This paper would be a comparison of Buffy's character and history with that of the most famous "slayer" in Western literature, Hamlet. Like Buffy, Hamlet is deputed by an unanswerable supernatural force to purge evil from his corner of the world by slaying its source. Along the way, he has to deal with self-doubt, the falling away of the support of friends and loved ones, the complete lack of help from the institutions in society that are supposed to be there for such occasions, and so on. The argument will also be presented that, in many ways, Buffy is amore compelling exemplar of certain Christian virtues -- such as forgiveness and compassion -- than is the Danish prince. (She certainly is better at getting past the wrongs done to her by Angel/Angelus and Faith than Hamlet is at forgiving Ophelia and his mother Gertrude). The theme will be that Joss Whedon has given us, in Buffy, a contemporary figure who exemplifies many of the same moral and philosophical issues for us as Shakespeare's hero did for his.