In Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth, there are two important themes: the negative impact of women and ambition. In Hamlet, misogyny or strong dislike towards women is very much shown throughout the play because of his mother Gertrude and his lover Ophelia. She believes that all women are weak, incapable of thinking for themselves, and completely subservient to men only because of Gertrude and Ophelia's actions. Ambition is shown through the character of Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and Gertrude's new husband, in which he does everything to become king of Denmark. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is manipulative but hypocritical when she tries to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan, which causes a downward spiral into his madness. This also ties into their ambitious behavior as they will harm anyone to hold an important position, similar to Claudius in Hamlet. Hamlet is strongly and negatively influenced by the two women who should be most important to him: his mother, Gertrude, and his partner Ophelia. Their actions ultimately contribute to Hamlet's theme of misogyny, or hatred and distrust of women. "Don't let me think about it; frailty, your name is woman!" (I.ii.146). During his monologue, he is upset that his mother, Gertrude, rushed to remarry soon after his father's death - not to mention that she remarried her uncle, Claudius, of all people. This act of incest disgusts him and he is disgusted by her actions when she and her late father were inseparable and now she is married to a man who is not even a great leader and fighter like her father was. As for Ophelia, Hamlet is angry at how submissive she is when her father Polonius and brother Laertes order her to stay away from him despite them being... middle of paper... in some sort of situation. of a male role in Act 1 where she calls him out for his virility or lack thereof because she doesn't want to kill a virtuous, humble man she has no problem with. Shakespeare's audience also sees how hypocritical this makes Lady Macbeth when she rubs her hands together to free herself from the guilt of murder. She is also ambitious because she only wants Duncan to be killed so that she and Macbeth can be king and queen of Scots. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he too becomes ambitious as he is paranoid and ready to kill anyone who may appear to be plotting against him. Works Cited Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperback, 2009. Print.Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperback, 2009. Print.