#25 Hamlet Is Similar to Gilgamesh

There are many reasons why Hamlet and Gilgamesh can be compared to one another. They are both known for their strength and power. Gilgamesh defeated his enemies and Hamlet avenged for his father's death. That is how they both showed their strength and power. Also they both turn into antagonists with tragic flaw in their stories which leads to them to their downfall. Both Hamlet and Gilgamesh are hubris.

Strength and Power

“Haste me to know it, that I with wings as swift/ As meditation or the thoughts of love/ May sweep to my revenge” – Hamlet to the ghost. Hamlet wants to know the details of the crime so he can immediately seek revenge.

He walks around in the enclosure of Uruk,
like a wild bull he makes himself mighty, head raised (over others).
There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him.
His fellows stand (at the alert), attentive to his (orders?),
and the men of Uruk become anxious in …
Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father,
day and night he arrogantly(?) … (1.51-58)

Here, the narrator transitions from fawning over Gilgamesh's great strength and handsomeness and accomplishment to telling the citizens to ask the god Anu to save them from Gilgamesh's horrible behavior. Is this a coincidence? Not likely. What could be more typical of an immature ruler like Gilgamesh than letting your gifts and possessions go to your head, resulting in prideful, arrogant behavior? Thus, these lines set the stage for one of the major issues in the story: how Gilgamesh learns that he basically the same as other humans, for all that 2/3 divine parentage business.

 

These quotes show how both Hamlet and Gilgamesh showed their true strength and power when they were about to face their enemies. They were both seen as the most powerful and courageous person in the land in which they lived.

 

Hubris

 

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count
myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I
have bad dreams.

— Hamlet says that he could fool himself into thinking that infinite space existed in a nutshell where he ruled as king were it not for his bad dreams.

It is Gilgamesh who will venture into the Forest
and cut down the Cedar down and win the glory.
My fame will be secure to all my sons.'"

Ferry, p. 17

These quotes describe how Hamlet and Gilgamesh were  seen as hubris individuals. They both boasted about how powerful they are and how they are undefeated. Also, they always talk about themselves and down others because they are not built like them and are not as strong as they are.