This chapter introduces Part II of the book by establishing the rationale for a comparative Hegelian analysis of Macbeth and Hamlet. It argues that the plays function as complementary case studies of modern tragic subjectivity, contrasting Hamlet’s reflective paralysis with Macbeth’s destructive, self-actualising agency. It frames Macbeth’s engagement with the supernatural not as a pre-modern residue but as a dialectical catalyst for a distinct form of tragic consciousness. This chapter also explores Hegel’s aesthetic admiration for Macbeth’s “reckless firmness,” which stands in sharp opposition to his philosophical critique of Hamlet’s indecision. This comparison reveals how both tragedies, though in different ways, dramatise the rupture of ethical life (Sittlichkeit) and expose the unresolved contradictions of modernity, thereby setting the stage for the detailed comparative analyses that follow.