Comparison Essay Comparing Hamlet character to Antonius Block from

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Comparing Hamlet to Antonius Block
Hamlet is a compelling character from William Shakespeare’s book “Hamlet.” Shakespeare represents Hamlet in all his human intricacy making him a thrilling character who is driven by impulse and emotion. The movie, “The Seventh Seal,” on the other hand, has Antonius Block as the protagonist, and although the book and the movie have about three centuries in between their productions, the two protagonists have outstanding similarities despite their different circumstances. Both Hamlet and Antonius can be perceived as existential heroes seen from the way they embody the quest for meaning in a world that ultimately lacks meaning, alienation, and the inevitability of death, as the main principles of existentialism.
Both Hamlet and Antonius are heroes in their unique ways. Hamlet is a prince with a graceful and charming personality. His heroic nature is evident from the victories he gains in the battle against his foes and the way he avenges the death of the king (his father) by killing the man that slew his father and married his mother. The fact that people are pleased by his return speaks a lot about his reputation as a leader; he was a loyal leader that people loved. Antonius Block was a knight for over a decade, and upon his return home, he finds that the Black Plague had taken over his homeland. Block makes up his mind to challenge death to a game of chess that would determine his fate (Wang, 64).

As a hero, he exhibits courage and the determination to find meaning even in the face of despair. Both Hamlet and Antonius have awful ends in the stories and can be termed as tragic heroes.
Antonius Block and Hamlet are both subjected to estrangement. Hamlet is first introduced as a person mentally and physically distant from others and himself. In Claudius’ court, despite the festive mood, Hamlet is still mourning the death of his father and his mysterious lines, and black clothing stands out straight away. As the play unfolds, Hamlet does not realize peace of mind. He starts pondering about the absurdity that surrounds his life by trying to make sense of the question of human existence. His world is filled with uncertainties rather than enlightenment as a result of the thoughtfulness, and further skepticism arises when he encounters his father’s ghost. His inability to reveal his true self to others alienates him from others who consider him an “alter-ego.”
Similarly, Antonius is brought out as alienated right from the beginning. He first appears unkempt and isolated on a rocky beach which symbolizes the absurdity and hostility in the world. He is constantly buried in thought pondering about the dynamics of the universe. He has a burning desire to acquire knowledge and that causes him to be further estranged. The difference between the two, however, is the fact that Antonius’ alienation has a touch of divinity. He desires to eat of the tree that gives knowledge which was forbidden by God making his story a classical representation of the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Bible.
Antonius and Hamlet openly express their despair about life by acknowledging that life is meaningless (Haverkamp, 45). After his father had died, Hamlet was forced to reflect upon life’s meaning and confront the inexorableness of death. Hamlet expressed that his life was a futile pursuit and because most people’s lives were like that he felt no self-reproach or bitterness. Being the only person who could see death and have been confronted by it, Block begins to ponder about existence. In the event of his thoughts, just like Hamlet, he comes to a realization that life had no meaning; both his and other people’s.
Another thrilling common aspect between the two heroes is that even with the conviction about life’s vanity they strove to pervade their lives with purpose. In their worlds, death was the only certainty in the face of all corruption and absurdity, but they refused to yield to a vain existence. Hamlet saw his father murdered, and the whole court rots in the morass, but as a hero, he believed that having the ability to reason is enough for one to give his life meaning. Hamlet finally asserted that his thoughts would either be bloody or nothing worthy (Slochower, 197). Antonius’ search is manifested by his deep desire to gain a concrete understanding of God. Antonius divine belief is that if God is non-existent, then life is outrageously horrible. As the film develops, Antonius is seen to take up a subjective view of what meaning is. He tells death that he would perform one meaningful act to recompense for his entire meaningless life. He, just like Hamlet, is faced with corruption as he saw church ministers resort to stealing, flagellants prosecuting themselves for rescinding the Black Plague. He, however, came across some people who were good and had taught him to value life. In the end, he appeared to have let go of his pursuit, unlike Hamlet who held on until death making them different.
Both Antonius and Hamlet face death in the end. It is notable from Hamlet’s words that he fancies death for the sole reason that it does not spare anyone; be it a beggar or a royal ruler. Hamlet remembered how Alexander the great was consumed by death and returned to the ground despite his title. Hamlet made up his mind to contest in the duel against Laertes since he believed that even if he evaded that death, another one would still claim him in the end. The uncertainty and personality flaws leading to his death claimed many other lives, including his mother’s and the king’s life.
Whereas Hamlet faces death in the abstract, Antonius faces it in the concrete. Antonius struggled against the idea of the afterlife, unlike Hamlet who had no idea about the “sacramental machine” He has to not only deal with the Black Death’s devastation as he traveled, but also death physically manifesting itself. He cannot disregard the inevitability of death and death affirmed to him that nothing escaped it. The game of chess that Antonius played against death signified strategy and reason mostly possessed by knights, but his tactic could not beat death. Antonius tossed over the pieces of the chess board and attempted to run away from the clutches of death (Wang, 64). In so doing, he embodied the view Hamlet had about death. Both heroes finally submit to their mortality in death. Both heroes were doomed to their fates. The two have identical philosophical doctrines and worldviews that misconstruing the film as depicting a cynic’s view of life becomes easy.
Works cited
Haverkamp, Anselm. Shakespearean Genealogies of Power: A Whispering of Nothing in Hamlet, Richard II, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, and The Winter’s Tale. Routledge, 2010.
Slochower, Harry. “Shakespeare’s Hamlet: the myth of modern sensibility.” American Imago 7.3 (1950): 197.
Wang, Denise Ming-yueh. “Ingmar Bergman’s Appropriations of the Images of Death in The Seventh Seal* 9).” Medieval and Early Modern English Studies 17.1 (2009).