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SEKECAN AND OTHER INFLUENCES 0 1 SIX
ELIZABETHAN REVENGE PLAYS
APPROVED*
I<d»<ti2!ii5- 25axslwi P r o f e a e o r
^ . i . D i r e c t o r af He" feej/^traent'
o f t h «
SENECAK AID OTHER IRFLTJENCBS 01 SIX
a m S S T H A I KEVENGE PLAYS
THESIS
Presen t ©cl t o th© Sra&uat® Counci l of tfa«
Berth Texas Sta t® €©ll®g® i n P a r t i a l
F u l f i l l m e n t of t h e Requirements
For th© B«gr®« of
MASTER OF ARTS
Bit 223584
Marilyn F i s h e r , R# A,
Thornton , Texas
August , 195S
2235m
TABLE OP CO*T**rS
Chapter ?ag9 X* THE VOGtflS or StfUSCA, 1670-1600 1
D e f i n i t i o n of tha Tragedy of Blood Elements of Senaoaii f nige^y Appeal o f 3an«oan Eras® Direct Imi ta t ions of Son#@a Departure iwm. Bmmmm Mod®!
I I * PROBLEMS OP CBRONOStOGTZt SOURCES, ARB AUTHORSHIP 14
2 r « » ^i.ii.iwii>iiiliiv,i.ii
f oe Jew of Malta
The' frlrif t Part of Xerotilino
I I I . I1TEHRELAf IOKS Of SIX TRAGEDIES OP 8BVSR8X *2?
lesta®©* of Each Revenge Play 5«qmbs Heaeata i n tbe Tragediea of Revenge Mutual Dependence of Kyd# Marlowe, and
Shakeapeare Paral lax Devices Charaet arlaiftt ions
I f . DRMSATIC A ® STOISTIC DEVICES CP THE HEVtSCIt PfcSjS. . • . .58
?b® Cborua I n Bm&m and Rmm$® Play®' Innovation o f tba Dunb Show and Play-wi th l i * -
t be-Play Art i n Seaeea and Revenge Playa
V. CONCLTISIOB 85
B1BLI0SMPB1 91
cmrtm i
THE VOBTJE m Stmck , 1570*1000
I» t h i s thes i s mn attempt wi l l be sade t o tra©# b r i e f l y
the revival of Seneoart tragedy from 1570 t o t he end of t h e
s ixteenth eenttiry through s«®te of t he ea r l i e r t r a n s l a t i o n s ,
adaptat ions, end imi ta t ions , and t o evaluate the s t g n l f l *
mm* of the f i n a l evolution of eueh works i n to the
BUssabethan tragedy of revenge.
In order to proossd more eeelly 1» dlseusslng Seneesn
tragedy* i t la appropriate t o inelude here t a s e concrete
de f in i t ion of the tragedy of blood# Such de f in i t i on i s not
poeelble wit hoot a brief glanea a t the h i a t a l of t h e Kenan
product i n the t v a g l e dwsasa^ftee tragedies of Seneoa,
modeled closely a f t e r the t ragedies of Aesehylus, Sophoolee,
and Burlpldes, l ink airiest tragedy with modern tragedy*
The Qreeks had already delved i n t o s l l f o r a s and f i e l d s of
l i t e r a tu r e* end Kenan tragedy was an imitation of these
great models* /^'Seneea «npots h is tragedies t o please a &#»
mending audience whiah comprised an tq>per c lass cl ique with
a e l aes iea l edueat ion, smut toe bora® in adnd that Seneea's
plays were meant to be reoi ted # not aoted, and the reading
public was anfclotas t o reeelve aoodewl© wosfcs in l a t l n # the 1 y
mniversa1 langtMg.© of sehol&rshlp* eombinsd both
U Lucas, Seneoa and Illgabothqn Trtumiy* p* 5&»
c l a s s i e and s e m a n t i c a l a m a n t a t o e a o p o a a h i # t r a g a d i e a *
D u r i n g h i t p e r i o d of w r i t l u g , §#mws& was f o w i d t o abound
i n rb©t © f i e , t o p a r a g e h i t p e d a n t i f f , t o s o r a l i s a w i t h
p n » * and t o a x a g g a r a t a g raaaoma d e t a i l ® , t /eeauaa p o l l t i -
a a l s t a g n a t i o n d e r i v e d h i » of a p o p u l a r t r a n d of w r i t i n g .
S a n a e a * * S t o i c i s m i n d u c e d a h a r d n e s s i n h i * c h a r a c t e r * !
d a a t h t o t h a n was a p o a i t i v e good} a u i a i d a waa a l u x u r y *
I n T r e a d — * AatyaaaXff a fc l ld of H a a t o r aikI A n d r e m e h e , i a
d e s c r i b e d by t h a m e s s e n g e r a a h a v i n g met h i a d a a t h w i t h a
r o y a l a e u K ^ f e o i y * e n a # d a u g i t a r of Heoube a n d P r l a a * wboaa
b l o o d i a t o ho a p l l l a d upon t h a t o n b of A o failles t h a t aha
• I g h t b e r e u n i t e d w i t h b a r « a t « i n K i y a t i w * i a d — e r i b e d
by A n d r c n s e h e a a f o X l o w a t
B e h o l d , b a r a o u l l e a n a up w » h m i g h t y Joy
At t h o u g h t o f d e a t h *
O e d i p u s , i n f h s b a l a . e # l f » t & i M e d ®ai a « i f * * K l M f r o ® h i s
l a n d b e a a u a e of a s t r o k e of f a t a wfciah t h r e a t e n e d h i a b e -
f o r a b i r t h s e a m e a t l y s e e l ® d a a t h , b u t he i s r e s t r a i n e d
f r o m o o m i t t i n g s u i c i d e by h i a f a i t h f u l d a u g h t e r * A n t i g o n e ,
and h a d e c l a r e d t h a t ha bad r a t h e r b e f o r c e d t o d i a t h a n b e p r e v e n t e d f r o m d y i n g *
;/' S e n e e a ' a t r a g e d i e s »®y b e b r i e f l y a n a l y * e d a a a s k e l e -
t o n of e p i e , l y r i e , and d r s n a t i e s e e n e e , h i I d t o g e t h e r by
2 L u e i u a S e n e a a , 1 ' r—d—» I V , 94fr»946. F u t u r e c i t a -t i o n # t o Seneea. w i l l b # w m f t i n t h e ^ r a ^ e d i « ©f SttSftfe# t r a n s l a t e d by P r a n k S i l l e r .
