The Man Behind the Mask

A visual essay on the views of Hamlet from Shakespeare's

Hamlet

His parents murdered at a young age. Orphan Bruce Wayne swears to take revenge on those responsible for his parents’ deaths. Killed for petty cash and his mother’s pearl necklace; Bruce is left with a now-skewed and stained view of the world. Seeking only justification of the wrongs done to him.

“Ay, sir. To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man

picked out of ten thousand.” - Hamlet

“My dear Hamlet, stop wearing these black

clothes, and be friendly to the king. You can’t spend your whole life with your eyes to the ground remembering your noble father. It

happens all the time, what lives must die

eventually, passing to eternity.” - Gertrude

Having what mattered most in his world taken away from him, the young boy enters a permanent state melancholy; cutting off all social ties and worldly pleasures. He abstains from women and friends as he believes they will only get in the way of his life of vigilantism. On the seldom occasion of inter-personal relations; Bruce is usually trying to use someone to help him in his latest vindictive mission

“Frailty, thigh name is woman!” - Hamlet

“I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all

my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and indeed it goes so heavily with my

disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory” - Hamlet

Batman – like most superheroes – has an arch-nemesis. He tries repeatedly to capture, but not kill, this 'Joker'. Batman believes that if he were to kill the joker, then the Joker would not receive the proper punishment for his crimes. He believes that the wicked must be punished in full.

“I could do it easily now. He’s praying now. And now I’ll do it. (he draws out his sword) And there he goes, off to heaven. And that’s my revenge. I’d better think about this more carefully. A villain kills my father, and I, my father’s only son, send this same villain to heaven. Seems like I just did him a favour..” - Hamlet

The only person Bruce ever trusts is his lifelong friend and mentor Alfred – his butler. Alfred is the only person who believes in the Batman and helps him in every way possible. He is always there to support his overwhelmed friend and often acts as his conscience when Bruce is at his worst.

“If something is telling you not to play, listen to it. I’ll say you’re not feeling well.” - Horatio

“Not my servant, but my friend. I’ll change that name for you. But what are you doing so far from Wittenberg, Horatio?”-Hamlet

The Batman is so consumed with his mission to rid the world of the unjust that sometimes people he does not intentionally want to harm are in fact, harmed; either by his own actions or by extensions of those actions. Batman's side-kick and sympathizer to his cause – Robin, is killed in an attempt to capture the Joker. All Robin wanted to do was help Batman and make the world a better place. For that he is killed, not intentionally, but as a result of Batman's unquenchable vengeance.

“I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers

Could not with all their quantity of love

Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?” -

Hamlet“I’m sorry about what happened to this gentleman (pointing to POLONIUS), but God wanted to punish me with this murder, and

this man with me, so I’m both Heaven’s executioner and its minister of justice.” - Hamlet

The Batman is often perceived as insane, being called so by the media and his arch-rival the Joker. He is, after all, a man who dresses up like flying mammal and beats criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. His methods are unorthodox and the world, instead of choosing to view things from his perspective, label him a psychopath.

“And he, repelled—a short tale to make—Fell into a sadness, then into a fast,

Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness,

Thence to a lightness, and, by this declension,

Into the madness wherein now he ravesAnd all we mourn for.” - Claudius

“(aside) Though this be madness, yet there is method in ’t.—.” - Polonius

PS. The next slide takes a little while to load, it’s a movie.

The Joker is often quoted as saying that he and Batman are “family”; stating that they are two of a kind. They are an unstoppable force meeting an immoveable object. The crazed Joker explains that one cannot live without the other. Without the Joker, Batman would perish, and vice-versa. The two are stuck in a never-ending battle until both of them are dead - they are doomed to battle until their ends.

Hamlet and Claudius attempt to kill each other at a couple different points in the play; Claudius sends a letter to have Hamlet killed once he reaches England, and Hamlet almost kills Claudius while he is praying. After finally killing Claudius, against all odds, Hamlet knows he has finished his quest – Claudius now lies dead – and Hamlet may die peacefully.