A tragedy is defined as “a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or dark theme, usually that of a great character destined because of a flaw in character or conflict with overwhelming force. , as destiny or society, towards fall or destruction” which can be seen in the plays of Shakespeare, Macbeth and Hamlet. The dark theme of Macbeth and Hamlet is madness, the tragic heroes are Macbeth and Hamlet and their tragic flaws are the need for power and revenge respectively, which ultimately leads to their downfall. In Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth, he uses the structure of tragedies to explore the human condition. Many themes overlap in Macbeth and Hamlet. Both plays begin with the appearance of the supernatural. In Macbeth, Macbeth is approached by three fog-like witches who give him three prophecies: he will become the thane of Courdor, he will become king, and the children of Banqou will become kings. These prophecies will be the cause of all his actions throughout the play and will eventually lead to his madness. In Hamlet, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his late father who tells him the truth about how he died; Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, poured poison into his ear while he slept. Hamlet becomes obsessed with this knowledge and begins to plan his revenge. Shortly after these two events comes madness. In Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are disturbed by madness. Macbeth kills King Duncan because he believes that is what he must do to fulfill the prophecies, which drives him to madness. Even before the murder, Macbeth was deeply paranoid, as evidenced by his monologue shortly before the murder. Macbeth begins his soliloquy with "[i]f it were done when it is done, then 'we would be... middle of paper... journey to death. He continues with: 'put out, put out, brief candle Life is just a walking shadow, a poor musician who struts and flails about for his hour on stage and then he is no longer heard,” which means that the only good thing in life is that! It ends (VII.VII). Hamlet similarly explores his thoughts on life, death and free will when the king wants him to participate in a fencing match and Horatio tells him that he is not obliged to do so. Hamlet explains: “Not at all. We defy omens. There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. .If it does not come, it will be now If not now, it will come – preparation is everything” (VII.II). and his body. Similar to Macbeth's existentialist thoughts on life, Hamlet believes that the purpose of life is to mentally prepare for death..