Hamlet Vs. Beowulf: An Essay

Language is used differently in different types of literature to achieve different objectives. Hamlet and Beowulf are two examples of great literature that use language in completely different ways; one to tell an epic story about a hero and his quest for greatness, and the other to tell a story of a man's quest for revenge that ends in tragedy.


The story of Beowulf was an epic that used the English language to describe action and develop a plot line rather than thoroughly develop the characters. Beowulf didn't spend much time contemplating his actions, and we don't know much about what he feels or thinks. We only know what we can infer from his actions. Beowulf was a story meant to be spoken verbally or to be read from a book, so the language had to be used to create imagery and vividly describe those battles in order to create a picture in the minds of the audience.


In Hamlet, Shakespeare used language mostly to create dialogue between characters and to explore the mind of his main character in order to develop his personality: dialogue and characterization are his main uses of language in his play. In contrast with the character Beowulf, Prince Hamlet would make a decision, and then contemplate that decision and the consequences he would have to face before ever making a move. He was a master strategist. We make more of a personal connection with Hamlet and know more about who he is as a person, while at the same time we have no idea what he looks like or how old he is until we almost reach the end of the play, where Shakespeare remedies that fact with one short line of dialogue. Hamlet was meant to be performed and seen by others. Little time was spent describing actions and physical appearances of characters because it was up to the actors to create that image on stage. Instead, Shakespeare very carefully chose specific words for his characters to speak to convey themes and ideas.


Hamlet and Beowulf are both prime examples of how the English language can be used in completely different ways to successfully tell a great story that both entertains and leaves the reader thinking about what they've read after the story is over.