Parallels between Macbeth and Paradise Lost

Paper Summary:

This paper compares Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" and Milton's epic "Paradise Lost," and discusses the central role of the fall of man in both works. The writer explains that the strongest correlations between Macbeth and Eve are how they fell and the consequential character changes thereafter. The writer describes how both Shakespeare and Milton present a foreboding mood when Macbeth and Eve commit their most critical sins, and further draws parallels between the witches and Satan, Banquo and Adam, and King Duncan and God.

From the Paper:

"Just as the serpent, inhabited by Satan, tempted the innocent Eve to sin through subtle appeals to her vanity and faith in God, the witches used trickery and deception to lead the guiltless Macbeth to his original sin. The prophecy that Macbeth first received from the witches was the dream that Satan offered Eve; both sharply beguiled the consciences of the initially content and innocent characters. While Eve's shaken character is made obvious through "[her] tresses discomposed and glowing cheek, as through unquiet rest", Macbeth begins to undergo a self-conflict between morality and ambition (Milton 106; Shakespeare I, iii, 140-155). This observation provides another parallel between Shakespeare's witches and Milton's serpent: Both offer a potent, and highly desired, reward for an abhorrent crime."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Milton, John. Paradise Lost. 26 October 2008. Samuel Simmons: 1667.
• Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. 26 October 2008. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992.

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• Comparison Essay # 30068 : "Comparison Between "Samson Agonistes" and "Paradise Lost"

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