"He imagines that when I see him indefatigable I'll regret my decision. Such is his miserable scheme."

 

       Over Compensation is a theme shown in waiting for godot when lucky tries to impress Pozzo so that in turn he will not sell him at the fair. By keeping the bags of Pozzo held for an extended period of time he thinks that will make Pozzo see his usefulness, while in reality it does nothing to show Pozzo how useful he is, in fact he ends up demeaning Lucky more as a result.

 

       In Hamlet a comparison to this could be made towards Rosencratz and Guildenstern. Both men work so hard to appease the king that they end up betraying Hamlet and ultimately seal their own death in the process of it.

                               

 

                    This shows how over compensation works to hinder a person's effort more than help it. It makes the user seem weak and manipulative. This is theme is most commonly used to try and appeal to some sort of higher power (i.e Master to Slave, Soldiers to Kings).