wondering like any common spectator:

Were such things here as we do speak about?

whilst Macbeth persists in recurring to the self-concerning:—

Your children shall be kings. Ban. You shall be king. Macb. And thane of Cawdor too: went it not so?

So surely is the guilt in its germ anterior to the supposed cause, and immediate temptation! Before he can cool, the confirmation of the tempting half of the prophecy arrives, and the concatenating tendency of the imagination is fostered by the sudden coincidence:—

Glamis, and thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind.

Oppose this to Banquo's simple surprise:—

What, can the devil speak true?

Ib. Banquo's speech:—

That, trusted home, Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, Besides the thane of Cawdor.

I doubt whether 'enkindle' has not another sense than that of 'stimulating;' I mean of 'kind' and 'kin,' as when rabbits are said to 'kindle.' However Macbeth no longer hears any thing ab extra:—

Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme.

Then in the necessity of recollecting himself—

I thank you, gentlemen.

Then he relapses into himself again, and every word of his soliloquy shows the early birth-date of his guilt. He is all-powerful without strength; he wishes the end, but is irresolute as to the means; conscience distinctly warns him, and he lulls it imperfectly:—

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir.

Lost in the prospective of his guilt, he turns round alarmed lest others may suspect what is passing in his own mind, and instantly vents the lie of ambition:

My dull brain was wrought With things forgotten;—

And immediately after pours forth the promising courtesies of a usurper in intention:—

Kind gentlemen, your pains Are register'd where every day I turn The leaf to read them.

Ib. Macbeth's speech:

Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings.

Warburton's note, and substitution of 'feats' for 'fears.' Mercy on this most wilful ingenuity of blundering, which, nevertheless, was the very Warburton of Warburton —his inmost being! 'Fears,' here, are present fear-striking objects, terrihilia. adstanfia.

Ib. sc. 4. O! the affecting beauty of the death of Cawdor, and the presentimental speech of the king:

There's no art To find the mind's construction in the face : He was a gentleman on whom I built An absolute trust—

Interrupted by—

O worthiest cousin!

on the entrance of the deeper traitor for whom Cawdor had made way! And here in contrast with Duncan's 'plenteous joys,' Macbeth has nothing but the common-places of loyalty, in which he hides himself with 'our duties.' Note the exceeding effort of Macbeth's addresses to the king, his reasoning on his allegiance, and then especially when a new difficulty, the designation of a successor, suggests a new crime. This, however, seems the first distinct notion, as to the plan of realizing his wishes; and here, therefore, with great propriety, Macbeth's cowardice of his own conscience discloses itself. I always think there is something especially Shakspearian in Duncan's speeches throughout this scene, such pourings forth, such abandonments, compared with the language of vulgar dramatists, whose characters seem to have made their speeches as the actors learn them.

Ib. Duncan's speech:—

Sons, kinsmen, thanes, And you whose places are the nearest, know, We will establish our estate upon Our eldest Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The Prince of Cumberland: which honour must Not unaccompanied, invest him only; But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine On all deservers.

It is a fancy;—but I can never read this and the following speeches of Macbeth, without involuntarily thinking of the Miltonic Messiah and Satan.

Ib. sc. 5. Macbeth is described by Lady Macbeth so as at the same time to reveal her own character. Could he have every thing he wanted, he would rather have it mnocently;—ignorant, as alas! how many of us are, that he who wishes a temporal end for itself, does in truth will the means; and hence the danger of indulging fancies, Lady Macbeth, like all in Shakspeare, is a class individualized:—of high rank, left much alone, and feeding herself with day-dreams of ambition, she mistakes the courage of fantasy for the power of bearing the consequences of the realities of guilt. Hers is the mock fortitude of a mind deluded by ambition; she shames her husband with a superhuman audacity of fancy which she cannot support, but sinks in the season of remorse, and dies in suicidal agony. Her speech:

Come, all yon spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, &c.

is that of one who had habitually familiarized her imagina-tion to dreadful conceptions, and was trying to do so still more. Her invocations and requisitions are all the false efforts of a mind accustomed only hitherto to the shadows of the imagination, vivid enough to throw the everyday substances of life into shadow, but never as yet brought into direct contact with their own correspondent realities. She evinces no womanly life, no wifely joy, at the return of her husband, no pleased terror at the thought of his past dangers, whilst Macbeth bursts forth naturally—

My dearest love—

and shrinks from the boldness with which she presents his own thoughts to him. With consummate art she at first uses as incentives the very circumstances, Duncan's coming to their house, &c. which Macbeth's conscience would most probably have adduced to her as motives of abhorrence or repulsion. Yet Macbeth is not prepared:

We will speak further.

