Explore the construction of identity in literary texts with detailed reference to at least two texts studied in the first half of the module.

Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name
Course
Date of submission:
Construction of Identity in Beowulf and Hamlet.
In both texts, Beowulf and Hamlet, identity is constructed through how the characters realize their social ideals and individual experiences. Identity is used to refer to the historical as well as social being of a person and his/her makeup as a construct. Identities are believed to be the result of a person’s personal experience as well as their family lineage. This is evident in the two texts and particularly in Beowulf whereby all the men are referred to as their as the sons of their fathers. During those eras, family history played a very critical role, and all the men were highly respected due to the heroic things they did as early as their ancestors (Clark & Alyssa, 2). Warriors were also not left behind as they felt the urge also to be valued at the same level as the men.
This is evident in Beowulf when we are first introduced to Beowulf as an individual. Before even we know his name, the author introduces and gives us a description of his father, “In his day, my father was a famous man a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow.” (Liuzza & Roy, 2) In Hamlet, this is also seen as Shakespeare gives us a detailed narrative of Hamlet’s family lineage and as such we discover that he was the son of the king. This plays a crucial role in his identity as well as in the rest of the events in the entire play. In most literary works such as novels, poems and plays just to name but a few, the identity of the main character changes as we get to know him/her.

As the events go along, we get to the characters even more. This is the same in the real-life situation whereby when one meets a new person, one is usually not certain about their identity and personality, and typically one begins to learn about them after interacting through their relations and actions. This is evident in Beowulf as it is written in the third persona and we get to know Beowulf through his actions and what he says.
The identity of a person is not fixed as it changes with time as the characters grow and on most occasions, most people do this through self-discovery in which they get to learn most things all by themselves. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet who is the main character suffers an identity crisis as a result of conflicting values as well as other internally and externally based pressures. We experience a shift in the character’s ideas and opinions, and as a result, this constructs a more complex identity one that becomes a bit challenging to identify. In both Hamlet and Beowulf, the two main protagonists go through a shift in their identities. In Beowulf to begin with, throughout the play, Beowulf is ambitious and determined that one day he will become a legendary warrior, one that will be known in the whole land. In Hamlet, on the other hand, the protagonist who is Hamlet gets to discover his morality as the events in the play unfold and desire to meet his standards as he goes along. Hamlet’s morality makes his identity even much more complicated, and it becomes less solid. He is not the usual kind of a person as we find him always going against the social norms. He has a conventional approach to life which makes him become a threat to those that are around and in particular the new king. In the very first chapters of Hamlet, we find that he appears as if he had lost his identity as a result of the multiple things occurring in his life with most of them negatively affecting him. For instance, not only has he has lost his father, but his status as the heir to the throne since he was the king’s firstborn son is at risk as the Fortinbras are planning to attack the palace and his uncle has now become his step-father (Shakespeare, 1).
Beowulf discovers his identity as a great warrior as well as a hero in the land by recounting some of the endeavors that he went through and emerged out successfully. “They had seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night sea slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it upon themselves, I devastated them.)” (Liuzza & Roy, 4). Through the text, it is evident that Beowulf is a warrior more by his character rather than what he does in the real sense.
In conclusion, we can see that the identity if both Hamlet and Beowulf become more vivid as the events of the texts unfold. Despite the fact that the personality of a character has multiple factors that contribute to its development, the main characters in the two literary texts would not have developed their identities were it not for the experiences that they went through which shaped their personalities. Moreover, while the language in the texts may have an impact on the identity of the characters, the plots of the texts have the most effect on how their identities develop. It is thus evident that both the main characters in the two texts have developed their personalities and as such have realized their dreams and desires.
Works Cited
Clark, Alyssa. “ENGL 220 Introduction to Literature.” (2015).
Liuzza, Roy M., ed. Beowulf. Broadview Press, 2012.
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Race Point Pub, 2014.