Preview

Similarities Between Hamlet And Julius Caesar

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
850 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities Between Hamlet And Julius Caesar
The Renaissance was a period of European history in which great leaps were made in regard to science, politics, and the arts. This great cultural movement brought about many artists that we continue to study and read work from today. From lists of many great artists, William Shakespeare is one that has remained in mainstream spot light still today. Shakespeare is the author of many canons including Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Interestingly, two of his most famed works Julius Caesar and Hamlet share a common theme as they both indulge in topics of senseless murders and betrayal. In Hamlet, we learn the story of a teenager named Hamlet who's mother has haisty married his deceased father's brother, the newly crowned king, Claudius. The young …show more content…
As soon as the king has heard this news from his trusted friend Polonius, he quickly shares the news with those who follow him. After the king and his henchmen begin watching Hamlet closer, it is most obvious to see the coming and going of his illness. When he is in the presence of Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, The Players and the gravedigger he behaves reasonably and sometimes even comical. However when Hamlet is in the presence of Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern he behaves rather opposite. Unaware of his personal vulnerabilities, he is emotionally triggered by these people as they are the ones who are truthfully doing the most harm to …show more content…
As Hamlet chooses to avenge the death of his father and get blood revenge on his uncle, he was unsure whether the struggles of life were worth living and had spent the last few months trying to comprehend the sudden changes in his life. Hamlet believes that his mother’s marriage is the ultimate disrespect to his deceased father, and he finds himself being completely unable of letting go his emotions towards Gertrude. The appearance of his father as a ghost was just what the unstable prince was waiting for; a chance to expose his insestious uncle Claudius. By following through with the act of murdering the new king to get revenge, Hamlet knows of the events that would surely happen afterwards. The search for Claudius’ killer, if Hamlet were to kill him, would be extremely high. Also committing murder would be un-christianly and would doom him to an afterlife in Hell. This ultimately destroys him. The ill minded Hamlet is conflicted with the idea of suicide as he is unable to escape the consequences of events that have happened around him, which again would be against his Christian beliefs. Hamlet's struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts are strong willed enough to manipulate his thought

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hamlets father was killed by his Uncle Claudius due to jealousy of the kingdom. Claudius poisoned his brother while he was sleeping in the garden. Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by meeting is ghost in the yard of the kingdom. Hamlet decides to plan out his revenge by first acting like he has gone mad because of his father’s death. He breaks his loves heart in the process but doesn’t stop his revenge. He orders for a play to be presented to the royal court, including his uncle and his mother. This play is supposed to simulate his fathers death and he wants to see how the king reacts to the play. This is where he realizes that the ghost was telling the truth. Claudius then figures out that Hamlet has been suspicious and decides to send him to England to be killed. While speaking to his mother, Hamlet hears someone spying on them and kills his loves father, Polonius. This was the beginning of the tragedy. Hamlet has a moment to kill Claudius before he leaves for England but questions himself and his actions. He then leaves only to return after finding a letter of his execution and being “attacked” by pirates. Claudius and Polonius’s son, Laertes, have come up with a plan to kill Hamlet when he arrives. They are going to challenge him in a fencing battle with poison at the end of the sword. If this plan fails, they will have poisoned wine for Hamlet to drink.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet’s suspicions are confirmed when his father’s ghost visits him to tell him he was murdered. King Hamlet encourages young Hamlet to seek vengeance against his uncle. As Hamlet resolves to do just that, he begins to wonder about the veracity of the ghost and its visits. Hamlet’s fears overcome him and he becomes paralyzed emotionally, unable to fulfill the requests of his father’s ghost. He cares for both his parents and works himself into a stupor trying to decide how to execute his plan of action. In the meantime Hamlet sets in motion a series of catastrophic events that cause the deaths of six people besides Claudius who he originally planned to kill.…

    • 577 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hamlet loved his father, King Hamlet, and it was his death that broke young Hamlet's heart. It is the love he had for his father that brought him to his doom. After King Hamlet's death he appeared as a ghost moving through the castle at one o'clock every morning. When the guards and Horatio, Hamlet's best friend, noticed this ghostly figure, Horatio quite intelligently believed that he could get the ghost to speak with Hamlet. The next day the two guards, Horatio, and young Hamlet were present to speak to the ghost of King Hamlet. The ghost told Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, his brother, who had been sworn in as the new king and married his wife, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. After hearing this, young Hamlet was asked to avenge his father’s death, but in doing so his mother was to remain unharmed. Hamlet, being the loving and devoted son he was, and unable to accept Claudius as the leader to replace his father, accepted King Hamlet’s request. After this encounter, young Hamlet refused to tell the guardsman and Horatio what happened but made it known that he would act like a…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the play Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, is murdered. Hamlet is told by his father’s ghost that Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, is the one who murdered him. After getting this news, he immediately wants to avenge his father’s death and get back at Claudius.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hamlet Critical Lens

