Doing the Wrong Thing the Right Way: A Look at the Characters in Macbeth and Hamlet

"The Tragedy of Macbeth" and "The Tragedy of Hamlet" are Shakespeare’s most widely read plays featuring royalty as main characters. Both are about the violent overthrow of the throne, both contain plenty of needless casualties, and both are gruesome enough to drive their leading ladies to suicide. (Kudos to Shakespeare for writing these cleverly enough that they weren’t banned by the English Crown, which was a tad sensitive in those days.) Superficial details aside, however, these two tales of treason couldn’t possibly be less alike.

"Macbeth" is the darkest and bloodiest of Shakespeare’s plays – which is saying something, considering that the guy had no shortage of tragedies in his repertoire. On the way home from a victorious battle, Macbeth hears a prophecy from three witches claiming that he will soon become king. Considering that he was just promoted to Thane and that King Duncan doesn’t have any heir at the moment, this actually seems kind of reasonable. And anyway, who wouldn’t trust three old cronies making eye-of-newt punch?

Because King Duncan is so beloved, Macbeth is content to wait for nature to take its course before getting all antsy-pantsy about taking his place. That is, until he reveals the prophecy to Lady Macbeth, who immediately accuses him of being a good-for-nothing coward. If the situation called for it, she insists, she would go so far as to bash her own (hypothetical) baby’s brains out. At this point, we assume that Macbeth’s wife must be very, very good-looking, because Macbeth agrees to invite the king over for dinner, then stabs him bunches of times in his sleep.

Unfortunately, Macbeth also ends up stabbing the king’s servants. Oh yeah, and some guys who probably suspect him of being the murderer. And the wife and toddlers of a guy who probably suspects him of being the murderer. And then oodles of people who declare war on him for being a murderer. So much blood is shed that even the not-all-that-ladylike Lady Macbeth gets freaked out and jumps off a balcony. Suffice it to say, Macbeth doesn’t strike us as particularly kingly material, and everyone’s a little relieved when MacDuff, who is next in line for the throne, cuts off his head and sticks it on a pole.

Although the sheer brutality of the Macbeth characters paints a pretty grisly portrait of why not to interfere with a dynasty, the rather brooding Hamlet characters provide a bit more nuanced look at, you know, murder and treason. In this play, the Danish King Hamlet – not to be confused with his angsty young son, Prince Hamlet – is secretly poisoned by his brother, Claudius. After what Prince Hamlet considers an all-too short bereavement period, life goes on as usual. Claudius marries Hamlet’s mom, makes some successful negotiations with Norway, staves off a war, and keeps the overall disruptions to a bare minimum.

That is, until Hamlet Sr. shows up again – this time, in ectoplasm form. Demanding an audience with his son, the ghost king informs Prince Hamlet that his death wasn’t natural – and that he won’t rest until his brother is punished. Hamlet Jr. is outraged, and spends the next five acts… uh, not doing much of anything, actually. He starts acting crazy, alienates himself from his friends – two of which he orders killed – and accidentally murders his girlfriend’s dad, driving his girlfriend to commit suicide and prompting her brother to challenge Hamlet to a duel. Only after the queen is accidentally poisoned and Hamlet is mortally wounded does he work up the nerve to kill the traitor king – just in time for the Norwegian army to arrive. Turns out that killing off an entire royal family and half the court can attract the attention of a country’s enemies.

Although we might not respect King Claudius much for betraying his family and his country, we’ve gotta give the guy credit for keeping all his ducks in a row. In fact, that’s precisely why Hamlet was so mad at him in the beginning: he made his royal transition a little too smoothly. If the sensitive young Hamlet had it his way, everyone would have put life on hold for about a year to give King Hamlet his due – which is admirable, except for the small detail about somebody needing to run the kingdom. Maybe now we understand why Claudius was so anxious to cut in line for the throne.