"The raven himself is hoarse, That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry "Hold, hold!"" (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 38-39, and 53-54) is a quote from Lady Macbeth as she urges Macbeth to kill King Duncan. It is apparent that she desires the throne for her husband, and is ready to do anything to achieve that for him. Macbeth is not as calm about killing his master. His thoughts show this dilemma, "To our own lips, He's here in double trust: First as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself." (Act 1, Scene 7, Lines 12-16). Lady Macbeth persuaded him into the act, so therefore the death of King Duncan occurred and led to many more deaths and a lot of complications.
In the story Hamlet, there is also a great deal of death occuring. The death of King Hamlet by Claudius leads to Prince Hamlet living his life with the desire to seek revenge on Claudius for murdering his father. "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt But break my heart,-for I must hold my tongue." (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines). These are Prince Hamlet's sentiments on the whole situation. He is depressed and contemplating suicide, but because of religious reasons, he refraines. Marcellus states, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," (Act 1, Scene 4, Lines)in regards to the ghost and the rottenness created by Claudius's crime which is the cause of all of the trials and tribulations of Prince Hamlet's life. As the story continues, more people are murdered, intentionally and accidentally. This similarity of death is very disturbing, however, this is what always tends to happen in shakespearian tragedies, it almost seems as though it is what these stories were based upon.
Another common sharacteristic between Hamlet and Macbeth is the role of women in these stories.