Comparing the Murder of the King in Hamlet, Richard II, Henry VIII, Macbeth and Julius Caesar

After reading Machiavelli’s The Prince and watching Shakespeare’s Henry V in class, one begins to notice similarities between the authors’ idea of what a “perfect king” should be. The patterns between the ideal ruler of Shakespeare and the ideal ruler of Machiavelli can be seen in numerous instances throughout this story. For the duration of this essay, I will compare the similarities in both pieces to give the reader a better understanding of how Shakespeare devised his view of what a “perfect king” should be.

• Shakespeare’s idea of the tenuous and transitory nature of power is shaped by a context where the nation was anxious due to the unexpected death of Elizabeth.

A successful monarchy relies upon a stable leader who is concerned with the satisfaction of those he rules over. Henry Bolingbroke the IV in Shakespeare's Henry the IV Part I follows a trend set by his predecessor in Richard II of self-indulgence and neglect of his kingdom. These leaders worry about the possibility of losing their kingdom or their soldiers to other nobles who were also concerned more with obtaining a higher position rather than governing. The king must also be wary of his own life, something that was once revered and guarded closely by other nobles. Wars once fought for gaining or protecting land are overshadowed by personal battles fighting for the position of king.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character continually delays acting out his duty of avenging his father's murder. This essay will discuss how Hamlet's nature and morals (which are intensified by difficult events) prevent him from carrying out the task.

Shakespeare's King Lear is a play which shows the consequences of one man's decisions. The audience follows the main character, Lear, as he makes decisions that disrupt order in his Kingdom. When Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him, the breakdown on order in evident. Lear's first mistake is to divide his Kingdom into three parts. A Kingdom is run best under one ruler as only one decision is made without contradiction. Another indication that order is disrupted is the separation of Lear's family. Lear's inability to control his anger causes him to banish his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and loyal servant, Kent. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to

Let us no focus on royal position and family relations. The king stands on top level of power, and if Hamlet had killed Claudius, he would have been punished. Different situation is with manslaughter of Polonius. The prince murders him, however he bears no responsibility for it.. The explanation is simple: Polonius has lower social position than Hamlet. Another important fact is family bond. Although Claudius is a murderer, he still belongs to Hamlet's family; what is more, after marrying Gertrude, he becomes prince's stepfather. In this case Hamlet considers not only killing a man, but a man from his own family. This makes him even more confused and uncertain of his deeds. Fear of society's reaction and reaction of his own mother has also influence on prince's actions.

Losing a loved one to tragedy, especially two most brutal and malicious tragedies as these, will torture the minds of any and all men. Terrifying thoughts, even carefully planned acts of revenge will plow themselves into your brain. It is how we react to these situations that can and will forever define that man, his life, and his actions. In these two stories, Hamlet's father and Matt Fowler's son are murdered with jealous motives of romance, ambition, betrayal and rage. Revenge captures the hearts of both characters, but in different forms. Hamlet sees his fathers ghost and is told if he ever loved his father he is to ?[revenge his foul and most unnatural

“A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother/ As kill a king and marry with his brother”, a statement so bold you would assume it was from a bold man, but the reality couldn’t be further from that assumption. In the play Hamlet, the former king’s son Hamlet attempts to take revenge upon the new king, Claudius. As the readers, though we see how Hamlet is indirect in his action and delays his revenge multiple times. Hamlet is a man of inaction. Hamlet waits to kill his Uncle, Claudius, because he is uncertain of the truth, he is afraid of the afterlife, and he is working to exact the perfect revenge.

The power of the king is similar and different to Hamlet by the ways Claudius was ruling over Denmark. The people would base everything they did off their king and what he did. They believed their king to be their only “supreme leader and lord” (John). The people thought their king to be the highest ranked person in the kingdom and also in the church. The king also had great power over his people. One of the examples is if the people believed in different things than the king, then they would have to be executed and die. The king was very precise on his people and what they did. They were either against or with him. One very good example that can relate back

The killing of Hamlet’s father, the King of Denmark, leads to the murder of eight people and the death of Matt’s son in Killings leads to the death of one other person. The actions of the main characters lead to destruction both before and after the murders. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Andre Dubus’ Killings, violence has a large impact on the characters’ ability to control their fates which is supported by the major decisions that the main characters have to make overall leading to a negative impact on themselves and the people around them.

King James I of England once said, “I can make a lord, but only God can make a gentleman” (“King James I”). King James I believed in royal absolutism and was also known as King James VI of Scotland. He reigned as king during the life of William Shakespeare. As a playwright, Shakespeare was greatly influenced by King James. He alluded to the king in many instances and wrote his plays to favor the king. One of the most notable influences of King James is found in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. While writing Macbeth, William Shakespeare was influenced by King James as seen in multiple allusions to King James’ reign.

Shakespeare’s ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play. He shows that a king should be chosen by divine right and shows the attributes of what a good king should be.

In the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare in 1600, several characters’ attempt to lure their foes into their death as revenge for any wrongdoing. Revenge does not only underlie almost every scene, but it has a major effect on the play as a whole. Shakespeare’s purpose in writing this play was to……… One movie version of Hamlet was filmed in 1996 and was directed by Kenneth Branagh. Another movie version of Hamlet was directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1990. There are three main revenge plots throughout the play. Hamlet seeks revenge on King Claudius, who killed his father. Laertes seeks revenge on Hamlet, who killed his father, Polonius. Fortinbras avenges his revenge on Denmark because his father, the King of Norway, was killed by Hamlet's father in battle. The theme of revenge appears throughout the entire play written by William Shakespeare, including both movie versions by Branagh and Zeffirelli, and the play at the Park Square Theater.

The inconsistency would appear to be an oversight on the part of the playwright, one of the keenest observers of human nature who ever lived. Shakespeare's genius was to show us the timeless aspects of our strengths and frailties through the characters in his plays. People tend to fight, and fight fiercely, for what they believe to be rightfully theirs. Princes, we have learned from countless examples throughout history and drama, plot, scheme, maneuver, risk, and sometimes lose their lives in their attempts to become kings. Shakespeare, himself, wrote one of his greatest plays about the Scottish lord, Macbeth, whose burning desire for royal power is the essence of the tragedy.

In conclusion, I’d like to reiterate my argument of Hamlet not doing well as king. Hamlet is a man who possesses many qualities, yet out of all those qualities he does not add up to be a good king, knowingly because he barely can detail his own life and emotion, so it makes it nearly impossible for him to regulate the lives of his people. Hamlet tends to make poor decisions, and an important aspect of being king is to make all decisions in the best interest of not only yourself but your people as