Loman, Hamlet and Death

Drama and Theater > American
Literature > Comparative Literature
Shakespeare > Hamlet

A comparative analysis of the theme of death in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman".

1,438 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the contention that the families of Hamlet and of Willy Loman drove them to their deaths. It looks at how, in the first instance, the faithlessness of Queen Gertrude, the stern injunction of the vengeful ghost of Hamlet's father and the evil-doing of Claudius push Hamlet towards the commission of a terrible crime that ultimately costs him his own life. It also looks at how, Willy's pain at seeing his son Biff fall short of his full potential drives the elder Loman to first melancholic madness and thence to death. In the end, the plays both reveal how the environmental stimuli provided by those around us are often the very stimuli which push us into the abyss.

From the Paper:

"In Hamlet, it is soon enough apparent that the young prince's family is the chief cause of his descent into brooding madness. For example, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, has married the sly and sinister Claudius - the brother of Hamlet the Elder and the man who has profited handsomely from his brother's death (Shakespeare, 154). For Hamlet, who would seem to venerate his father as only a son can, the decision of his mother to join hands in holy matrimony with a fellow Hamlet finds repugnant (Shakespeare, 163) is basically beyond the earthly power of Hamlet to endure."

Sample of Sources Used:

Elliott, G.R. Scourge and Minister: A Study of Hamlet - a Tragedy of Revengefulness and Justice. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1951. Questia.com. 28 Nov. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6140459>
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." The Play: A Critical Anthology. Ed. Eric Bentley. New York: Prentice-Hall. 629-728. Questia.com. 28 Nov. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5935402>
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." Hamlet. Ed. G.R. Hibbard. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. 143-354. Questia.com. 28 Nov. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=35965678>