I recently came across a post by @colliholly bringing up the idea that the play Death of a Salesman might’ve been one of the inspirations for Spamton’s character and story, which led me to look a bit further into their similarities — I do think it was very likely an influence (here’s a post about some of the parallels), but that led me to do a little research on something else…
I saw during my search that Death of a Salesman was compared by its writer to a greek tragedy. I’ve been thinking of Spamton’s story — especially his backstory with Tenna — as a greek tragedy since shortly after playing chapter 3, but I didn’t truly realize until looking deeper into what exactly constitutes one that the themes really do line up perfectly; so much so that I can pretty safely say that Spamton and Tenna’s story was intentionally written as a greek tragedy.
I found this discovery really fascinating, and I decided to make this post going over how the themes line up — and how this is actually relevant to all of Deltarune.
These are the core themes of a Greek Tragedy:
Hubris: Excessive pride commonly leads to a character's downfall, often through them being punished for trying to defy the gods or a higher power.
Spamton’s entire story is one of hubris; he took the Benefactor’s deal, agreed to share his secret with Tenna despite knowing it was forbidden, and ended up losing everything for it. He tried to defy a higher power’s control, and he was punished harshly; the Benefactor separated Spamton from the person he rebelled for, and painfully transformed him into a literal puppet who can’t even say the word "love," partially because that's what ultimately made Spamton try to "break his strings." It's the sort of on-the-nose punishment for hubris that comes straight from a Greek myth.
Fate & Destiny: Characters struggling against a predetermined fate is very common, and actual prophecies are often used in myths to represent this. Usually, when a character tries to defy a prophecy, it only leads to them fulfilling it.
I think this theme actually makes it even more likely that Spamton was aware of Tenna's role in Deltarune's Prophecy before signing Tenna's contract, and Spamton was intentionally trying to defy the Prophecy and save Tenna when he signed and agreed to share his secrets. However, this just ended with their separation, and the Prophecy still played out anyway (Tenna does get cleaved, regardless of whether it leads to his death).
Moral Dilemmas & Sacrifice: Characters are forced to make impossible choices, struggling ethically and emotionally.
Spamton clearly struggled for a while with his decision to sign Tenna's contract, despite the fact that he genuinely wanted to, calling it "the good part" before the Weird Route NEO battle. Spamton was aware it went against the terms of his deal with his Benefactor, and that there was risk involved, even if he didn't know the full extent of what the consequences would be; that's why he held out for as long as he did. However, even knowing it was dangerous, Spamton eventually chose his love and dedication to Tenna over his own literal guaranteed personal success — he chose to risk any consequences to be big together with Tenna.
Similarly, Tenna also struggled with wanting Spamton to sign the contract despite being warned by Mike that “something terrible would happen” if he did, because Tenna was afraid for his own safety and thought this was the only way to ensure it; he decided to do it because he thought he’d be able to help Spamton if anything did happen — but he failed, and he’s felt extremely guilty and hated himself for it ever since.
Conflict with the Divine: Mortals are portrayed as being at the mercy of divine will, and these higher powers ultimately have control over the narrative.
This is why Spamton became a literal puppet, symbolizing how his Benefactor was pulling the strings all along. But it doesn't stop there — this reflects what doomed Spamton from the very beginning: Spamton, like all Darkners, was forced by the creator of the Dark World (and/or the Prophecy) into a role that he had no say at all in choosing. But unlike most other Darkners, who seem to be at least somewhat complacent with their lives (aside from Ralsei and Tenna), Spamton hated what he was created to be; he wanted to be so much more, and he was never going to stop fighting to get it. Being unwanted, ignored, and thrown away was literally part of his purpose, his intended narrative. That's why he was desperate enough to take the deal that doomed him — and why his goal ultimately was to escape the dark altogether.
This rebellion against divine will is also part of why Spamton was kept from becoming "big together" with Tenna; whether Spamton wanted to save Tenna by reaching "Heaven" together, or just wanted to teach Tenna how to use technology and star beside him on TV, either way, by signing that contract, the two of them were trying to change their narrative and defy what the divine created them to be: objects that fulfilled their purpose, nothing more. CRTs don't use the internet, and spam emails don't star on TV — and neither of them are meant to reach "Heaven." They tried to go against the very first rule established in Deltarune — “No one can choose who they are in this world.” — and they paid for it dearly.
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As I'm sure you noticed, these same themes can actually apply to Deltarune as a whole, because Spamton and Tenna’s relationship was specifically designed to embody and reflect the themes of the entire game. On the Pacifist Route, the characters are trying to defy the predetermined tragedy the Prophecy intends for them using kindness, compassion, and hope, exactly what saves Tenna himself from the tragic fate the Prophecy meant for him. The heroes, through Gerson's words to Susie, are encouraged to pick up the pen and write their own ending — they don’t just have to take the narrative that’s been written for them. Spamton and Tenna have the opportunity to do the same on the Pacifist Route; if the right conditions are met and Tenna is in Castle Town, they'll be able to rewrite the tragic ending their own myth was given, and reunite after all these years spent forced apart. They'll find out that neither of them would have ever chosen to abandon the other.
But the tragedy will be fully realized on the Weird Route. In fact, it's Spamton and Tenna's relationship — and Spamton's despair and anger over his perceived betrayal and abandonment by Tenna — that even makes the Weird Route possible in the first place. If they hadn’t been together, Spamton wouldn’t have been completely broken, both physically and emotionally, by Tenna’s “betrayal.” Without experiencing that pain, he wouldn't have become quite so cynical, and lost what little faith he had left in the Dark World and the people in it. This is what led Spamton to sell the Thorn Ring to Kris, without which this route wouldn’t be possible.
On the Weird Route, the characters are destined for tragedy. They try to struggle against the player’s control and “divine will,” and they’re punished for it. Kris has to make an impossible decision to either remove the soul, breaking their promise and likely dying, or to continue to watch as Noelle is forced to do terrible things and her own autonomy is taken away by us. We puppet Noelle and ultimately keep her away from Susie, the person she loves, exactly as the Benefactor did to Spamton — continuing the symbolic oppression of queerness by a higher power, taking away Suselle and the possibility of Spamtenna being reunited, and forcing Kris and Noelle into heteronormative roles. Spamton himself assists us, continuing the cycle of abuse — instead of ending it, like in the Pacifist Route — and Spamton’s hubris ends in his own murder.
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The reflection of Deltarune’s incredibly compelling and meaningful themes in Spamtenna is a big part of why I love their story and relationship so much, and why it’s so important to me. Many people have been pointing it out since chapter 3 & 4's release, but the wider fandom unfortunately doesn't seem to realize the relevance of their relationship to Deltarune's narrative, and dismisses it as unimportant or uninteresting. If I can change even a couple people’s perspectives with this post, I’d be very happy.
Deltarune's Prophecy is written as a tragedy, just as Spamtenna’s story is, but “with hope crossed on our hearts,” it can change, and we can write a better ending.