rhetoric* Hit t mg@&lm stake up t h e log ica l development
l a d ram tusder th» prevai l ing condlt loaui of • scholar ly
pilsli© with s twi t# f o r intr igue* adultery* nurder , and
h o r r o r pll«S upon horror through. t h e u s e of ghosts* mytho-
log ica l characters* wmmtwml deaths, and wut list ion# f:he
d e f i n i t i o n f o r the tragedy of blood Is *oet conveniently
given by l i s t i n g I t * obaraeterlstInsi
1* The tragedy of blood la t r ag lo I s t ha t the p r inc i -
pal charac ter or eharaet era raeet death as the Inevi tab le
, M " u W o f * M t " t r o p h e f m s d • " » l n o r 8 d l b l e h o r e o M -
f* I t la usually motivated by a desire f o r revenge
becau.se of gmesfno In jua t lcas*
Zm Xt ustsmHy contains numerous a l lus ions t o ©reels
mythology*
4 . I t la f u r t h e r character ised by the uae of t h e ghost,
'Choice, i t o d i eharaet era, such as the good and t h e e v i l
counselor, ant All comprehensible mechanics of hlood-letting.
l a cHiwIalag some of Seneca*# plays# we f ind t h e i r
s t ruc tu re is tte® same* Seneca divides h la play® Into f i v e
Act 1 l a both r e t r o s p e c t i v e and anticipatory of t h e
catastrophes Act II a eta forth--- the p r inc ipa l character de-
vising means t o execute hie revenge? Act I I I bring* the
r i v a l s toge the r | Act IV la usual ly the sunt* t ion of events |
Aet V la gives over t o the completion of the catastrophe*5
^Harriofct H y Ffcnsler, The BvOXufclOB of technic in .isabefchsa Tragedy* pp« 4®-
I t Is immediately Obvious that Seneea i s provided the oppor-
t u a l t ; of narra t ing i M moralising | s the invariable use
of the chorus t o conclude the f i r s t a c t . In each ®f hie
t ragedies we are cognisant of his dramatic teehnlque**
long, rhe to r ica l speeches and auch epigrammatic a t lcho-
nyth la . This l lne-foxwline dialogue oocurs in the second
aet of each of hia tragedies* and i s aade tap of persuasive
conversation on the pari of the nurse, counselor, or servant
stoo attempts t o reason against the pr inc ipa l oharacfter*s
avenging an in just ice* ';;;Kire«^hfW2fe Seneca's t ragedies , t h e
des i re f o r revenge i s the only point about which a plot
may be woven# la 1hyeatea» At reus gains revenge a gainst
h is brother# Thyestes, f o r having usurped his kingdom and
de f i l ed b i s wife; in Hercules Pugeaa, Juno, a t t m p t i n g t o
s t r i k e ev i l against her brother , Jupiter* through his son,
Hercules, th rus t s the youth in to madness a f t e r he has
k i l led the t y r a n t , Lycue, and causes him t o k i l l h i s own
wife and children* In fhqbaiau as in Beroulec Parens *
we f ind a dei ty seeking revenge f o r the surdar of a favori te*
Apollo seeks revenge f o r I<aiu8, #10 i s saMsrM by Oedipus,
son of iLaius and Jocaata* In BlppoXitTai* because Hippolytus
preferred the service of chaste Diana t o a l i f e of adultery
with hia s tepmother , Phaedra to ld h is f a t h e r , Theseus,
that Hippolytus had committed f i l t h y ac t s with her. Thceeua,
fo i led in an attempt to have his son put t o death, appealed
t o Poseidcto, Ood of the aea, t o destroy Hippolytus, and the
5M the request* In Thyesfcea, Hippolytus, ttedeiu
I
/ kmmmmm* and Fqgsas* the atsnoepherc off aria* and
rsvengs 1® set forth la th* opining stonologtte** Seneca
aliens no device for oapfaaslslng a situation to escape hi».
Its c bared; rrs may 'b#ew erudite upon araasingly abort
notles. When Hedea ia to poison the bride of Jason* ftIX
tbe poison® known to mythology arc «masrftt*A* Although
•ueb lengthy emsBcratiens delay action and ipo saaevhat dis-
tract i»g for the reader, they irt found frequently in
Seneca's v@ptau In Oedipus* Tlreeias* unwilling to trust
his parsoiml taoiftedg® tho earns# eC ft great pestilence,
goes to the underworld to oonsult the wardered Mug Laina*
For drasiatie effect, S®«a©a parados *11 the parsonages of
Hades before Tiros ias is able to find Xing Laiua*5 this
r h e t o r i c a l H c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of 8«a#w tn oil bit
p l a y s * is Attributed to t h e s c h o o l s of r h e t o r i e w h i c h t a u g h t
d e c l a m a t i o n upon g i v e n s i t u a t i o n s i n lisa of c h a r a c t e r p o r -
t r a y a l *
T h i s h e i g h t e n e d s t y l e and d i s p l a y of t e c h n i q u e a p p e a l e d
t o t h e r c n a n t i o E l i s a b e t h a n age* S i n c e Seneca was t h e a o s t
a v a i l a b l e n o d a l , and s i n c e h i s p l a y s w e r e not composed f o r
t h e s t a g ® , t h e f a i n o f t b e f l o r i d speeches i s f m t A i n
flMktcry rather t h a n in c o n t e n t * 6
*Ibld.» 47-48. ' .
®A. D» 0 o d l e y # *Ser:ecan T r a g e d y ^ * i n S n g l l a h Altera-t u r e and t h e Ckialei.« e d i t e d ,%y 9. 3 * S o r a c u T p *
^ F e l i x 1* Schelling# B n g l t s h Dmrna.* p . 4&«
6
A rough division of the hi* tori* growth of K»glt»h
Sene** into the three 167Q*X£eo# X£80»X£&0, a ad
X690»X603f Is neo***ery for consideration of popu-
larity. la 1670-X660, * lull is Setteean lufXuenoe was tv&»
dent # and heeawae the uaiT*r*tti*» have Xeffc so reeords of
Senecan act ivitie* during the deoad®,* we are aXmost #nt treXy
dependent upon Xoet pXaya whieb are lie ted la the Revels
AmmmtSm 7 . Fwa X580-X690, there «nui a diatinet revival
of S«»inr inflame# as mad* apparent by Newton** Theoai*.