Ib. sc. 6. The lyrical movement with which this scene opens, and the free and unengaged mind of Banquo, loving nature, and rewarded in the love itself, form a highly dramatic contrast with the laboured rhythm and hypocritical over-much of Lady Macbeth's welcome, in which you cannot detect a ray of personal feeling, but all is thrown upon the 'dignities,' the general duty.

Ib. sc. 7. Macbeth's speech:

We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honor'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon.

Note the inward pangs and warnings of conscience interpreted into prudential reasonings.

Act ii. sc. i. Banquo's speech:

A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers! Restrain in me the cursed thoughts, that nature Gives way to in repose.

The disturbance of an innocent soul by painful suspicions of another's guilty intentions and wishes, and fear of the cursed thoughts of sensual nature.

Ib. sc. 2. Now that the deed is done or doing—now that the first reality commences. Lady Macbeth shrinks. The most simple sound strikes terror, the most natural consequences are horrible, whilst previously every thing, however awful, appeared a mere trifle; conscience, which before had been hidden to Macbeth in selfish and prudential fears, now rushes in upon him in her own veritable person:

Methought I heard a voice cry—Sleep no more! I could not say Amen, When they did say. God bless us!

And see the novelty given to the most familiar images by a new state of feeling.

Ib. sc. 3. This low soliloquy of the Porter and his few speeches afterwards, I believe to have been written for the mob by some other hand, perhaps with Shakspeare's consent; and that finding it take, he with the remaining ink of a pen otherwise employed, just interpolated the words—

I'll devil-porter it no further : I had thought to have let in some of all professions, that go the primrose way to tb' everlasting bonfire.

Of the rest not one syllable has the ever-present being of Shakspeare.

Act iii. sc. 1. Compare Macbeth's mode of working on the murderers in this place with Schiller's mistaken scene between Butler, Devereux, and Macdonald in Wallenstein. (Part II. act iv. sc. 2.) The comic was wholly out of season. Shakspeare never introduces it, but when it may react on the tragedy by harmonious contrast.

Ib. sc. 2. Macbeth's speech:

But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer. Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep In the affliction of these terrible dreams That shake us nightly.

Ever and ever mistaking the anguish of conscience for fears of selfishness, and thus as a punishment of that selfishness, plunging still deeper in guilt and ruin.

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed.

This is Macbeth's sympathy with his own feelings, and his mistaking his wife's opposite state.

Macb. It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood: Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak; Augurs, and understood relations, have By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth The secret'st man of blood.

The deed is done; but Macbeth receives no comfort, no additional security. He has by guilt torn himself live-asunder from nature, and is, therefore, himself in a preter-natural state: no wonder, then, that he is inclined to superstition, and faith in the unknown of signs and tokens, and super-human agencies.

Act iv. sc. i.

Len. 'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you word, Macduff is fled to England. Macb. Fled to England?

The acme of the avenging conscience.

Ib. sc. 2. This scene, dreadful as it is, is still a relief, because a variety, because domestic, and therefore soothing, as associated with the only real pleasures of life. The conversation between Lady Macduff and her child heightens the pathos, and is preparatory for the deep tragedy of their assassination. Shakspeare's fondness for children is every where shown;—in Prince Arthur, in King John; in the sweet scene in the Winter's Tale between Hermione and her son; nay, even in honest Evans's examination of Mrs. Page's schoolboy. To the objection that Shakspeare wounds the moral sense by the unsubdued, undisguised description of the most hateful atrocity—that he tears the feelings without mercy, and even outrages the eye itself with scenes of insupportable horror—I, omitting Titus Andronicus, as not genuine, and excepting the scene of Gloster's blinding in Lear, answer boldly in the name of Shakspeare, not guilty.

Ib. sc. 3. Malcolm's speech:

Better Macbeth, Than such a one to reign.

The moral is—the dreadful effects even on the best minds of the soul-sickening sense of insecurity.