    • 391 Words
    • 1 Page

    In the William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet the Prince of Denmark is plotting to kill his uncle, who is the king because he poisoned his father, the previous king. The theme of the play is revenge and the protagonist, Hamlet is characterized as being fully devoted to avenging his father, no matter the cost. After two months of mourning for his dead father, Hamlet encounters his father’s ghost, who tells him that it was his brother, King Claudius who killed him. Hamlet then promises his father that he will get revenge on Claudius however, his inability to act prolongs Claudius’s death. Hamlet must first find out if it was actually his father’s ghost and not Satan trying to trick him so he modifies a play that shows a similarity to the murder of Hamlet’s father at the hand of Claudius. Claudius leaves before the play before it ends and berates himself for the murder, “Oh, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven. It has the eldest primal curse on it, a brother’s murder.” Therefore, Claudius will pay the price for killing Hamlet’s father by losing his throne, his wife, and even his own life. Hamlet will also pay greatly for avenging his father. He will lose Ophelia, the woman he loves who drownes herself after her father, Polonius is killed by Hamlet who thought it was Claudius. He will lose his mother, Gertrude who drinks wine that was poisoned by Claudius and intended for Hamlet. Hamlet will also lose his own life after being stabbed with a poisoned sword by Larates in a fencing duel, who was seeking…

    • 391 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The need to fix a broken family is one of the most powerful forms of motivation that moves Hamlet to seek vengeance. The problems of his family come in the relationships between Hamlet and his mother, his uncle, and the ghost of his father. The motivation behind Hamlet’s need for Claudius’ suffering is extremely personal. It is well deserved; Claudius has completely ravaged Hamlet’s family. In an attempt to grab at power, Claudius has murdered Hamlet’s father and stolen his mother. His family is…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, can be seen as one about duty, in particular Hamlet's struggle with his duty to his father and the possible consequences involved. Hamlet's duty is revealed when he speaks with the ghost of his father who commands Hamlet to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." The appearance of the supernatural and the suggestion of a "most unnatural murder" also presents the idea of corruption as it portrays the idea of death against the natural order. Hamlet clearly struggles with this command from his father's ghost, as avenging his father's death would mean that Hamlet himself would have to murder not just another person, but his uncle CLaudius, the new king of Denmark. Therefore, Hamlet struggles to take immediate action but instead he tells the ghost, "with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge." This simile suggests that Hamlet is eager to seek revenge quickly, however his response is paradoxical as "meditation" and "thoughts of love" suggest that he may have to think about the task ahead of him first. This highlights Hamlet's struggle with his duty as while he wants to avenge his father's death, he is also unsure and so cannot…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's peaceful life was flipped upside down very quickly. His father, King Hamlet, died, and his mother remarried his uncle very shortly after his father's death. Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, took the throne that Hamlet rightfully deserved. While trying to work out this awkward situation, Hamlet is met by the ghost of his father. The ghost explains that he did not die, it was through a "murder most foul," that he was killed by his own brother. Hamlet is left not sure what to believe, only making his anger worse. He is angry at his mother for going through with such a hasty marriage so soon after the king's death. This is evident when he states, "Frailty, thy name is woman," expressing his dissatisfaction with his mother's choices. He is also upset with Claudius as he says, "A little more than kin and less than kind," of their relationship. It is difficult for him since he has no like for Claudius even though they are now even more closely related.…

    • 571 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    proclaims that Claudius killed him in lust for power. Hamlet is asked, "If thou didst ever thy dear father love - oh God - Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder." (27) Here begins Hamlet's quest to avenge his father by laying ruin to King Claudius. To be certain of the King's guilt, Hamlet puts on a play bearing a resemblance to how the ghost described the murder. When King Claudius views it, he feels a sudden pang of conscience and abruptly leaves. This flinch provides a first glance by the reader, and…