nfeleh la a translation of the whole of Seneea, and by
Sevton*s ooXXecti.a of earlier translation* into tha on*
mAwm, Seiaeea, Hi* Tan frujgeitle* Translated into Mmgl?mh*
in X68X« la tbe same year* WlXXlaa Oager bad a Senecan
tragedy, imlmmm* performed at Christ Churcfc* i Xb the
unlversit le« Senecan Influence was firmly established. The
•tudent* at $ray«» Ins produced a pureXy Seneoan tragedy,
ffaf? Mi*for»aB«* of Arthur, X687-X568*8 Xte i m of the pXaya
of Kyd# Karlowe, and Sbakeepeare, we find the most important
influence of Seneea during thia "deeadj&r rlyd1 a Sp*jriaji?'.%
fraaedx* X68«, merfce the peak of 3ene*an influene*. In the
years f«m 1690 to 1603, we are compelled to eacax»ine playe
wore closely to fiad Seneean tne«i» and aXtbough the writers
?H. R» Charlton* ffa* Seneoan Tradifc Im im mmi, ,**, m* & -flWPPwiPBW'Pfc ^nwppi^llfiawwwpwlinlplwpp 4Httt$||0||ii|£
famaedy* p. X48» 8ibuu, pp# X4&»X43*
of tha period osiid Sanaean aodala, tha plays h«T# ebangad
from gory tragadlaa of blood t o dlat inot tragadl#8 of ra -
IP W* ^
A <t is evasion at a t leas t two jwroly Sanaeftn Initatlona
I# iWoaaa&ry t o farfcisisy coBiprohaii# lois: of dii*#ei Sanaaan
tefltia®©#* Q»toodm«* wri t ten by fhoaas Sorton &M Tfeoman
StokvlHt* 1662* *aa tha aa r l i aa t Engllab tragedy with
dof lBl to Sanaean f c a t u M i the bloody tb«*a, tfa» divis ion
in to f i v a s e t s , tha me of tha qhorw, tha removal of action
from the spec ta to r s , and rbator ioal spaashss* Tha
par foraed b e f o n Quaan Kllsabstb at Whitehall on January 18,
1568, « u writ tan with a p o l i t i c a l ptupoaa. Tba authors
of sorbodae vara at r iv ing t o enphasisa tba infaer«»6 avlla
of a s t insettlad succession# Msg 0orfood«e dlvldad his
kingdom batwsen his two a ox*, Ferrax and Forrex, and t ha
dlsooird and eonaaqtumt avlla be fa l l i ng tba Joint ly ru l ing
gooa const itut e a tha®e wfclob la aoggast Iva of t ha Greek
atory o f t h a wars of t b a sons o f Oedipus «nd t b e destruc-
tion of ftaetwis^^Seneoa1* fbtteal# la Idant leal in plot
with Gorbodue. Sfeeoelea t a i Polyitioes sr® rlvalroua
brother® between whosi tha ktn®ftoia la dlvldad# Tha alder
brother la wardered by tha younger* tba »other wirders t b a
yoanger so»i and tha people, preoeding a i v l l a trife, murder
both tha f a t h a r and tha not bar*
9C. p . fucker f m * 19U192*
8
Several parallelisna found in QortoQ&uo and I® tragedies
of Seneaan authorship are worthy of mention* Vldena* la
Gorbcxluc, weighs the value of day and night t
fhe sliest night, that brlngea the quiet pa wee, Prcm palnefvOl t m n U e * of the wearie day, Prolonges rag etitftil iho«glite®# and w&km mm blame The' il«r Aurora, that eo for 1-m-e ©r #faa®e .Doth long €elay to ahewe her blushing faee,10 A M new the day resewes ay grlefoll plaint.
Oedipus* speech at the beginning of the tragedy of Oedipus
1* essentially the sanet
Mow night m s fled; awi with a waverier. g j m %twii the sunt all wrapped la sosiqp o1©wjI« His beams arise* a ad with their baleful light Shall soon look upon our atrleken hens#* And day reveal the haws of the night*11
In Oct a via, the first five lines erlglnat e the day end
nlgfbt dl s cues ions
Hov doth the flushing dawn fron heaven drive The wandering atarsf the son atounts Into eight With radiant beaut, ani brings the wsfM one® more The light of day.. % # then, ®y heavy soa& With grifwas mires ef erbtzrdened, am® *esune fix&'wm*m
la the dtaab show preceding let II of Sorboam* r@f«r©i»#
to the adasiatst©ring of poiece is as foUosst " ' »
After his eenmea a brave and lustle young gentle* mm and presentea the King with a evqp.§f golds filled with poyaon, vhleh the King aeeepted**®
^ Phecias Jtarton and Thaaas Saekvllle, &«fe€>dqa.» I, i,
1-6*
**kuelus Seneca, Oedipus, I, 1»5«
*80ctavla« X| 1»B* This anonymous play has frequently been stlsl^EIro to Senses.
is "~ boduc# Such Show, 6»0*
l a eplgwttwatie imm0 ftejmtm reaarioit
« • * f m • t i » i n cups of go ld t h a t p o i a o n l a r i m , 1 4
H e r e , I t I s in* c r e s t i n g t o so t a t h a t fete# a u t h o r s of 6mwdME
d e p a r t e d f r o ® t h e e s t a b l i s h e d e m t a n b y making t h e &ll®g©ri«
m ) . r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s p r e c e d e t b e v a r i o u s a e t a t o ea tp la ia t h e
s i g n l f i o a n e * of «aeh» « h « r M « Senee* u s e d t h e ©boms t o r e -
view e v e n t s a r t t o n f i t i e i p a t e t h e ea t a s t r 0 p t i « » I S Po®. | b «
J a k e af a t t a i n i n g h o r r o r t h r o u g h word o l e t & i o a * S « r t « »
and B&mk'wtXl® have Gorboduc dec l a im i n S e n e t a n s t y l e t
A - Whoa© vengeanee n e i t h e r Slmeie* sfcayaed i l i w i w , ir'' P lowing w i t h hlowd of f ro l&t i p r i n e e s s l a l n e # » * b
Seneea p r o d u c e s t h e s u a # ooXor In Agaat««nen*s s p e e e h t
Nor S lao!** waves empurpled w i t h t h e s l a i n « • • * 7
The words , " b l o o d " and "b loody* a r e r e c u r r e n t i n S e n e e a ' s
p l a y s , a n d Gorbodue i s f i l l e d w i t h I d e n t i c a l words t
1H
# # * h i s ora® « o » t b loudy band . • #
I n T h e b a i a . Oedipus s t en t ions b loody bauds l a one of h i s
e p e e e h e e t I n t o a y f a t h e a d a bed X b o r e «y bftnda Smeared w i t b a y f a t h e r 1 # blood# 1 .
4§3«*454#
1 6 J . W* C u n l i f f e , " I and Dtusfe Show.11 Pwfelioa.t l A s s o e i a t l o i i . I X l T I l W T T
; a l i e n Pr©t©fejp«a of t h e Masque >ns of t h e p» 156#
* H I , i ,, 3 - 5 .
* 7 S e n e o a , A«a»enmon. IX, 215 .
1 8QQrboa.ae. i i i # i , m .