Ib. How admirably Macduff's grief is in harmony with the whole play! It rends, not dissolves, the heart. 'The tune of it goes manly.' Thus is Shakspeare always master of himself and of his subject,—a genuine Proteus:—we see all things in him, as images in a calm lake, most distinct, most accurate,—only more splendid, more glorified. This is correctness in the only philosophical sense. But he requires your sympathy and your submission; you must have that recipiency of moral impression without which the purposes and ends of the drama would be frustrated, and the absence of which demonstrates an utter want of all imagination, a deadness to that necessary pleasure of being innocently—shall I say, deluded?—or rather, drawn away from ourselves to the music of noblest thought in har-monious sounds. Happy he, who not only in the public theatre, but in the labours of a profession, and round the light of his own hearth, still carries a heart so pleasure-fraught!

Alas for Macbeth! now all is inward with him; he has no more prudential prospective reasonings. His wife, the only being who could have had any seat in his affections, dies; he puts on despondency, the final heart-armour of the wretched, and would fain think every thing shadowy and unsubstantial, as indeed all things are to those who cannot regard them as symbols of goodness:—

Out out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Macbeth and Hamlet : Compare and Contrast

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Although the assignment may say “compare,” the assumption is that you will consider both the similarities and differences; in other words, you will compare and contrast.

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Comparing And Contrasting Hamlet And Macbeth

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Throughout William Shakespeare s dramas Hamlet and Macbeth there are many similarities, along with many differences. These dramas are both Shakespearean calamities, which frequently use supernatural incidents to fascinate the reader s involvement, and consists of a hero that has a tragic defect. There are many comparative and contrasting facets in these dramas. The gap of Hamlet involves a supernatural, as does the gap of Macbeth. In the first scene the shade of his male parent, King Hamlet, approaches Hamlet. Similarly, the gap of Macbeth involves the three enchantresss. Although the enchantresss can be seen by anyone they approach, the shade of King Hamlet is merely seen by Hamlet himself, and in one scene by Marcellus and Bernardo, Hamlet s retainers. Similarly in both dramas, the chief characters are somewhat leery of the existent powers these supernatural figures have. As the enchantresss use their evident powers to state Macbeth the hereafter, the shade of King Hamlet tells Hamlet what has happened already. Hamlet provinces in one of his monologues The spirit that I have seen / may be the Satan ( 2.2.598-599 ) . Macbeth besides has his uncertainties because when the enchantresss tell him that he will be named Thane of Cawder, Macbeth himself had non known, but many people had. It is possible the enchantresss could hold known. In the same affair in both dramas, the presentation of the supernatural began to take to the concluding ruin of each of the characters. In Macbeth, the three enchantresss cause him to believe and make evil workss. In Hamlet, if he had non seen the shade of his male parent, he would non hold known that Claudius has killed his male parent to claim the throne. In both cases the characters gave into the shrewish supernatural beliefs. And therefore they lost their lives. Other characters in these dramas show analogues in their secret plans. Both

plays have a main character that portrays the king of that country. In Hamlet, the King of Denmark, Claudius is directly related to Hamlet. He is his uncle, and also his mother s new husband. However, in Macbeth the King of Scotland, King Duncan, is not directly related to the main character. Both plays do however, have the main character killing off the king in order to get the throne, which ultimately results in there own death. Horatio, in Hamlet and Banquo, in Macbeth share the same loyalty to the main characters. In both stories these friends are more skeptical of the supernaturals than the main characters themselves. In a meeting with the witches, Banquo challenges them to Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear / Your favours nor your hate (1.3.60-61). In a scene where Horatio and Hamlet witness the ghost, Horatio tries to keep Hamlet from going with the ghost. He was even reluctant in the opening scene to go with Marcellus to hear about the ghost. Some themes in the plays are also similar. The way that the weeds and flowers illustrate good and bad in Hamlet is like the way the birds do in Macbeth. This is also true of the fair and foul theme in Macbeth and the indirections theme in Hamlet. In Macbeth, to the weird sisters, what is ugly is beautiful, and what is beautiful is ugly. Through the play fair appearances hide foul realities. This theme has a lot in common with the theme in Hamlet where the appearance varies from the reality. In contrast, one of the main themes in Macbeth is Manhood, while in Hamlet it is frailty, and more specifically, the frailty of women. It seems evident that Shakespeare used a strong, similar story line in these two tragedies. Apparently Macbeth and Hamlet are similar stories in numerous ways. These two plays seem different because of the variation in story lines, but in fact are very similar due to the parallel characters and themes.

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Hamlet Research Paper & Essay Examples

When you have to write an essay on Hamlet by Shakespeare, you may need an example to follow. In this article, our team collected numerous samples for this exact purpose. Here you’ll see Hamlet essay and research paper examples that can inspire you and show how to structure your writing.