    • 629 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Hamlet, William Shakespeare presents the main character Hamlet as a man who is fixated on death. Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlet's desire for revenge and his need for assurance. In the process, Shakespeare directs Hamlet to reflect on basic principles such as justice and truth by offering many examples of Hamlet's compulsive behavior; as thoughts of death are never far from his mind. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father's death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet's obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability of the ghost's statements so that he can determine how he must act. Ultimately, it is his obsession with death that leads to Hamlet avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is vibrant that Hamlet severely misses his father. From Hamlet’s actions one can conclude that Old Hamlet was a great individual, who was even compared to the Greek Gods. Though, when he heard the prejudice his father faced due to the evil actions of his uncle, the anger Hamlet experienced was funnelled into fortitude to murder Claudius. In the end of the play, Hamlet ultimately kills Claudius in exchange for his own life. He gave is own life to revenge his father, who was close to him and who had a great…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Response Paper

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The main grievance Hamlet has with his uncle is the murder of his father, the king. Already grieving over death of his father, Hamlet discovers, by confession of his father, that Claudius murder him in order to become king. Called to action by his friend Horatio and the guards who have witness appearances of a ghost during their night watch, Hamlet goes to confront the ghost that looks like the late King Hamlet. A ghost doomed to walk the earth for an unspecified number of years to atone for the sins that he was not able to confess, King Hamlet Sr., tells the prince that he was murdered by Claudius through foul means. He states, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange and unnatural” (249), demanding that Hamlet, his son, avenge his ill-conceived death. Overcome with grief and anger at the injustice done to him (as Claudius has managed to steal the crown from him) and his father, Hamlet begins to plot his vengeance. However, being the only one who has talked to ghost, Hamlet, wanting to ensure that…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet - Revenge

    • 597 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Young Hamlet lost his father from what at first he thought was natural causes, however, he is later told otherwise. The ghost of his father appears one night and explains that he was killed by his brother, Claudius, but getting poison poured in his ear. The ghost also ordered Hamlet to get revenge on his uncle.He came up with a plan to prove if his uncle was actually guilty. He had the players put on a play very similar to his fathers death to see what his reaction would be. When the part came up that showed the death, Claudius got up and proclaimed that the play was stupid, proving Hamlet’s suspicion. With all this hurt, anger, and new information, Hamlet knew that he had to kill Claudius. The problem was, he didn’t know how he would kill him or how he’d get away with it. Instead of concentrating and coming up with a clever way of killing him, he put it off. Then, when he found out Laertes plan of war, he realized he needed to come up with the plan to kill Claudius and it needed to be soon. He was having a conversation with his mother one day when he sensed he was being spied on. He realized somebody was behind the curtain and figured it was Claudius. Without hesitation, he stabbed the person through the curtain. To his surprise, it wasn’t Claudius, it was Polonius. He hid the body and wouldn’t tell Claudius where it was hidden, but instead played games with him, causing Claudius to become suspicious.…

    • 597 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hamlet doesn’t get why his mother married so fast and gets extremely mad about that. He wonders if she even loved his father and this causes his to think about suicide, but back in the Elizabethan era, suicide was looked down upon, which is seen in Act I, Scene II, Line 132-133.…

    • 2724 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet is in a unique situation where he his mother has married his uncle, Claudius, and his father has been murdered by his uncle. He wants nothing but revenge for his father. Hamlet is obsessed with proving Claudius guilty. Hamlet receives a lot of pressure from the ghost of his father to achieve revenge and feels like he has some sort of responsibility to get revenge for his father. Hamlet is hasty, erratic, and does not really think about his actions. When he stabs Polonius thinking that it is Claudius hiding behind the curtains, he does not even bother to look behind the curtain he just does it. His wild elocution and deranged actions upset other characters and set them up for other actions. When Hamlet repetitively acts nastily towards Ophelia she winds up committing suicide . When Hamlet says, “ Get thee to a nunnery!” to Ophelia she even questions Hamlet’s sanity at that point and may have been a contribution to Ophelia’s suicide. Hamlet is also upset with his mother, Gertrude, for marrying Claudius so fast after his fathers death. Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and is enraged with her. In the play Hamlet tells Gertrude how much better his father was than Claudius and tries to make her promise how much better his father was than Claudius. Hamlet says to Gertrude in Act 3 Scene 4, “Mother, you have my…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays