Although the themes of both plays are both extremely powerful, one theme is more applicable to the twenty-first century than the other. While Hamlet provides excellent proof that revenge aimed at one person will lead to the avenger’s downfall, it does not apply to the twenty-first century as much as it applied to the Shakespearean era. Nowadays, people are much more likely to allow authorities and the legal system to punish wrongdoers instead of personally hunting down their enemy and taking vengeance on him or her. Furthermore, modern society frowns upon vigilantes who take revenge on their enemies. If one kills the convicted murderer of his family, he will be sentenced to jail time. On the other hand, in the Shakespearean era, one who killed a convicted murderer would not have received nearly as much punishment. The theme of Hamlet is not as applicable to modern society as it was to society in Shakespeare’s time.
The theme of Macbeth applies more to modern times. Even though kings are not killed very often by ambitious thanes today, the theme is still just as relevant today as it was when Macbeth was written. No matter the time period, there will always be ambitious people looking to get ahead. Nowadays, we hear about cheating scandals at schools fairly often. The reason students cheat is ultimately that they wish to move