Critical Analysis of The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd - Essay Example

Critical analysis of The Spanish Tragedy Introduction The Spanish tragedy by Thomas Kyd is believed to have marked the birth of revenge tragedy. The play has a number of brutal murders. The play has elements such as “play-within-a-play” which is used in tracking with the sole aim of revenge. In the process of fighting for their independence, the Portuguese’s viceroy kills a Spanish office by the name Andrea. Andrea’s spirit comes back with the aim of revenging for his death. Revenge and justice seems to be the main themes in this play. With reference to revenge as a theme, this paper aims at critically analyzing “The Spanish Tragedy”. Discussion The theme of revenge is seen right at the introduction of the play after the death of Don Andrea. Don Andrea’s ghost comes back” with the sole purpose of witnessing Bellimperia, who was his lover when he was alive, revenge his death by killing Balthazar. During the process, the character, ”Revenge“ is expected to guide Andrea’s ghost as it awaits Bellimperia to murder Balthazar (Kyd 47). However, despite the fact that revenge is always a meal served cold, the revenges takes so long that Andrea’s runs out of patience. In fact, it even gets worse when the character, “revenge” dozes off while on the stage. The theme on revenge does not end with the story about Andrea’s ghost. In the second act, an arranged marriage between Bellimperia and Balthazar leads to the death of Horatio. This was after it was realized that Bellimperia was in love with Horatio. When Hieronimo, Horatio’s father learns about his son’s death, he swears not to rest until those who were responsible for the death pay with their own lives. At this point it is seen that the people who were responsible for Horatio’s death were above the law and the only way that this death would be avenged is if Hieronimo murdered the involved individuals by himself. Through this act, Hieronimo can be viewed as a champion of justice. However, on the other end the morality of killing a person to avenge another person’s death can be questioned. It can be argued that killing those who were involved in his son’s death makes him no different from them. Revenge is also seen during the instance when Isabella burns up the garden where her son’s life was brought to an end. In this case it can be said that Isabella saw this as a better option of avenging her son’s death. Many people would have the opinion that killing those who are responsible would have been a more suited revenge than burning up the garden. However, it can be argued that Isabella was taking revenge in her own capacity. Given the nature of the people who had killed her son, it would have been a suicide mission to plot on killing them. There is no point of being over ambitious. There would be no point of trying to avenge her son’s death in a way that would only lead to her own death. The most interesting thing that people can even end up not having justice served, but still lose their lives in the process of seeking revenge. Isabella and Bel-Imperia both commit suicide as the final act of revenge. The two women see suicide to be a simple way through which they can avenge the death of their loved ones. However, there no way that their deaths leads to direct pain to those who have caused the death of their loved ones (Griffin 143). Their deaths do not bring back their loved ones, but instead ends their own lives. It can be seen that suicide will only leave the people that they leave behind grieving. In some cases it can be said that such incidents can lead to pressure mounting on the relevant authority for justice to be served for those people who were responsible for murdering their loved ones in the first place. Isabella and Bel-Imperia’s suicide can be used to highlight the difference in the manner in which women and men can carry out revenge. Hieronimo steaks to his revenge even at a point when it would have seemed like it would be impossible. Despite the fact that he thinks about committing suicide, he vows that he must first avenge his son’s death. He even presents his case before the kind. He is only let down by his mental status. This fact can be used to show that men might at sometimes have resilience when it comes to seeking revenge (Maus 111). The fact that Isabella and Bel-Imperia committed suicide can be used to show that women can at times be overwhelmed by their emissions when seeking revenge. This is the only thing that can explain why Isabella and Bel-Imperiacommitted suicide. The play also shows the extent to which revenge, as a common purpose can bring people together. In the last act of the play it can be seen that Hieronimoand Bellimperia start working together so that they can revenge the death of Horatio. The two, together target Balthazar and Lorenzo because they believe that they are the ones who were responsible for the death of Horatio. Hieronimo writes a play whereby he chooses a storyline that is similar to the one that led to Horatio’s death. This play leads to the death of Balthazar and Lorenzo. After the deaths,the Duke, King, and Viceroy start questioning the intention behind Hieronimo’s play. Due to their suspicion, they demand to know the motive behind the paly. At this point Hieronimo decides to bite of his tongue so that there is no way that the Duke, King, and Viceroy would expect any explanation for them. He even goes further and stabs the Duke before committing suicide. At this point it can be said that Hieronimo was successful in seeking revenge for his son’s murder despite the fact that it took him such a long time. Bellimperia also commits suicide after confirming the death of Balthazar and Lorenzo (Rist 212). For, Hieronimo and Bellimperia it can be said that their satisfaction was from the fact that those who were responsible for Horatio’s death were finally dead. Conclusion There are some lessons about revenge that can be learnt from this play. For instance, it can be learnt that revenge usually come at a price. The people often involved in revenge usually forego their own peace in trying to deny other peace. Hieronimo and Bellimperia even have to forgo their own lives so that they would make sure that the people who were responsible for Horatio’s death face justice. Another thing that can be deduced from this play is that revenge is a meal best served cold. At the time when those responsible for Horatio’s death thought that they had gone unpunished, they meet their own death. This is intensified by the play within-a-play that was aimed at bringing out the truth and letting the public know why Balthazar and Lorenzo deserved to die for having taken the life of an innocent person. Work cited Griffin, Eric J. English Renaissance Drama and the Specter of Spain: Ethnopoetics and Empire. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. Internet resource. Kyd, Thomas. The Spanish Tragedy. London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1936. Internet resource. Maus, Katharine E. Inwardness and Theater in the English Renaissance. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Print. Rist, Thomas. Revenge Tragedy and the Drama of Commemoration in Reforming England.Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. Print. Read More