The Shakespearean Ending of Game of Thrones

SHAKESPEARE IN GAME OF THRONES: A RETROSPECTIVE

Over the course of eight seasons, Game of Thrones has made quite a few striking allusions to Shakespeare. Jon’s assassination by conspiring members of the Night’s Watch is reminiscent of Julius Caesar’s mass stabbing by Roman Senate conspirators. Arya feeding Walder Frey a pie of his own sons’ flesh before she kills him echoes the fate of Tamora and her sons in Titus Andronicus, the bard’s bloodiest revenge play.

Tyrion Lannister may not have achieved the villainy of Richard III, but the two characters share compelling similarities. Both are likened to monsters, ostracized by their family and society for their visual appearance, and must rely on cleverness and cunning as weapon. In addition, the real Richard III had his memory somewhat marred by the bard—the historical figure was not nearly so villainous as his on-stage counterpart, and so it’s rather amusing to see Tyrion’s character get similar treatment in Braavos where “The Bloody Hand” play portrays him as an evil caricature of himself.

Stannis Baratheon invokes Macbeth, as he relies on prophecy to help him secure the throne, while a witch and ambitious wife encourage him to commit morally repugnant deeds. Cersei Lannister’s story is also quite Macbethian in that she is haunted by a witch who tells her future—but instead of trying to realize the prophecy, she does everything in her power to make sure her fate does not come true.