Beowulf and Hamlet as Protagonists, Essay Example

Both Hamlet and Beowulf bear an unbreakable sense of right and wrong. Whether or not their judgments prove accurate, the reader understands their efforts to act in favor of what is right for their concepts of justice, right for their people, and right for themselves. Along with this inherent respectability, hubris challenges the near-holiness of these two very different heroes to reach their respective purposes—Hamlet to find the truth about the death of his father and Beowulf to lead his people in glory and prosperity. Beowulf and Hamlet are storied enough to be godlike and flawed enough to be accessible and possess a two-sided glory which resonates with readers today. The characters, internal and external conflict, and themes in Beowulf and Hamlet parallel each other because these stories employ archetypes which apply in all times and places.

Characters

Culturally, the worlds of Beowulf and Hamlet both value the warrior way of life. They exhibit the most valued characteristics of their respective cultures. Beowulf admits that he values glory in his introduction to Hrothgar and mourns the emptiness of the Danes’ mead hall. He gives voice to his own conceit, painting himself as a savior figure for whom Geat wise men foretold victory. (Beowulf, lines 140-150) Would they admit that they sent him to his death- even if they believed it to be the outcome of Beowulf’s departure? Beowulf does not flee from his people or wash ashore. He seeks out the glory of the challenge, and that is our first introduction to his deeper motive. The first physical description praises him as “the strongest of the Geats- greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”. (Beowulf, lines 110-111). In contrast, Hrothgar shows great humility, calling his late older brother the better man and recounting how Beowulf’s father almost started a war with his rash actions. (lines 200-207) Beowulf’s virtue lies in the same perseverance and fearlessness—he wins the battle against Grendel because the monster tires as Beowulf tirelessly continues to hack at the creature and “hell opened to receive him.” (lines 330-340, 374)

Unlike Beowulf, Hamlet’s primary strength lies in his brain and not his muscles. He comes home from his studies to attend to his family and kingdom and remarks that he is no Hercules. (Shakespeare 16-19) Our first meeting with Hamlet depicts him merely as a young man put in an awkward situation, a clever, sulky young man who does as commanded. His first words, “A little more than kin, and less than kind” show his discontent with his father’s death and the marriage of his mother and his uncle but also reveal that he does not strive for further conflict and only seeks to grieve in peace. ( Shakespeare 14) While the first reports of his father’s ghost remark that he looks sad instead of angry, the readers already know that Hamlet thinly veils his anger and disgust, and that the reintroduction of his father’s memory must prove volatile to a man who clearly idolizes his father’s memory.

Conflicts

Both Beowulf and Hamlet encounter internal and external forces of conflict within their attempts to reach their goals. The external conflicts of both heroes occupy a physical form. Beowulf has Grendel, and Hamlet has Claudius. Each needs new weapons to fight the unexpected physical enemy and overcomes their opponents due to perseverance, strength, bravery, and intelligence. In the process of discovering their strengths, their tales reveal their weaknesses- sometimes one and the same with their greatest strengths.

While the external, literal conflict may have provided a sense of urgency and pressing drama, both heroes possessed internal traits which doubled as characteristic of their inner strength and crucial to their ultimate downfall. For example, the monsters and specters which haunt both Beowulf and Hamlet could be interpreted as outer manifestations of inner struggles, as symbols of the aging metaphor which make the fantastic elements of storytelling connect with the reader on a deeper level. These strange visitors embody the heroes’ personal demons. Grendel’s son gives tangible proof of Beowulf’s vanity and pride, and the ghost which sets Hamlet on his path portends the madness and obsession to come. Both heroes ultimately lose everything built over these metaphors- until their demons come home to roost.

Beowulf depicts an era of rapid change. The landscape of the culture shifts from the pagan world of monsters and mystery to the Christian world- wherein the devil displaces the ordinary monsters that Anglo-Saxon storytelling traditionally heavily favored up until that point in time. (Niles 144-145) In Hamlet, the prince’s demons mirror his dreams. His mother’s remarriage acts as the initial betrayal to his father’s memory, a specter which Gertrude herself begs him to release. In “Hamlet, Reconciliation, and the Just State”, Tiffany argues that King Claudius and Hamlet’s ghostly father share similarities of situation which might imply an equal degree of sinfulness. (112) Between the brotherly similarities of the two influential men and the unsettling bond which Claudius forms with Gertrude, the Oedipal nature of Hamlet’s conflict strengthens the tension between his changing roles and his efforts to realize his destiny as his own person and rightful heir to the throne.

Themes

Both men search for power, yet their oratory skills already carry with them great power of persuasion and a powerful indicator of their intelligence and higher social status. Hamlet speaks wisely about the world, his country, and the emotional nuances of his situation. He remarks of his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle “is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.” (Shakespeare 15) Hamlet immediately recognizes the power of choosing his words.  Beowulf enjoys favor as a man who knows how to tell a story with great skill, bravado, and flattery. The four generic functions of folklore include: 1) social escape, 2) cultural validation, 3) education, and 4) social control. (Niles 147) Hamlet utilizes his own thinly-veiled rants in accordance with the first, second, and fourth functions and later uses the power of his speech to get the answers that he seeks. Beowulf escapes the legacy of his father, enjoys the worship from the Danes, spreads the legend of his exploits by recounting them again, and manipulates the Danes and their king to satisfy his dreams of glory.

The mention of the similarities and differences of Claudius and Hamlet’s father introduces the conflict from which arose several themes. Shakespeare draws a direct connection to the ancient rivalry for power among men when Claudius compares himself to Cain. (113) In the Bible, Cain killed his own brother and became a symbol of murder and unforgivable sin and replies to questioning with a disinterested, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In Hamlet, King Hamlet kept the kingdom and everyone in it, including Claudius, affording him the exalted status that inevitably produces envy in others. Similarly, the divine contrast between Beowulf and Grendel shows in the many references to Grendel as “the devil” or “the creature” and to the deus ex machina, the miraculous appearance of the sword, as Beowulf prepares to fight for his people.

Conclusion

Beowulf and Hamlet mirror each other in different circumstances and pose greater questions about truth, power, and knowledge. Both men sought to prove themselves on a quest which they undertook and ultimately found that the righteousness of their quest could not save those whom they loved from the faults of their hubris and single-minded focus on their pursuits. They pushed the world- and its people- aside and gained everything that they wanted and found destruction therein. They broke through barriers and could not have returned to the people who started out on these quests, nor would their flaws allow them to pursue another course. Beowulf’s final words uphold this view. He says, “I sold my life for this treasure, and I sold it well.” (lines 809-810) They could not have been the heroes of their people if they had been different than we found them, and as we found them they were incapable of changing course. The Grendel, the uncle, the devil, the creature, the fiend, the murderer, and the fathers that Beowulf and Hamlet fought represented parts of their own character which they refused to accept. Their lives imploded on the page and left an irresistible mess to serve as a warning to great men—be not too great. Pride cometh before the fall.

Works Cited

Beowulf. Authors Unknown. Class Notes: (n.d.) 30-63. Web. 4 June 2015.

Acheson, Katherine O. “Hamlet, Synecdoche And History: Teaching The Tropes Of “New Remembrance.” College Literature 31.4 (2004): 111-134. Professional Development Collection. Web. 6 June 2015.

Niles, J. D. “Reconceiving Beowulf: Poetry as Social Praxis.” College English 61. 2 (Nov., 1998): 143-166. Web. 5 June 2015.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. (1999) ed. John Busack. Web. 2 June 2015.

Tiffany, Grace. “Hamlet, Reconciliation, And The Just State.” Renascence 58.2 (2005): 111-133. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 5 June 2015.