"^Seneca , T h e b a l a , I , 267-268 .
10
Qorboduc ts equipped with a Seneean m m t of corresponding
characters# The three principal characters* GorbodutCj,
Psrrtnt* «»d PomMBc, are provided with geci «own»#3LaM* as.
well as a wicked parasite who nullifies sententious couiv-
, 20 sei*
Equally a® reminiscent of Seoeesn tragedies i« ffae
Misfortunes of Arthur, the body of which was written by
Thorns 1 1 5 8 7 , in collaboration with eeven other
nenbers of the Society cf 0»y*s Ism* The play is well
described as a paraphrasing of Seneca* s atleh€a»yt hia.2i
The Seneean &mt of 0«pl©is gloats w t r the reveagef the
dumb ehows foreshadow coming events* Arthur's son,
lordr«&, who was the result of an incestuous practice*
seduces teen Ouenevere. When the Qsseit hears of Arthurs
proposed return# her plant for eaaBltting caleldo are dis-
rupted* sad site flees to a muwtery* Mordred gathers large
forces to wage war agpinst Arthur# and iB the Bettls of
Corxmllj, only twenty of 180*000 men survive on each side*
Arthor slays Mordred and receives his own death wound*
This tragedy is more closely related to Seneca's
in dialogue concerning srlae* death, and revenge than to
any other of his plays. Seneca, in describing the extent
L» Lucas, og*. cit*, p* ©a
^Ibld*. p. lOt,
XI
of crlae puts the following words into Clyt amnesties
epeeoht
the only path that's safe for aria* Is ei*im©»S8
Haghee allow* Queen Oitemere to deelarei
Qb*1% no plagoe, and none will be tmrn^i* „ -*rs»g easae*. be reweng'd* but by e&oease#^
fti# i w sentlaest is expressed toy At reus la threat eai
So arlaa* § avenged eave by a greater erlna* 0jl Bat fiber© the erlnae that ©an sovpaea his deedaf36*
Atretxa extends his attitude toward crlaie la the following
speeeht
• . « but no end Is possible whso vengeanea through the crime
Za aought
Queen Guenevere strikes a similar tread of thought In her
llBeSS Wrong ©1mymm a me&ne* when first you of for wfgnge. the asstse- Is mine, when wrong is In revenge. ®
As an exsnple showing that death wee * positive good to
Seiteeam @t»wteters# we find ktrmm exclaiming t
In m$ doaaia, death is a longed-for bam#®*7
®%a»eea* XX 0 Hi*
*^RMMta Hughes, The Klafoitttpoe of Arthur. I, 11# 4<*»47.
^Senses, Threat ea, 11# 196-186.
8gIbld». V, 106S-10S7.
Misfortunes of Arthur* X# 11# S0»51« Mr Seneaa, ffarestes« IX* 249«
11a
G-mmmem hmmm® on Imitat ion of a Seneoart ohar&eter I«k
aaylsgt
Death im an end of peine, no pais# i t a e l f * 2 8
Of part icular intereat Is the atololam found In the Choroa
fol lowing &©t I I I of f fear eat eat
Him# who® the dawning tetuftds Impponi. estate* the aott lng s«n Sees ly ing In the dtaet*2*
An ident ical atoloal expreaaion la found 1» the epilogue
cf The If ig fortunes of Art hurl
HS»# whan tho morning found both a tout and atrong. The owning l e f t a l l groveling m the groom!*®®
Co&o«rnl»g royal power, lo rdro t f launt# Ma view* I s a
single ^9??
Wmkm la tho Scepter* a hold, that aookee hot r ight
At reus atatee the aane idea m followaf
When Kftngi are f orood to choose r ight alone, •
Their ro le la insects*©#sg
Fro® the foregoing paral lels tmM In tao direst la&*
tat ions of Saaooa, m are able t o aunnariae b r i e f l y Seneca*a
eontrlbt^fcion t o Bngliah tragedy* Of primary importance,
i he gave a pattern of eonetraction, *&• f ive-act d lv le ion,
^%fae Mia fortunes of Arthur* 1, t i i , 4S«
**Seneoa, Thyeatea* I T I , 618~614*
Misfortunes of ^Arthur, A l l ege# , 40*41* 5 1 I b l d , . I , ! • , 98# 5%eneoa, Threatee. I I , 214-216.
12
with comparatively l i t t l e action vgpori the sia?;« from only
two or three characters. The lack of action on the stage
served as a requisite for the messenger to report off*
stage action# Ills choms reviews previous Incidents and
predicts the outcome of sudi event®. Hissbet ban tragedy
takes over such stock characters as the ghost and the
goad and the evil ©€^®aloai|f:;^Sii»e»,e sensat lonal themes
authorised the penchant for bloody action#
Seneca es tabl ished the convestion for having the princi-
pal characters m#«t death nobly, and he set the precedent
far having the® meet death at the end of each tragedy*
f® find Barton and Sacfevill® and Bugles c losely pat-
terning the ir plays a f t er those of Seneeaf however, w#
find In l a t er Elizabethan dram several marked depart urea
from Seneca* Immediately noticeable i s the s h i f t of
interest from the coster confl ict t o tbe inner confl ict* mm
fwm incredible a troc i t ies t o tim emotions of the s&iid#
Whereas Seneca had no complexity ©C plot , English drsisatlst#
became renowned for plot continuity and for the expert
blending of aub~plofca. A' Seneca* a ghost invariably emitted
the cry for revenge, but i t m i not a participant In the
subsequent action of the tragedies*,^ In Elizabethan
tragedies of revsnge, the gfeoat i s no dranatlc piece of
machinery) it actually motivates the other characters and
®®Thorsas 1. Parrott awl Bobert H. Bal l , Ellsabethan SBSB# P* 40»
13
is a f i l ial part of the dramatis nQreoaae* l « £1mi a growing
sense f o r the need of actlost m t h e slag# t o s a t i s f y the
desanis of a r o n a t l e and m l i t t i e group of theat re-goers .
Tragedies of Seaeoa were a t the f i n g e r t i p s of such geniuses
as %d, MarXaee* end Btmkmpmmg ho®mm, t h e i r norta su*»
passed those of &eneea t o the extent that a zsoro appl icable
expression f o r the dramatists i s that they °out»Seiieea
Seneoa#*
CHAPTER I I
PROBLEMS OP CHRONOLOGY, SOURCES, AID AUTHORSHIP
lit t h i s chapter w i l l to® discussed t h e chronology of
the s ix plays of revenge under considerat ion with a de-
t a i l e d surrey of t h e i r sources . Addi t iona l ly , soiae prob-
lems of authorship of the doubt fu l plays w i l l be presented.
