There are many great English
Renaissance Dramatists that are commonly overlooked in comparison to
Shakespeare. One of these playwrights is
Thomas Kyd. One of Kyd’s most successful
plays is The Spanish Tragedy written
sometime in the late 1580s. No details
on the earliest performances of the play have survived; however, this play has
been noted for its success and towering influence over English Renaissance Drama. Mostly this derives from the content of the
plot of which excitement, intrigue, betrayal, and above all violence pervade in
The Spanish Tragedy.
Much of The Spanish Tragedy’s excitement and intrigue arises from the sense of mystery with which the play begins. This is essential to the understanding of the tragedy and structure of the play. Two choral figures, the ghost of Andrea and the spirit of Revenge, introduce the play and witness the action as an onstage audience. Don Andrea has died of apparently battle wounds but it is discovered that he was murdered by Don Lorenzo, Bel-Imperia’s brother. Bel-Imperia was the lover of Dan Andrea before he dies and through the action becomes the lover of Don Horatio, Don Andrea’s best friend. Don Lorenzo goes on to murder Don Horatio as well. The tragic movement of the play progresses by Don Andrea’s awakening understanding, growing frustration, and finally his satisfaction at the fates derived on the characters. The deaths at the end of The Spanish Tragedy are genuinely savage. The final act of the play is an absolute blood-bath. The stage is littered with the corpses of nearly all the major characters as revenge takes its ominous toll. The play ends as Don Andrea, able now to exact total revenge after being frustrated for the entirety of the play by the misdirection of justice he seeks.
One element that Kyd uses consistently in The Spanish Tragedy is the incorporation of classical allusions and framework. This is seem immediately as the play begins with Don Andrea’s monologue with references to the Greek and Roman. These references allude to the artificially of language. Kyd was convinced that the English language could be just as captivating as the classical and attempted to prove that it could be a powerful form of communication. For example Kyd wrote verse for the high class and men while prose was written for commoners, women, and madness. It should be noted that Kyd began producing plays before Shakespeare and many elements from The Spanish Tragedy are reproduced in Hamlet. Kyd also is credited with introducing the idea of a ‘revenge tragedy.’ He uses execution and violence as an interest and appeal to the audience. This allows the spectator to live vicariously through the characters and feel superior to those on stage. Kyd used ideas adapted from Seneca by bringing the violence of closet dramas to the stage. For example Don Horatio is hanged and stabbed to death in the presence of Bel-Imperia immediately after they have declared their passion for one another using the metaphors of war and Mars and Venus in amorous combat.
Much of The Spanish Tragedy’s excitement and intrigue arises from the sense of mystery with which the play begins. This is essential to the understanding of the tragedy and structure of the play. Two choral figures, the ghost of Andrea and the spirit of Revenge, introduce the play and witness the action as an onstage audience. Don Andrea has died of apparently battle wounds but it is discovered that he was murdered by Don Lorenzo, Bel-Imperia’s brother. Bel-Imperia was the lover of Dan Andrea before he dies and through the action becomes the lover of Don Horatio, Don Andrea’s best friend. Don Lorenzo goes on to murder Don Horatio as well. The tragic movement of the play progresses by Don Andrea’s awakening understanding, growing frustration, and finally his satisfaction at the fates derived on the characters. The deaths at the end of The Spanish Tragedy are genuinely savage. The final act of the play is an absolute blood-bath. The stage is littered with the corpses of nearly all the major characters as revenge takes its ominous toll. The play ends as Don Andrea, able now to exact total revenge after being frustrated for the entirety of the play by the misdirection of justice he seeks.
One element that Kyd uses consistently in The Spanish Tragedy is the incorporation of classical allusions and framework. This is seem immediately as the play begins with Don Andrea’s monologue with references to the Greek and Roman. These references allude to the artificially of language. Kyd was convinced that the English language could be just as captivating as the classical and attempted to prove that it could be a powerful form of communication. For example Kyd wrote verse for the high class and men while prose was written for commoners, women, and madness. It should be noted that Kyd began producing plays before Shakespeare and many elements from The Spanish Tragedy are reproduced in Hamlet. Kyd also is credited with introducing the idea of a ‘revenge tragedy.’ He uses execution and violence as an interest and appeal to the audience. This allows the spectator to live vicariously through the characters and feel superior to those on stage. Kyd used ideas adapted from Seneca by bringing the violence of closet dramas to the stage. For example Don Horatio is hanged and stabbed to death in the presence of Bel-Imperia immediately after they have declared their passion for one another using the metaphors of war and Mars and Venus in amorous combat.
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