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Comparison Of Macbeth And The Tragedy Of Hamlet

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The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Hamlet are two plays written by William Shakespeare. Macbeth takes place in Scotland and follows a man who obtains his goals by means of murder and is manipulated by his wife. Hamlet occurs in Denmark and tells the story of a man attempting to avenge his father’s death. Though these plays have similar storylines in the way that greed and conniving women appear, there are some differences, such as the type of main characters and their method of demise
In The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Hamlet greed determines the character's’ actions. Macbeth and his comrade, Banquo, are returning from battle when they happen upon three witches in the forest. These supernatural beings prophesize that, “All …show more content…

All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”” (Shakespeare Act I, Scene III). Macbeth returns home and tells his wife the news. They then developed a plan to murder King Duncan to achieve his title quicker. After the murder has been committed, Macbeth, feeling guilty, hires a hitman to kill Banquo; as he would be able to tell the truth behind King Duncan’s death. This proves that Macbeth is driven by greed. Similarly in The Tragedy of Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude are driven by greed. The two formulate a plan to murder King Hamlet, Claudius's brother, in an attempt to gain him more power. After the murder occurs, Gertrude and King Claudius marry. The late King Hamlet’s son, Hamlet, discovers the cause of his father’s death and continuously attempts to avenge him. Once Claudius realizes that Hamlet knows the truth behind the late king’s death, he becomes frightened that he will lose his title and power. So, dictated by greed, Claudius sends Hamlet to England with an order that calls for his death. Therefore, Macbeth and Claudius will murder anyone that gets in their way on their rise to power, truly epitomizing greed. Another similarity between The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Hamlet is the conniving women that drive the men. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth

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Greed and jealousy live inside everyone, but one must refrain from these thoughts to prevent self destruction. In William Shakespeare's Elizabethan era Tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare uses betrayal as a vehicle for obtaining power for selfish means, and illustrates the grave costs of betrayal to the individual. Greed often fuels an uncontrolled lust for power. Shakespeare reveals the extent of Macbeth’s greed when Macbeth's first thought regarding the witches prophecy stir thoughts of murder: “ My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(I.iii.152). Most individuals do not think one should murder someone to obtain what you desire.

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First, in The Tragedy of Macbeth [film] Lady Macbeth has a very abrupt climb towards insanity (Coen 2021), while in the play Macbeth it's a slow crawl that escalates as she becomes more and more worried about the murders that had been committed (Shakespeare 38). Thus, representing how the film left out key information about Lady Macbeth causing her to be seen as a crazy lady fairly quickly. Secondly, in The Tragedy of Macbeth when Macbeth sends the third murderer to kill Banqou the audience sees that it is Ross (Coen 2021), but in the play Macbeth it is never revealed to the reader who the third murderer is, only that he was told to show up by Macbeth in both (Shakespeare 35). Thirdly, in the play Macbeth the resolution shows Malcolm being named king and talking to all his subjects of what the future holds (Shakespeare 72), and while The Tragedy of Macbeth [film] also shares this scene it's very last scene is Ross going back to find Fleance and riding off with him to show he isn’t as evil as he seems earlier in the film (Coen 2021). Lastly, in The Tragedy of Macbeth [film] Macbeth is beheaded by Macduff as he is reaching for his crown that fell from his head (Coen 2021), but in the play Macbeth Macduff's beheading of Macbeth isn’t fully explained (Shakespeare 72).

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In the next scene, Macbeth and his wife execute their murder plot and temporarily escape any suspicion that they are the culprits. This murder showcases Macbeth’s greed as he was aware of the positive reputation that King Duncan had in Scotland, but murdered him anyway to eliminate anyone that stood in the way of the throne. Next, Macbeth sets out to murder his former best friend Banquo and his son Fleance as the prophecies revealed that Banquo’s sons would ascend to the throne. “So is he mine; and in such bloody distance, That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near'st of life.” (Shakespeare 25)

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Compare and Contrast Macbeth and Film Act 1 scene 1: The 3 witches recited a spell or curse right away instead of starting with the first line in the play, “When shall we meet again..” (Shakespeare, 302). The second version we watched was less dramatic than the 1948 movie.

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Making a movie from direct content that is more than a hundred years old is easy because all the scenes and script is there for your use. Some directors like to make some drastic or minor changes based on their own interpretation of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. While watching both Goold (2010) and Polanski (1971), I have noticed a lot of major differences between the two movies and the original play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. Some of the differences I have noticed is that is in Goold (2010), Macbeth actually comes to kill Lady Macduff and her children. Another difference in Goold (2010) is that the witches are shown throughout the film.