The f i r s t of these s i x t ragedies t o b® published was
The Spanish Tragedy* the e a r l i e s t extant quart© ©f which
bears the date 1594* The da te of entry lti t he S ta t ioners 1
Register# according t o Chambers, Is October 6, 1592, and
t h e play I s entered by Abell Jeff©a* with publ ishing r i g h t s
granted t o Edward White . 1 This quar to of 1594 i s in the
University Library a t Gottlngen* I second extant quar to ,
dated 1599, Is in t h e Earl of EHesmere*s Library at
Bridgewater House, and from t h e t i t l e - p a g e , we kno* t h e
quar to of 1599 Is "newly corrected and amended of such g
grosse f a u l t s a s passed In the f i r s t impression#* There
i s an undated quarto in t he Br i t i sh Museum, which was a
second edi t ion of a corrected and amended f i r s t impression.
Mr. Boas concludes tha t the f i r s t Impression, of which no
*R. K. Chsmbor", The Elizabethan Stage. Vol, IV, p . 585.
^Frederick S, Boas, edi t or , The Works of Thomas Ryda p . xx^ll*
14
i s
eopy i s extant, is either that licensed for the p m s t o
Abell Jfeffot on October 6, 1592, under the t i t l e of the
Spanish Tracedle of Son Herat io and Bslimloola. op a pi-
rat i@»l issued % Bftvaid White between October i
ftsi Deeemfce? IS of the same yeer. The copyright #f the
p i t ; reaalned in the poesession of Jeffes from the date of
entry in the Stationers1 Register unti l August 13* 1899*
alien he transferred hie right to B&ward White* who aoeord*
ingly printed en edition in that year* For Allde* Ihifc#1®
printer* to have printed an edit Ion between these dates
would have been an invasion of Jeffee* rights unless there m
were eoote very Irregular proceedings* A series of in-
ternal evidences suggests 1S8&»1587 as the period within
which the play was written* According to the allusions
in Act ¥ of The Spaniah f t t a l y t o Isglish victories i s
Spain and Fortu^l# the date would definitely preoede the
defeat of the Spanish Arnada, and Jonsoa*s words l i
wowld f ix the date at 1586*4
With the question of date# that of source is partly
Involved* Boas argues that Kyd took the pol i t ies! baefc*
ground of the tragedy fro* historical accounts of the war
between Spain aid Portugal in 18B0#* It i s unlikely that
a writer eould have invented a plot so nearly in conformity
*Ibld» * pp* «evii-*anriii» 4Ibld»« P* see*. sIbld» , pp. x a - x n t l .
16
to the S p« n la h-Portuguese struggles far auprerecy. The
framework for t he purely l&aglnary experiences of HleroBlaaft
earn© fro® a cm# lost work of fiction, or 1% was the produet
of Xyd'e iag@»iewi wind. w« have no definitive a octree for
The imatsto. t*t sheUftr the eottnse £ro» «t>i«b
tyft drew» he ameeeeded in producing the mmt popular of
Klisabcthari plays*
F«r fifty y#sre Jhg Spanish fr&ge&y maintained a popa-
ls rllf unrivaled toy that of any other play throughout
England a largo part of the European Continent, but
with the tyiwph of Purltaniea assd the closing of the
theatres 1b the middle of the seventeenth aentnyy, 1yd*#
fa®# m e totally eclipsed* When, la 1744# f-fa# Simaiafa
Tragedy « m terow#t anew before the reading w U , the
author* « mmm imd bun forgotten* however* Hawkins, ecsa®*
time h#for© 1775, found tbe following three line# Is
Haywood's Apologsr fop Act .out
»hyf S«po thought It no disparagement And Kings end Bttperonrs hmm> tane delight §
f© make ®3£p©rien©e of their wit# lis plalee*
Keywood names % d ae the author of the preceding l ines*
and enll^itena a world wbieh could easi ly fa&f© forgotten
the author of auoh a maetegpleoe elnee lyd'a name i s not
l i s t e d m the twelve eactant edit lone «f The Spanish Tragedy.7
@ fh«aa lyd , Th£ Spanish. 2ffiI#SSS' I v » *» 8 « 8 »
Prederlofc S» Boas, <&• c l t > , p« x l l i .
17
Thm iMond play la the chronology of the tragedlea of
r®ir#ng® muter diaeuaaion i s | h « | w Malta. eu te rM i s
th« m&ttrnmm* Segis ter lay 17* 1594, t o Hiehd&a* Lingo .
and Thoa»# Kil l iagton* The on-y ox ta i l e d i t i o n of t h e
tmge&y U thm quarto of 16S3, wbieh Tfaoiaaa Haywood d«di~
eated t o bis f r i e n d , Thooaa Sainaoiij however, i t i s poaaible
t o f i x t h e d a t e Of t h e play wi th in f a i r l y e loee l i a i t e #
ffe# a l l u s i o n i » t h e P r o l o g # t o t h e death of t he Quim
r e f u r s t o t he assass ina t ion of t h e t h i r d We« car Onto**
on DM«b«r 2S» 1688* Henalowe's Diary records a per -
f of J w «£ «® Febraary M t 1581* The
eonsensus f i x e s 1689 a s t h e approximate date* 8
t h e r e 1® »# doafot of Marlowe1® authorship of ^he Jew
J2H & H E $ b " w » # t h e q m r t o odf 1635 gifw® eirideiio® of i
Heyvood' a baud to several «««ms# and i a t h e Prologs* i s S
%il®gp*ii whieh contain analogies %@ fho Capt ives* The
present* of Heywood*s writing i n th i s quarto e s s to® under-*
stood eas i ly when we consider that the play, which survived
oaly i » the playhouse i a manuscript, could not have been
bailed dorss in th* exact worda of Mario** a f t e r a laps* af
more than forty yeara.
Harlow* drew his *bi«f soero®® f o r £gv jgjr Malta
frott books tha t h* had read* fhrowgb reeent research*
sueh c r i t i o a aa J* Kellner art 0. F. Tucker Prooike agree
Hi Frederick 8* Boa a , Christ opher • Marlowe. j>* It®,
18
that ttarloee mmh tvm Belieforeat1»
l¥6m©lle* ®M fr©® Lenleeme* Chronicore»» Loaleeraft
gives an eeeeui)* of Jwa Uleheeine* a Portuguese l«« f who -
flourished daring the middle of the ©trsfceeiith oenttsry.
