IntroductionThis essay compares one literary works to two others belonging to a different genre by focusing on one literary element. The texts that have been chosen for analysis are Hamlet by William Shakespeare that would be compared to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The first text is a play or drama whereas the rest of the two are novels. The comparison would focus on the themes of the three works.Comparison of Hamlet with Wuthering HeightsThe theme of justice is a recurrent theme in literature. When human beings fail to do justice with each other and deal fairly with one another then nature comes in to play its role. This is a theme that b ...view middle of the document...
However, Laertes before dying tells Hamlet that it was Claudius who was responsible for the poisoned sword. This makes Hamlet fatally stab Claudius before wasting anytime as he knew he has little and thus succeeds in taking revenge before he dies and justice is done to the soul of Late king Hamlet.Similarly in Wuthering Heights Edgar and Catherine's rejection of Heathcliff speaks of how nature is just to all. They both stand against Heathcliff more than a few times in the story. Edgar insults Heathcliff at the Christmas dinner and Catherine laughs at him for being dirty and rejects him for marriage by telling Nelly he wasn't good enough.Even though Heathcliff is not religious, he gains courage from a higher source and is able to take revenge from Edgar as well as Catherine later on in his life. Catherine's rejection forces him to run away, however when he returns, Heathcliff is more desirable. It would not be wrong to say that the changed luck could not have been possible without the divine help and taking revenge from Catherine and Edgar was very much possible because of this changed luck. However, this is not as much a case of justice as it is of revenge.Furthermore, the presence of ghosts in both the texts indicates that Justice is not restricted to this world. In Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet plays a significant role. Likewise, in Wuthering Heights Heathcliff and Catherine's zealous love for each other and the claim of the locals that their ghosts are seen together wandering in the moors demonstrates that a higher form of justice prevails, even beyond the grave. However, Lockwood explicitly denies that the ghosts of Catherine and Heathcliff wander by saying that the dead slumber quietly.The storyline of the play Hamlet basically revolves around the murder of King Hamlet who is killed by none other than his own brother out of lust for power. Claudius, the evil uncle of the protagonist Hamlet, is now King of Denmark after taking over King Hamlet's throne. He is the boss now and there is no one to investigate the murder and bring him to justice. In other words, Claudius is not threatened by any law, or courts, as he has all the powers now and is above all authorities except God. And this is when nature comes in to do justice to the soul of the late King.The very beginning of the play shows that the ghost of the late King wanders around at night and it is this supernatural occurrence that convinces Hamlet that he must take revenge for his dead father, so that his soul may rest in peace. Claudius meets his fate at the end of the play and is killed by the Hamlet, the son of the late King. Both Hamlet and Wuthering Heights exemplify that some higher power exists in the world that helps Prince Hamlet and Heathcliff achieve justice; nevertheless Hamlet's representation of such phenomenon is better demonstrated than in Wuthering Heights.The concept of justice, as both the texts put forward, is that of a phenomenon that exists in this world on...