✍ Hamlet: Essay Samples

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Ophelia and Hamlet’s Dialogue in Shakespeare’s Play Genre: Essay Words: 210 Focused on: What the dialogue in Act 3 Scene 1 reveals about Hamlet and Ophelia Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia
Lying, Acting, Hypocrisy in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Genre: Essay Words: 1313 Focused on: The theme of deception in Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia
Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s Behavior in Act III Genre: Report Words: 1554 Focused on: Behavior of different characters in Act 3 of Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius
The Masks of William Shakespeare’s Play “Hamlet” Genre: Research Paper Words: 1827 Focused on: Hamlet’s attitude towards death and revenge Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost
Ghosts and Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 895 Focused on: The figure of the Ghost and his relationship with Hamlet Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Gertrude, Claudius
Macbeth and Hamlet Characters Comparison Genre: Essay Words: 1791 Focused on: Comparison of Gertrude in Hamlet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth Characters mentioned: Gertrude, Claudius, Hamlet
Depression and Melancholia Expressed by Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 3319 Focused on: Hamlet’s mental issues and his symptoms Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Laertes, the Ghost, Polonius
Meditative and Passionate Responses in the Play “Hamlet” Genre: Essay Words: 1377 Focused on: Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play and Zaffirelli’s adaptation Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius
Portrayal of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Play and Zaffirelli’s Film Genre: Essay Words: 554 Focused on: Character of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play and Zaffirelli’s adaptation Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Ophelia
Hamlet in the Film and the Play: Comparing and Contrasting Genre: Essay Words: 562 Focused on: Comparison of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Zeffirelli’s version of the character Characters mentioned: Hamlet
Literary Analysis of “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 837 Focused on: Symbols, images, and characters of the play Characters mentioned: Hamlet, the Ghost, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia
Psychiatric Analysis of Hamlet Genre: Essay Words: 1899 Focused on: Hamlet’s mental state and sanity in particular Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius
Hamlet and King Oedipus Literature Comparison Genre: Essay Words: 587 Focused on: Comparison of Hamlet and Oedipus Characters mentioned: Hamlet

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Critic’s Notebook

Two Shakespearean Triumphs in Paris, or a Plague on Both Their Houses?

New productions of “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” follow a French tradition of adapting familiar works. The results are innovative, and sometimes cryptic.

An actor in a long white garment points his finger at the forehead of another actor dressed in red and black.

By Laura Cappelle

The critic Laura Cappelle saw the shows in Paris.

Two Paris playhouses, both alike in dignity, putting on rival new Shakespeare productions.

Thus expectations were high for a springtime face-off — with contemporary stagings of “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” — between the Comédie-Française, France’s top permanent company, and the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, the Left Bank’s most venerable theater.

The results certainly felt French. The country has long been a haven for concept-driven theater-makers, and the two directors involved, Silvia Costa and Christiane Jatahy, have no qualms about cutting and splicing the Bard’s plays in experimental, sometimes cryptic ways.

At the Comédie-Française, Costa’s “Macbeth” edits the two dozen named characters down to only eight actors and leans heavily into religious symbolism. In “Hamlet,” Jatahy goes so far as to keep Ophelia alive. Far from going mad, Ophelia climbs down from the stage and exits through the auditorium after declaring: “I died all these years. This year, I won’t die.”

Jatahy, a Brazilian director who has a significant following in France, has performed this sort of bait-and-switch with classics before. Her adaptations of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” (“What If They Went to Moscow?”) and Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” (“Julia”) reworked the plays’ story lines and characters from a feminist perspective, lending greater weight to female roles.

At the Odéon, Jatahy also cast a woman, the outstanding Clotilde Hesme, as Hamlet, explaining in a playbill interview that her goal was to refocus the story on three female characters: Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. And while a female Hamlet is hardly news — the French star Sarah Bernhardt performed the role back in 1886 — Jatahy’s premise looks promising for the first few scenes.

Slouching on a couch, Hesme cuts a grave figure as she rewinds a video: the message Hamlet receives from her murdered father, here projected on a large scrim. After the ghost blames his brother, Claudius, the scene transitions seamlessly into a wedding — that of Claudius and the widowed Gertrude, who seals her new life with a karaoke rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Servane Ducorps plays Gertrude with a chirpy energy that contrasts nicely with Hesme’s coolness. Yet as Jatahy’s “Hamlet” progresses, their interactions rarely ring true, in no small part because the characters have all been transplanted into a humdrum contemporary interior. There, Gertrude and Claudius (a quasi-affable Matthieu Sampeur) try to play happy blended family. They sing sweet nothings to each other over the kitchen table, while Hamlet sulks in the corner.

