Do you think Claudius' murder in Hamlet parallels the murder of Abel in the Bible? Explain your position.

The comparison of Claudius to Abel is an interesting one and I
encourage you to consider your own thoughts and feelings in addition to any you read
here.

Though the murder is similar in the fact that it is family
killing family and the motives could both be considered vengeful (or revenge), there is such an
enormous difference between Claudius and Abel (as in, their characters) and the circumstances
surrounding the murders, that I personally would not consider the two stories to be
similar.

Abel was killed because Cain was jealous of his brother and
the sacrifice he was bringing to God. At the core, Abel was the better brother in the eyes of
God, and for this Cain was angry. In this story in Genesis, most consider Abel to be a victim and
Cain to be an antagonist.

Hamlet is angry at Claudius for an
entirely different reason. Claudius killed Hamlet's father (and then proceeded to arrange
Hamlet's death, which resulted in the deaths of many more). In this cause, Hamlet is
the victim and Claudius is the antagonist. Hamlet killing Claudius seems far more
justified than Cain killing Abel, so I would not personally consider these examples to be
parallel.