Compare and Contrast

[Date of Submission]

Compare and Contrast

Introduction

Shakespeare most employed similar tragedy elements whenever he wrote tragic plays. The two plays Hamlet and Macbeth can be compared in this regard. The tragic Shakespearean plays mostly use supernatural as the main element for catching the audience's attention. In most of the stories, the hero possesses this flaw in his personality that he dabbles with the supernatural. This flaws results in him making a grave mistake. This is also evident in both Macbeth and the Hamlet as well.

Discussion

In the beginning of the Macbeth, Shakespeare starts with a supernatural scene. The trio of crones which star in it set an evil and a somber tone for the plot. In his other play, Hamlet, Shakespeare again presents a supernatural scene very close to the beginning of the play. Hamlet comes across his father's ghost who tells him a very chilling story. When considering both the plays, it can be observed that the protagonist of both plays did not know if these supernatural entities were evil or good.

The presence of the supernatural elements and adhering to them become the reason for all the character's downfall. In Macbeth, the hero was forced to do evil deeds and think in a twisted manner because of the predictions of the witches. The audience cannot help but wonder if Macbeth never had an encounter with the witches, he wouldn't have committed regicide in the first place, in turn he would have had to kill everyone who opposed him. Furthermore, if he hadn't been so dishonest, Macduff wouldn't have announced the battle and lastly would not have killed him.

Similarly, in Hamlet's play, if Hamlet hadn't encountered his father's ghost, he wouldn't have any knowledge of the fact that the current king had been responsible for regicide to take the throne. Similarly, if Hamlet was unaware, than the famous final battle would not have happened and Hamlet would have survived. It can be observed that in both the scenarios, the characters had submitted to the hints and riddles which were given by the supernatural entities, causing them to meet a tragic end.

One can observe very clearly that Shakespeare had used similar and strong concept of the story in majority of his tragic plays.

Regarding the cast of Hamlet and Macbeth it can be said that the actions of both the protagonists in each of the play are goal-oriented. Here is the major difference in the both the plays. In Hamlet, the son is looking for vengeance for his father's death, while in Macbeth the protagonist is trying to rule Scotland. In spite of a few minor differences, the similarities are still much more evident. For instance, both the characters try to murder people who come in their way to fulfill their targets or goals.

Another similarity between the two plays is that both protagonists interact with their spouses in a parallel manner. In Macbeth, the protagonist is very open to suggestions and persuasion from his significant other (in their case killing ...