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But Macbeth and Claudius become villains because of the accidental circumstances (Homchaudhuri 240). Macbeth’s epileptic nature, fear of death and also the fear of exposure of his dark silence of the actions reduces his heroic greatness. On the other hand, Claudius is cool and composed though he also bears in his heart, a dark silence. Both of them have their ladylove and they act as direct or indirect boosting power behind their deeds. In order to possess Gertrude and the royal power, Claudius commits fratricide.

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Emily Kolak Mr. Wilkins English 10 Honors May 8, 2024 Comparing Different Versions of the Final Scene of Macbeth Macbeth is an extremely well-known and popular play written by William Shakespeare around the year 1606. Since then, many adaptations have been created by directors and actors all over the world, altered in various ways to emphasize certain aspects of the original Macbeth. The final scene of Macbeth includes dramatic dialogue and fighting that takes place between the two main characters, illustrating Macbeth’s wavering mental state and his transformation from the hero to the potential villain. At this point in the story, Macbeth had committed multiple murders, which had led to him being extremely mentally unstable and paranoid. Although he was portrayed as the protagonist at the

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However, Hamlet’s goes through a journey of different feelings towards this motivation. Hamlet is initially ardent to kill Claudius, driven by his anger and hate towards him. For example, Hamlet describes his hate for Claudius when he exclaims, “O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!... At least I’m sure it may be so in Denmark (1.5.107–110). His description of Claudius as the villain shows that Hamlet seeks to commit justice for the corruption that Claudius has brought about.

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The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tale of murder and revenge. When Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches, his wife Lady Macbeth makes him take action immediately so that the prophecies can come true. This leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to do things they will later regret. The actions that take place in this play are controlled by many different emotions. Lady Macbeth is driven by the emotions of greed, anger, and guilt in the play.

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This is what causes Hamlet to compromise his love for Ophelia, as she is stunned and disrespected by his attitude. Similarly, Claudius wanted to gain power, and uses his ambitious attitude to murder his brother, quickly marry his widow, and take the throne himself. Despite their similar nature the two men are driven by different goals. Claudius works to gain and keep power, while Hamlet is working to seek revenge for his father. However, Claudius continues to rule in his power, and dwell in his wronged achievements allowing himself to pursue his

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935 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth feels his destiny is to murder King Duncan and become the King of Scotland, which is why Macbeth promises Lady Macbeth achieve his destiny. Therefore, Macbeth’s ambition for power leads to the death of King Duncan. Moreover, Macbeth’s ambition for power triggers the massacre the ones who impede him from his pathway to the Scottish Throne. First, Macbeth has murderers kill Banquo to avoid obstructions in his plan to become the King of Scotland. Macbeth tells the three murderers hired: “…

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Firstly, Hamlet is a play of a man by the name of Hamlet, whose father was murdered by Claudius, his uncle. Claudius murdered the king by pouring poison in his ear to claim the throne for himself. Hamlet is then told by a ghost to murder Claudius for revenge, and he struggles within himself for the length of play whether to do it or not. When Hamlet begins to hesitate it does more damage than good and causes a chain reaction of tragic events, and makes the readers question whether Hamlet is truly sane or not. Claudius’s corruptness begins to show when he uses his authority to order those around him to rid of Hamlet.

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689 Words | 3 Pages

A story of tragedy is not uncommon with William Shakespeare and his works of prose. In his plays, death and despair is more likely than honor and prosperity. This is an included facet to Macbeth as well, having sinister themes of greed, manipulation, and brutality. Macbeth, by the infamous playwright, Shakespeare, presents us with multiple aspects factoring into whether the main character controls his actions that lead to the tragic events.

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Macbeth’s death reflects the concept of fate and destiny, while Hamlet’s death can be described as a “subjective mistake”. Their death’s have been brought upon by their relationships with the supernatural because the witches gave Macbeth prophecies that he acts upon; Hamlet is given a mandate by his father’s ghost that he feels compelled to follow - and both men then make decisions based on these interactions that lead them into evil and eventually the assassination of a king. Macbeth and Hamlet lose their moral compass as a result of this supernatural interaction, although Hamlet is able to retain his sense of honor. Both Hamlet and Macbeth are two of Shakespeare’s most famous tragic heroes; they are honorable men that are led to their deaths by a tragic flaw that they realize when it is too late. While their flaws differ in the fact that Macbeth’s is “vaulting ambition” while Hamlet’s is (debatable) inaction or the fact that he thinks too much, both of them are made victims to their own superstitions and doubts due to the hypnotic trance and psychedelic aura that the supernatural beings have been transferring onto

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Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a dramatic play in which many people are murdered and tensions run high. The duo of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth pounces onto every opportunity to become the hierarchy. They have two quite different personalities, but over the duration of the play, the personalities switch over. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth is manipulative and Macbeth is scared and guilty.

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