The use of language in Hamlet differentiates him from an epic hero such as Beowulf. Hamlet and Beowulf both were in battles and were well known. Beowulf fought monsters and because of his strength and bravery, people all around knew of him. Hamlet didn’t battle monsters like Beowulf, but his inner thoughts. Hamlet lived in the palace and has royalty in his blood, so the hoi polli knew Hamlet.
In the poem of Beowulf, the main character can be described the complete opposite of the main character in the play Hamlet. Beowulf wouldn’t think too much of what he would do; he took action. Hamlet on the other hand had to think a loud to make his decision before he took any action. Beowulf would kill a monster as soon as he could. He would not think of how he should kill it or what the monster might do. Hamlet on the other hand thought about what he should do. It was not til the end of the play that Hamlet finally took action.
The two actions of the heros were for different reasons. Beowulf killed for the glory and the peace; Hamlet’s actions were out of revenge. Before Hamlet was able to take this revenge for his father, he struggled with what he should do. In the poem Beowulf, the scenes were action. There were hardly any, if any, scenes of him thinking of what or struggling with himself. The play Hamlet did not show any action until the last Act.
Epic heros are usually thought of as strong, brave and courageous. Hamlet’s problems are internal; the audience can’t see what is going on. Therefore, Hamlet is more language oriented than action oriented. Without the action scenes, the audience might see him a little crazy (I know I did). Beowulf’s and Hamlet’s language are different because of the characters thoughts and actions.
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