prophesize Macbeth’s rise to power, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to the Thane of Cawdor! / All Hail Macbeth, that shalt be king here after!” (Shakespeare 1.3.48-49). These lines represent mystical events when Hamlet’s father’s spirit reveals who his killer was after his death and when the witches predict the future. These two examples show that mystical events occur in both plays. Hamlet and Macbeth not only encounter mystical events, but also go insane at points in the plays.
“You know, sometimes he walks four hours together/ here in the lobby” (Hamlet 2.2.160-162). Within this quote, Polonius talks about how Hamlet is going mad. Hamlet and Macbeth both experience a touch of insanity. Macbeth is going crazy over power and hires people to kill Banquo and his family due to being scared of them taking his rule (Macbeth 3.4.1-42). After Banquo is dead, Macbeth sees his ghost on the throne which reveals the mental collapse of the once noble Macbeth. Signs of madness from both Hamlet and Macbeth is the downfall that will lead to blood and death. Macbeth and Hamlet both met their ends in a rigorous battle. In Act 5 Scene 2 lines 319-325, Hamlet talks about dying from being stabbed by Laertes who had a sword with a poisonous tip. This shows how Hamlet ends with bloodshed and death. In Act 5 Scene 8 lines 5-34, Macbeth and Macduff are having a dispute when Macbeth tells him that he can’t die of a man woman born. Macduff then explains how he wasn’t woman born, but rather a C-section, then kills Macbeth by stabbing him. These lines describe how Macbeth was slain at the hands of Macduff. Macbeth and Hamlet both finish their adventures with a tragic
death. Mystical events, insanity, and tragic death by sword are elements found in both The Tragedy of Macbeth and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The elements included in Macbeth and Hamlet often happened in real life. Both The Tragedy of Macbeth and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark are just two of William Shakespeare’s famous pieces of English literature inspired by real events that occurred during his lifetime.