After enduring pereeeutlon t» his own •omAs1?* i s Antwerp*
end la Venice, Mieheeloe took refuge with the Torlce In
Conetantneple* end there employed tils mmcm&om wealth m w
the -ultar. S e l l s t o the Aleadveistftge of the Christiana*
»h#n Si@iie»i» was s»de Suite &f I a * « and the Cyeledes*
he exehanged hie former Christian mm* for the Jewieh name
of Joeeph 8u«i« The h is tor ica l laasl was actually In
po l i t i ca l end financial relatione with the eourte of Franee #
and &ernany* tteaagh la ter tasssaaeked as the «m©«y of both*
There la a paral le l eituat Ion In The Sum of Salts wImph
Barebae le reviewing hla e v i l deedet Arid. In the wars twlxt Franee and Qmrmts$$ %der pretense of helping Charles the Fifth-X slew friend sad enemy with ay stratagem**® .
file third extant play wtaieh we ehe l l eonsider le
Soilman and i^eraedR. which ways 'entered on the Stationers*
Regieteg*» Koveaber 20, l § t t # by Edward Vhite* and printed
by Biward Allde* There are only two dated ecpies of the
tragedy, aid each bears the date,, X§0§* In the nrit ish
0 C« F# Tuok«r Brooke, editor* The Wprice of Christopher
«erlow<u p* 2SS. • 10Cbristophsr Marlowe, The 3m of l a l t e , I I , i l l , •
199-195* in The Worjca of Chrlgtc^heFm.rlc^e, edited by A* 1* Bullets*
19
Kuseun there i s a s ungated quarto bearing th« following
excerpt from It® t l t l e - p a get Thm/ Tragedy#/ of
and P.apseda/ wherein la laid® open* t^?#*g/
Fortuse* a lncon-/ etanoy. s a l Death's/
The t I t le-page la idertt l e a l with thoee of the l i f t qmr tca
with the exception of the omission of the date* Arguments
in favor of t h i s undated quarto feeing t h e ea r l i es t of those
extant Is that apart from two serious ndsprints which render
two passages un in te l l lg lb le* the quarto represents the
best text* In any ease# the entry la the Stationers*
l eg i s t er f ixes November, lS9i # as the downward M i f o r
the composition of the play#
3s<m«$ Sollaan ami i s l a a l l th ree
editions* there Is no external evidence t o Indicate I t s
authorf however# the re I s weighty evidence f o r a t t r i b u t i n g
i t t o Xyd» Of primary laporfcance i s the f a c t tha i t he
s tory of Soltman and Persian i s the subject of ftUorm&M**
pley within the play# U s Spanish Tragedy* Obviously, % i
introduced the story in to The Spanish Tragedy« an! My
have l a t e r elaborated I t in an independent work* Wot ton* a
Coortlie Cent rovers l e could have served as a s o u r e ^ s ince
the f i r s t t h ree acts of his ©lay and those of Soft tan and
ferseds a r e closely akin la a e t r i oa l charaoteri®tics » such
n Frede r iok S# Boas# editor# The Worles of f l » » Eld, P* ! • .
lo IbjjdU* p* Ivl#
20
as the frequency of double endings and the proportional
\m% of blank verse to rhyxae* At times* the exact
phraseology of Wot1011*0 novel is borrowed***' The simi-
l ar i t i e s of t eohnique between S ol lean and Pernoda and The
Spanish Tragedy, the repetition of the orgy, of bloodshed
Tstiieh ends each g|ay# safl the use of re l i e f
vith toe graver iesuee of each play are not def in i t ive
evidences of Iyd*a atathorehipj yet we way conolude that
Kyd wkI® Sollaan aM Parsed*. or one of his diaoiples
Imitated s them© already handled on the stag# by Kyd* A
brief suanary of Kyd'e play*withi»»t he-play wi l l serve ae
conclusive mMmmm that the independent work of Soltaaa
and Farae&a found i t s aourca within The Spanish frtised.:?*
Hiercnlao* devtalmg a play whereby Lareziso* Balthazar#
and Belinperia are to sieet death tinder color of atage
business, give* the argument that a Knigat of Rhodes,
Eraotua, was tetrothed and wed to Parsed** an Italia a
gir l whoso beauty captivated everyone who looked upon her#
Soliimn, the Turkish Emperor, waa an honored guest at the
wedding feaat of Pereeda and Erast'os, and he strove i s
vain to Hake Perseda ewitoh her affections to hiau Solisan
then ordered traat'as, death by fa l se ly accusing it Ik of
treason, net death at Pere eda1 a toaniI# and in the conclusion
of the play-withi»»t he-play, Pere eda stabs herself to
21
escape the wrath of $ oilman's successor* Sollnan arid
Ferseda depart* bat little fn b Xyd#s draraat le play-wlthia-
the-play* and In a lntbp chapter these departures will be .
shewn*
The fourth play In chronological sequence, Titus
wm entered in the St «t losers* legist«p
February 6, 1594* by Banter* to be published the same year
by Bfiward White and Thomas Mlllngfttm# ^ Chambers eon-
cltide* that f i t us Andronions nay be ascribed to the pen
of Williaa Shakespeare fro® the available external evidence.
The title-pages of the 1594 and the 1800 edit low of Tltna
contain lists of the companies by when the play
was perf earned. The entries in Hsralowe** Msanr are almost
identioal and suggest that the extant t«t£ data# fro® ths
beginning of 16®4# and that it represents a revision of
Titus and Tessas laa which ma produced in the spring of
1592. Since H«nsloes treats the play as nm, ths rwrtsltn
anst law bsen srobstant la X# An allusion by Ben Jons on in >
Fartholome^ Fair nskts it possible that ths 1592 version lis
was a revision of some earlier work.** Tltns An&pottlsas
was listed in Meres* Palladia Tfeala is 1&98, and it was
ineludad in the First Polio edited by K«singes and COBdelX
in 1628* Chambers disregards the views of Ravenacroft,
£• Chambers, P» 305.
Ml. X* Chambers, Btaalrsagaaret A Survey* p* 34#
22
who f e l t that Shakespeare was a r ev i se r of the play and
gave only a f m aas te r t ouches t o one or two of the p r inc i -
pal cbaract ere and mmmm* J* M. Robert a on*# views that
f i t tig A a i r enigma m a the collaborat ive e f f o r t s of Feele, If!
