Hamlet v. Macbeth

Discuss the Zwol comic. (Random yammering also allowed.)

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Who would win in a fight?

Hamlet
5
100%
 
Total votes: 5

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Greg Stephens
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Hamlet v. Macbeth

Post by Greg Stephens »

Silly poll question. This is not a measure of which play is better, just an opinion poll as to who would win in a fight. We know both are skilled at swordplay, so who would it be?
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Post by Wikkit »

It's been a couple years since I read Macbeth, and I've only seen Hamlet as a movie (from 1996.. seemed pretty faithful), but I had to vote for Hamlet. He's younger, and he seemed like a nicer guy, and the nice guys are supposed to win, right? Oh, wait, this is Shakespeare, the nice guy never wins...
brina

hamlet and macbeth

Post by brina »

it all really depends on the motivation, i feel.

if macbeth's henpecking wife is nagging him to kill hamlet, then hamlet's goin down, sucka.

:wink:
John

Macbeth

Post by John »

Macbeth is older, sneakier and will do anything it takes to win. If it had been Macbeth over in Denmark instead of Hamlet, the Uncle would not have made it through the night.

Hamlet gets conflicted trying to decide what to do. Macbeth gets conflicted after having done his dirty work.

Macbeth would win in a fight. It wouldn't be pretty, but then neither character is, really.
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Post by Craig J. Quack »

Definitely the Scottish guy. Of course, as the play progresses, the character of Hamlet becomes less and less humane and more and more aggressive, but Maccers has still got him beat in terms of ruthlessness and first-strike capabilities.
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Post by Greg Stephens »

I must point out, however, that Macbeth would only take that first strike if somebody, most likely a woman (a witch or Lady M.), were telling him to do so from the sidelines.

Hm. Going to the source, while Hamlet seems confident:

HORATIO You will lose this wager, my lord.

HAMLET I do not think so: since he went into France, I
have been in continual practise: I shall win at the
odds.

(Act V, Scene II)

Macbeth is overconfident:

MACBETH As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed: Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests; I bear a charmed life, which must not yield, To one of woman born.

(Act V, Scene VIII)

And his overconfidence is his weakness.
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Hamlet

Post by Tailsteak »

I'm voting for Hamlet because he seems more passionate. In an actual sword-fight (the subject of this quandary), he'd have vigour and verve and whatnot.

Plus, I just like Hamlet a whole lot more. I mean, that soliloquy... he's deep. A philosopher, even. In modern terms, he'd be an angsty goth, whereas Macbeth would merely be a dishonest CEO.
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Hamlet vs Macbeth in the ultimate smackdown

Post by Kevin Pease »

There are only two reasonably likely outcomes:

1. Macbeth cuts through Hamlet like cream cheese. He was in the way.
2. Hamlet manages to vanquish Macbeth but only at the cost of his own life. Tie game.

So, on average, the odds are on Macbeth. Add to that the fact that Hamlet is a mama's boy, which places him well in the center of the "born of woman" category. That pretty much cinches it.
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Post by Jack Masters »

I voted for Hamlet because he has a funnier name.
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Post by cdoc »

Hmmm...

Methinks while Hamlet is soliloquying Macbeth slips in the deadly thrust.
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Post by Surlyben »

I'd go with Macbeth. He's from scotland, and he's got more experience. I don't think that Hamlet's indecision would be that much of a handicap in a straight up fight, though.
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Hammy vs. Beth

Post by thrdgll »

As an Orson welees buff, I gotta go with Macbeth. I can't help picturing a whining, pontificating Olivier crying about the meaning of it all while being squashed by Orson's pure egotistical rage.

Speaking of Welles and Olivier, compare their respective Othello performances sometime. Orson shines next to Larry's hilariously bad "Amos and Andy" routine.

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Post by Greg Stephens »

cdoc wrote:Methinks while Hamlet is soliloquying Macbeth slips in the deadly thrust.
What about this exhange:

MACBETH Is this a dagger which I see before me?

HAMLET Dead, for a ducat, dead!

A hit, a very palpable hit...
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Post by Wikkit »

Dang, now the geezer is winning.

Greg, did this poll have any effect on you adapting 15 Minute Hamlet to the comic medium, or were you already planning on doing that? Is there a 15 Minute Macbeth?
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15-Minute Macbeth

Post by Craig J. Quack »

I can answer your second question. No, there is not a 15-Minute Macbeth (at least, not by Tom Stoppard).

The 15-Minute Hamlet hails from a series of pieces Stoppard wrote for an adventurous theater group in the '70s. Eventually they all came together as Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth, with Dogg's Hamlet concerning the preparations for a school performance of The 15-Minute Hamlet, and Cahoot's Macbeth about a troupe of actors performing a stripped-down (but still longer than 15 minutes) living room version of Macbeth in a police state.

And, for the record, Macbeth is not a geezer. Typically, he's portrayed as being in his 30s, while Hamlet -- the perpetual student -- is typically in his mid-20s (although I've also seen both played older -- or at least played by older actors).
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Post by Greg Stephens »

Wikkit wrote:Greg, did this poll have any effect on you adapting 15 Minute Hamlet to the comic medium, or were you already planning on doing that?
None at all. The poll was spawned by a brief email exchange I had with Glytch, another comics author, over which play was better. Suffice to say I think it comes down to a matter of preference.

I've wanted to do a comic version of Hamlet for years. I can't find the old message boards at CBR, and they may just be gone now, but I was going to point to evidence where I mentioned the idea of adapting the 15-minute Hamlet over two years ago. No matter, I won't be the first or last.
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