William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Hawthorne and are both highly regarded authors in the world of literature. They are both from different time periods, long before now, but are still held in high esteem due to their writing. They may both be considered fantastic writers, but the differences in their writing can be seen when Hamlet and The Scarlet Letter are compared.
Hamlet and The Scarlet Letter deal with various issues, some very similar. They both deal with forbidden love, betrayal, revenge, and death. In The Scarlet Letter, forbidden love creates the plot. Hester has an affair, therefore earning her the scarlet A on her clothing branding her an adulteress. Hester, Dimmesdale, and their daughter Pearl plan to return to England because they cannot be together in their current settlement. Forbidden love plays a smaller role in Hamlet. Hamlet and Ophelia are in love, but Ophelia's father, Lord Chamberlain, prevents them from being together because he does not feel that Hamlet loves her. Betrayal also plays a role in each story. Roger Chillingsworth feels extremely betrayed by Hester in The Scarlet Letter. She has an affair during their marriage while he was at sea. He also does not believe that she loved him during their marriage. In Hamlet, Claudius betrays his brother, King Hamlet, and his nephew, Hamlet, by murdering King Hamlet. Revenge is a significant part of both stories plots. Hamlet is based mainly on revenge, as it follows Hamlet’s journey to get revenge on his uncle for murdering his father. In The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingsworth seeks revenge on Dimmesdale for having an affair with his wife Hester. Both stories end in death, with most of the main characters ending up dead.
The set up of the stories are different. Hawthorne makes the amount of time that passes very clear. The Scarlet Letter takes place over many years. It begins during Hester's pregnancy with Pearl, and ends after Hester’s death when Pearl is an adult. Hawthorne informs the reader of how much time has passed and occasionally mentions Pearl’s age. Shakespeare does not specifically mention how much time has passed in Hamlet. It shows that as writers, Hawthorne finds time fairly important and Shakespeare does not. Hawthorne’s use of time breaks the story and plot up more while Shakespeare's lack of time makes the story flow together more instead of being broken up by time periods.
Both The Scarlet Letter and Hamlet may not be very enjoyable to most people present day. They both take place in the 1600’s, so the language may be difficult to understand for people currently and the society and culture is very different from now. The stories may be similar in time period, but they take place in different places. The Scarlet Letter takes place in Puritan society in New England and Hamlet takes place in Europe. The locations of the stories reflect the homes of the authors, as Hawthorne was born in Massachusetts and Shakespeare was born in England. The types of writing the authors are known for also creates differences in The Scarlet Letter and Hamlet. Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for being a novelist and short story writer while Shakespeare is known for being a playwright and poet. The difference can be clearly seen between the two authors. Shakespeare’s writing is very poetic, as displayed when Polonius says to Laertes, “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.” It is set up very poetically. Hawthorne’s straight forward style of writing is displayed when he writes “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!” In comparison, Shakespeare makes Hawthorne seem very easy to understand.
Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Shakespeare are considered timeless writes. Their writing has similarities and differences, but both writers are still highly respected to this day.
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