It’s “Hamlet” as a 21st-century parent-child drama, with the odd interjection from Ophelia and her father, Polonius, who speak Portuguese — an attempt to signal their foreignness that instead makes them look like visitors from another play. Similarly, while Isabel Abreu brings an earnest intensity to the role of Ophelia, her relationship with Hesme’s Hamlet never settles into familiarity.

Her lucky escape is equally contrived. In the playbill, Jatahy says that in choosing not to die, Ophelia “refuses to be a toy in the face of patriarchal violence.” Although Abreu delivers the inserted text bravely, it is such a jarring volte-face for her character.

According to the Odéon’s publicity material, 85 percent of the text in this version is from Shakespeare’s original “Hamlet.” Yet it rarely feels as if Jatahy trusts the Bard. Instead, she wills the characters to escape his world, in an act of feminist defiance without a clear target.

Across the Seine, Costa also follows her singular vision for “Macbeth” — her second production for the Comédie-Française after an adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s “A Girl’s Story” — to the bitter end.

Her staging of the Scottish play opens with an arresting tableau. Lady Macbeth sits hunched over, her face hidden under a disheveled mane. As she rips out clumps of her hair, a portrait of Macbeth, her husband, starts spinning on a wall behind her — until an invisible knife seems to cut into the painting.

It’s an ominous way to position Lady Macbeth, as a shadow addition to the three witches who prophesy that Macbeth will be king. When the trio appears shortly afterward to deliver their message, a giant ring materializes above the empty stage. In true “Lord of the Rings” fashion, it then descends upon Macbeth (Noam Morgensztern), metaphorically anointing him even as recorded whispers of “murder” fill the Comédie-Française’s auditorium.

So far, so impressive. But Costa, an Italian native who has collaborated with the provocative director Romeo Castellucci and shares his taste for visual symbolism, is so focused on the imagery that “Macbeth” loses dramatic steam.

Compressing all of the named characters into just eight roles is a dubious choice given the resources of the Comédie-Française’s permanent ensemble, and it leads to a sense of monotony. The three witches (Suliane Brahim, Jennifer Decker and Birane Ba) occasionally — and confusingly — double as random soldiers and messengers, and when the Macbeths go on their murderous spree, there is no one around to react to the destabilization of the kingdom.

Perplexingly, heavy-handed Roman Catholic allegories also seep into this “Macbeth” midway through, paralyzing the action. The second half of the production takes place in front of a bulky backdrop showing a winged altarpiece that is entirely blacked out. The banquet scene, in which Macbeth is haunted by his victims’ ghosts, is confined to a small confessional.

In that scene, King Duncan, whose death paves the way for Macbeth’s ascension, hovers like God surrounded by angels and martyrs. Macduff, who eventually restores order by killing Macbeth, is costumed to look every inch like Jesus, down to a wound in his side that he reveals theatrically by opening his white robe.

There are Christian themes in “Macbeth,” but Costa takes them so far that the characters disappear behind them. One of the last scenes shows Jesus-Macduff overcoming Macbeth simply by pointing a finger to his forehead, as if performing a miracle.

As a result, the production also undercuts Julie Sicard’s eerily shameless performance as Lady Macbeth. There is no doubt throughout that she has the upper hand: In fact, one scene even makes that point a little too forcefully, when she pretends to breastfeed a childlike Macbeth and hands him a pacifier.

The moment is effective in telegraphing a message, yet so dramatically improbable that the characters start to feel like pawns in the director’s game. “Macbeth,” like “Hamlet” at the Odéon, is too multilayered to be subsumed into a single grand idea. In Paris, at least, it wasn’t to be.

An earlier version of this article misidentified Ophelia’s father. He is Polonius, not Claudius.

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Arts and Culture Across Europe

When activists urged Tate Britain in London to take an offensive artwork off its walls, the institution commissioned Keith Piper to create a response instead. The result recently went on display.

The new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam has been in the works for almost 20 years. It is the first institution to tell the full story of the persecution of Dutch Jews during World War II.

At a retrospective of John Singer Sargent’s portraits in London, where the American expatriate fled after creating a scandal in Paris, clothes offer both armor and self-expression .

The street artist Frank “Frankey” de Ruwe has been delighting Amsterdam with his whimsical, witty pieces .