Marlowe* Kyd, and Greene, receive very l i t t l e considers- •
t i o n free; Chamber#, Who prefer# t o use the pa ra l l e l s of
TItp* Andronlcvm and others of Shakespeare*# undisputed
play# a# conducive evidence of his or iginal authorship#
Chambers acknowledges that Titus Androgiieus was one of
Shakespeare*s ea r l i es t work#, and he attempts t o appease •
dissent les t s who re fuse to recognise Shakespeare's 11 sweet
loans hand* In such a bloo4- curdling tragedy, by cent ending
that portion# of Shakespeare1# ea j ly s t y l e passed away,
and that when Shakespeare reproduced, consciously or u&.
consciously, the s t y l e of h i s predecessors, he xaaintalned
a persanent s ty le d i s t i n c t l y recognizable in h i s ensuing l1? s . -works# a bri«tf restwte of Ovid*s s tory of Philossela l a
his Metamorphoses wi l l shoe that Shakespeare, portraying •
the handles#, t ongaeleas Lavinia, consciously reproduced
an episode fro® Ovid* Procne and Philomela, daughter# of
Pandlon, Joined forces to seewr# revenge against Tereus,
Procne*e husband, who had ravished Philomela, out out her
tongue, and iaprisoned her# Philomela was able t o weave
**•%. M« Robertson, An Introdugtion t o the Study of the Shakespeare Cmon, p» 91.
i7K« £• Chaaher#, The gtt&afeefefaaii Vo3L» Iff pp# 5ift45I7»
M
her story on & loam, and both she and Proone killed Itys,
son of Tereias and Proone* Later, the two women Quartered
III# child's body and served it to Torsos, who tanwittingly
thought he wn« celebrating & wedding feast* Sbakespssre
drew the episode of the banquet ©f htsnan flesh tvcm Setieoa
also# lis Tterestes, we find the play rising to e gwnst
finale is a banquet at whish Thy eat as is served the flesh
of his sons beoeus* of the hatred of hie brother At reus*
Ib Tltf And rontons. ?awona is lured to a Thyestean
quet that she » | feed wpm hew mii sons to satisfy the
desire for vengeaase on the part of Titus*
Shakespeare's Hwflsft was eat®r«d «® the Stationers*
Begister J«ly 86* 1608, to publishers Kioholas Mn§ a ad
Jdbjs Trundle, Its date of prist is 160S# and the title-
page of Quarto 1 contains The Tragical listori# of Basdet,
.Prinoe of Dmaasfc* By Wllllsa Shakespeare** There is little
evidence for the mmcit date of Baalett however* Cbaabere
fixes the date between 1©00 and 1601 because it brings the
tragody near Jtiliua Caesar aa a c<wpanioo st|»fty of tvagle
idealism* Chaabera concludes that tarri© t substantially
reprtsonts lb® original tact of the play, and that Folio I
aiid 4«afvo 1 are based upon derivatives fro® Quarto 2.
From external evldenee found i» Haeh*s prefatory epistle
3,8Ovid. KetadaerDhoses. Bodk VI.. translated tar Frank ?» Millar#
M
to mutmmhm* In which be makee tyd the viefeim of immttim,
It is concluded that Kyd waa the author of the Xoat plSfp
the tftvffaialet* and from the internal miSmma gleaned
from eenpar&ag fht Spaatah Twigrtfar. and Seneean w®f%a# w#
foal, that the lost play eont&lnlng the Haa&et atory, with
whiofe Sliakaspaar# TOdotsbtodl^ was acquaint ®d, waa of Ryd*»
eoaipoei t ion, Orlglna of the Hamlet atevy « 7 b« found in
3axe Omant levaf Hlatorlae Danioae* printed la 15X4, and
in Belleforeat*e Hlatolrae fragidmaa, IS?## low mny of
the dlverg«»e«a of the Hamlet atory fron Belief®r#8t ant
due to the iftr-IUaalefe* and how nan? ara due to Shakeepeare 1®
ara matters fw eenjjwtura.* fti® Haalet-etory, aa trass-
latad by Belieforest in his Klatolraa Tragtgaea twm the
Latin of ftaxo Ommmtlmm, ia a primitive tala of blood,
laat, a m rewt®e» It aartiriio#® the aarrlaga of Rorr*en-
dtlla with Garutha, and the birth of thair eon, Aalath*
f mgm murder® hi* brother, Horvvendille* asd warriea
Gerothe, whom ha ted prmlmmlj aeiiioed., kmlmth asaumee
mdm&3 to gain tin© to work ©at m plan of rswaga m him
as©X#» i»tenrl«sf« his wether in a oloaet, aurdara an oaves-
dropper, and is ##»t by fosgon to Bngland with m m m % In-*
at ructions for hia execution Aaleth diaoover* tha plot
agaiaet hia life, retarna to Snglaad, executee hia IS E» K* Chambers, Wtlllaat Shakespeare! 4 Study o£
I&etg and Problceiis* pp. 412-424.
m
long-dalayad vaagaanea* assents tha fiattlah throna# md.
tlmllf a t d a e t f a at flit hands of bis Httarnal uaela* fO
Wlglara* Thara a ra s t r i k ing raaarablancaa of dxvmfei©
tatfeslQist batwaaa Baalat» a® m i t * and fb® fgafsa&fs hovarar, % data11ad study <rf tha ia tarralat icm*
of tha s ix txagadlaa of ravanga w i l l to# dafarrad t o a
l a t e r poal t loo l a t h i s thaala*
la 4i#«HMlsig tha authent ic i ty «P ££$, f l r a t f a r t
vfalah la t he l aa t of the revaaga' plsya anda?
consideration* I t la neaeaaary t o mention tha t Heaelova
haa rvwtfdtd twenty-three perfocnaaaeee of t h e play l a hla
M&m f T m February 35* 1891, t o January 2t # 1698* Lord
St range* • a»a were performing tha play* an t l t l ad "fhe
e«»®d«y of Dose Qraeio* or "The Coraodey of Xermlma,9 in
almost t vep j eas t , a Say or two before a perfomanc® of
Tha S^anlah Tragedy. *«tura l ly , we l a f e r that tba erftrlee
provided evtdanea of a humorous foro-pieoe wri t ten by Kyd
aa an iatro&tiotioa t o Tba Spaitlafa. $SSS&» w # have reaaon
t o doubt that t h e fore-pleaa survived, aiwo# Benalowe
stakes no f u r t h e r »ent ion of I t a f t e r Jaae 20* 1592* During
1597, th# play gained l a popularity* amt records of th# play
revaal only tba t l t l a "Xeroniao*" In 1605* Tha Flrgt Part
of Iaraaimo ia l i s t e d l a tha Stattoaera* Register t o ba
SQPred©riek S. Boas, o&» Ml,*,# P« *lvt«
26
publ ished by Thomas Pavle r . This quarto of 1606, because
of weighty I n t e r n a l evidence, ta assumed t o be t h e work
of an anonymous playwright who took advantage of the r e -
v iva l of popularity of The Span tab Tragedy in 1602, and
Manufactured t h i s crude melodrama t o dupe theatre-goer* f o r 22
personal gains . In The Spanish Tragedy i t s e l f , there
a r e s e v e r a l a l l u s i o n s whiob seem t o assume a knowledge in
the audience of events prior t o the opening of the ac t ion .
