Seven Deadly Sins

In the Christian tradition, the seven deadly sins are: lust, gluttony, wrath, envy, sloth, greed, and finally pride. Pride is a central theme in both Shakespeare’s Hamlet and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Both of these works are tragedies, with many similar themes and ideas. Some have argued that Milton’s work is heavily influenced by Elizabethan playwrights, such as Shakespeare himself: “[Milton’s] early enthusiasm for the English stage is well known. His initial imaginative kinship with Shakespeare… is admitted and made much of,” (Hanford,178). The tragic heroes of both Hamlet and Paradise Lost Are similar, and suffer similarly due to their own hubris. Both of these characters are empathetic but, one is ultimately a superior tragic hero. When

Satan is a powerful angel whose pride drives him to rise up against God, but Hamlet is simply a man who must exact revenge on his father’s killer and return equilibrium to his kingdom. The reader can more easily identify with the position that Hamlet is in than the position of Satan. All people experience a desire for revenge against someone who has wronged them, but the idea of attempting to overthrow someone as powerful as God himself isn’t the most relatable event. The relatability to a story’s tragic hero is of vital importance, as it contributes to the reader’s ability to empathize with them. If the reader cannot empathize with the protagonist, the tragedy of their fall will not have the required impact. In his definition of “tragedy” Chris Baldick includes the following quote, originally from Aristotle: “the imitation of an action that is serious and complete, achieving a catharsis ('purification') through incidents arousing pity and terror.” This illustrates the necessity of the hero of a tragedy to arouse pity. While both heroes do so, Hamlet’s pity is more effective due to his empathetic nature. Readers of these literary works could never imagine attempting to rival God himself, but the desire for revenge is a universal emotion, and this relatability makes Hamlet a more effective tragic hero. Additionally, Hamlet also suffers from indecision throughout the play, which is also universal.

Hamlet wrestles with the morality of his desire for vengeance, and he ultimately expresses superior intentions than Satan. Hamlet does decide to seek vengeance against his uncle Claudius, but this is only after having fought with the conundrum for the entirety of the play. Hamlet’s intentions make his failure all the more tragic. Satan’s desire for power is what causes him to attempt to overthrow God, whereas Hamlet is attempting to overthrow his uncle in order to restore Denmark. While Hamlet is also gaining from his actions, he is not only acting out of a desire for power, but also for a love of his father. Hamlet is racked with guilt after his fathers death: “But I have that within which passeth show,/These but the trappings and the suits of woe,” (I.ii.85-86). This guilt which is so severe that no demonstration comes close to fully illustrating it would likely Hamlet, or anyone else, to seek revenge after learning of his father’ murder. Satan’s banishment to hell is justified due to his mad quest for power, whereas Hamlet’s loss of all that he loves and his death do not feel like just punishment for his shortcomings, which increases the tragedy. Additionally, Hamlet was forced to take action by the ghost of his father, he could not simply do nothing as this would