A major Yoko Ono retrospective at Tate Modern in London instructs visitors to draw their own shadows , shake hands through a canvas and imagine paintings in their heads.

The British Museum recovered hundreds of engraved gems and other items of jewelry that museum officials say a former curator stole. Now the institution is putting some on show .

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COMMENTS

Compare and Contrast Hamlet and Macbeth
Hamlet's madness is a calculated and deliberate ploy to disguise his true intentions, while Macbeth's descent into madness is a result of his guilt and paranoia. The plot structures of the two plays also differ significantly. Hamlet is a slow-burning and introspective tragedy, with the action unfolding over a longer period of time.
Hamlet and Macbeth: Contrast and Comparison Free Essay Example
While Hamlet reflects on the nature of life and death and his choices at length, Macbeth's change of character is almost instant. Soon after the prophecy is made, he turns from loyal and likable to evil and immoral. This drastic change aided by the paranormal is quite refreshing to interpret in the historical context.
How do the characters of Macbeth and Hamlet compare and contrast
Both Hamlet and Macbeth (the plays) are considered tragedies and both main characters are considered tragic heroes so you might begin there with your comparison. One of Hamlet's problems in the ...
Macbeth and Hamlet Characters Comparison Essay
The queens in Hamlet and Macbeth play a pivotal role in the life of the heroes of the play. Gertrude in Hamlet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth are both queens who played a pivotal role in making their husbands the king. Lady Macbeth with her shrewdness and cunning advices Macbeth to kill Duncan, so that he could become the king while Gertrude married Claudius to make him the king.
William Shakespeare: Hamlet and Macbeth
5. 1661. 5. 582. It is important to examine the role that the setting plays in Hamlet and Macbeth in relation to the tragic flaw and developments of the plot. Hamlet takes place in Denmark, at a castle, indicating a royal setting. Although the time is not clearly indicated, it is most likely in the late Middle Ages based on the description.
William Shakespeare: Hamlet and Macbeth Essay
1. Introduction William Shakespeare was one of the most outstanding playwrights of his time, conducting his work in the early 17th century. He was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Bard of Avon, as he was known by this nickname, wrote a total of 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems, which today are considered to be some of the most famous works in the English language ...
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One may smile, and smile, and be a villain' (1.5.109). Hamlet is determined to act without delay, and swears as much to his father. We know, however, that if this is all there is, this is going to ...
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MACBETH stands in contrast throughout with Hamlet; in the manner of opening more especially. In the latter, there is a gradual ascent from the simplest forms of conversation to the language of impassioned intellect,—yet the intellect still remaining the seat of passion: in the former, the invocation is at once made to the imagination and the emotions connected therewith.
Compare And Contrast Hamlet And Macbeth
Compare And Contrast Hamlet And Macbeth. Shakespeare's two tragedies Macbeth and Hamlet can easily be compared, as Shakespeare has used many of the same elements. In particular, the supernatural plays a major role in both Macbeth and Hamlet. This is where the battle between good and evil takes place. Macbeth, who is driven by power, and Hamlet ...
Comparing Tragic Heroes: Hamlet vs. Macbeth Free Essay Example
Essay Sample: Both Hamlet and Macbeth (the plays) are considered tragedies and both main characters are considered tragic heroes. However, Macbeth and Hamlet exhibit ... Comparison of Tragic Heroes: Othello and Willy Loman Pages: 3 (716 words) Remember! This is just a sample.
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Hamlet Comparison Essay. "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet.
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Browse essays about Hamlet and Macbeth Comparison and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services. Essay Examples
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A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare: ... figures (e.g., GDP in the United States and Britain) texts (e.g., Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth) events (e.g., the Great Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008-9)
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Shakespeare's work is important to modern popular culture through his plays Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy where their deaths reconcile their family's problems with each other. Romeo and Juliet's families have a feud with each other and don't want Romeo and Juliet to be together.
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Focused on: Reasons for Hamlet's procrastination and its consequences. Characters mentioned: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius. Role of Women in Twelfth Night and Hamlet by Shakespeare. Genre: Research Paper. Words: 2527. Focused on: Women in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Hamlet.
Two Shakespearean Triumphs in Paris, or a Plague on Both Their Houses?
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Abstract and Figures. Ophelia in "Hamlet" and Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" have several comparisons and contrasts in their personalities. Both of them suffer from madness. However, Ophelia is ...

Compare and Contrast Hamlet and Macbeth

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