Comparing Shakespeare

4 Pages 921 Words

Death Of A Salesman vs. Hamlet


Willy Loman and Hamlet are two characters so alike, yet are so different. Both are perfect examples of tragedy in literature. According to Webster’s Dictionary a tragedy is defined as a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall of a great man, a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror, the literary genre of tragic dramas. Hamlet follows this to a "T". Death of a Salesman Willy Loman also follows these guidelines of a picture perfect tragedy. Compare the two characters and decide for your self how much they have in common.


Hamlet is a rich young price of high moral estate and suddenly has his joyous life
ripped away from him when his father, Hamlet Sr., suddenly passes away. After the death of his father, Hamlet has no reason to point blame at anyone, as there is nothing to make him believe that his father was killed unjustly. It is not until his fathers’ ghost appears to him that he is aware of a killer. He then says “Haste me to know’t, that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge.” (Act 1, Scene 5,). But by the end of the scene he says “The time is out of joint: O cursed spite that I was ever born to set it right.” (Act 1, Scene5) showing that he is no longer in such a hurry for the murder of Claudius. This could be due to the fact that the appearance of his father’s ghost may not seem very reliable to him as he questions his own sanity over what he thinks he should do. Unlike Laertes, Hamlet has deep consideration for his soul being damned on account of his actions to avenge his father. He condemns himself throughout the play for being a coward.


Though originally thought to be of natural causes, it is now revealed to him through his father's ghost, that dear old...