These a l l u s i o n s r e l a t e c h i e f l y t o t h e s e c r e t love of Andrea
and Bel- l raper ia , and t h e Duke of C a s t i l e * s wrath at i t s
discovery* Kyd*s induction t o The Spanish Tragedy, 'con-
s i s t i n g of d ia logue between the Ghost of Andrea and
levenge , urjquesfe ionably served as t he source f o r t h e p lot
of The F irst Par t of l e ron iao . ^ The fac ta considered above i nd i ca t e t h a t during t h e
period 1586-»160l>, the tragedies of revenge, stemming from
Senecan works, were popularised. There i s much evidence
of d u p l i c a t i o n in the s i x t r a g e d i e s of revenge , and wi th
a knowledge of t h e chronology, sources , and authorsh ips*
we a r e bet ter equipped t o a t t e a p t t o r e v e a l the I n t e r -
r e l a t i o n s h i p s of the t r a g e d i e s .
^ •Freder ick S. Boas, e d i t o r , The Works of Thomas Ksd« PP« 3DOtiJS>3CllV* ' '
CHAFTKR I I I
iw»aREUT io j « i i i PS op s i x op s m m m
ffem purpoae of t h i s ehap te r i s t o detmrmim t h e extent
o f uaage o f t h e Seneoan meaner fey shoe ing s t r i k i n g ressn»
blanoes and i n t e r e s t i n g comparisons w i t h i n s i x t n g p d U t
o f revenge. I t l a neeessory t o atasnarise b r i e f l y t h s
p l o t a o f t h « p lays under oons lderat *«*«i I n m & m t h a t ws
may c l e a r l y a *« how t h e drsoas m e r i t t h « t i t l e ©f revenge
plays,. Opening l a or thodox Seneoan f a s h i o n w i t h t h « s p -
p a r l t l o n o f Andrea 's ghost* aooorapenied by Revenge, t h e
Spanish t r a g e d y progresses imp i d l y t ferot t^ t a s e r i e s of
episodes l a whloh w# see how Ha l tbasar * d a r i n g h i s e«pt i v l t y
a t lis# Spanish ©©art , f l a i l s l a l o t ® w i t h Loreaso* s a l a t e r #
Pel~lng>erla, and how she spurns h l a l o v « and t r a n s f e r s her
a f f e o t l o o s t o H e r a t l o , I n a l l l a nee w i t h whoa she hopee t o
avenge Andrea1a death* loremso f a v o r s Ba l thasar *a s a l t
and l a r e s o l v e d t o f u r t h e r I t a t a l l ha sards* % employs
Pedrlngpmo t o spy upon h i s s l a t e r a i d her l o v e r . H o r a t i o
l a f e i sed , hanged on a t r e e and atahhed b e f o r e B e l - l i a p e r t a ^
eyes# K©r f r a n t i c e r i e s f o r he lp as the v i l l a i n s whlslc
her away arouse H ie ron lmo, who rushes t o t h e bower t o f i n d
h l a son shamefu l l y murdered. Be dedloatea h l a l i f e t o r e -
venge* but reao lvea t o d i e s s a b l e h l a g r i e f u n t i l he has
found t h e smrderera*
27
f \ '
Cl ^ B e l - t a p e r i a contrlv©® t o send Hiep«nlsfO a l e t t e r wri t*
t e n t U h her a»n blood, d i s c l o s i n g t h e aeeasslns* mass#
Hieronlmo, fwir ing t r i c k e r y , inquires about Bel-istgir ia
a id arowaea t h e suspicions of Lorenso, who contrive a tfeat
Pedrlngano ateuall s l ay Serber lne , eaa« of t h e aeecatpllee*,
aM s h a l l f a l l i n t o the hanfts of the «at«ti# A f t e r Pedrlngano
faM. been eaMeutcd* there 1a foaafi upon hie body a l e t t e r
from which filer ontac learns tha t Lorenso and Bal thassr '
a r e , without donbt» gu i l ty of Horat io*s death, t h i s d i s -
co* «ry plnnges ii$» in to f r ens l ed a g i t at ion bordering on
raadress* Ke la a l a o s t he lp less In secur ing revenue age Inst
such highly-placed offender** He a f f e c t a a fe igned recon-
c i l i a t i o n with Lcrenso t o disarm suspicion before h« s t r i k e s
hla grand bloe* % arranges a dramatlo erfc ertalnment on
the t r a g i c subject of Sollsaaii tad Parsed** and ao appor-
t i ons t he par te that he can s t ab Balthaaar t o death* Bel-
taperla s tabs Lorenso and then k i l l s herse l f* SlerenSao
explains t o t h e Lor ra r - s t r l cken audience t h a t they feat#
witnessed a r e a l t ragedy, and to b i t e# tot h ie tongue t o
vef ra ln from making a f u l l e r confession* With a penknife ,
he s t abs Lorenxo1 s innocent f a t h e r , and f i n a l l y crcwns the
heap of bodies with h i s own body* In t h e $pllogue* t h e
ghoet of Andrea deelaree h i a s e l f appeased, and l i f t s t h e
cu r t a in of the f u t u r e t o reveal hia f r l endsas ids t heavenly
b l l aa end hia ensniee aa ida t endless su f fe r ing*
m
%u&Xly as blood-curdling a plot Is that of it second
revenge play# Ti tos Andronlom* • lefewrnlog vietoriot ialy
frcsi th# Oct hie vara 9 T i tus Andronlcus brings aa capt Ives,
Taaora# <4ueen of the Goths, and her t h r ee sons* Ti tus l a
o f f e r ad the « r « n # but he r e fuses i t and accept a B&tmenlnm*
proposal t o w*k* JA<WIW&A the Eaprasa* BMMIAMK , younger
brother car the Bapcsror, la In love with I*avinia and abducts
her t o prevent tha mrr lage* Ti tus murders one of hia a m
tons who blocks hia pursui t of La virile. T«®Q» f inds favor
in tha eyes of t h a Saperor# »M t o avenge the death of he*
8 (» | influences Saturrtinue t o a f f e c t a r econc i l i a t ion si t h
f i t as and h i s sons*
Aaron* t h e Hoorieh lover of Taaaora, i nc i t e s I ' s aom ' s
sons, Demetrius and Chiron* t o ravish Laviwia and t o l a -
aura bar a l ienee by t ea r ing out her tongue and cu t t ing
off her hands* Demetriaa and Chiron s lay Bassiams^ s a t i s f y
t h e i r lus t fear Lavlnia» and pervert t h e evidence so tha t
Titus* sons , Hartiua and Quijitue, a r e accused of the
murder of Baeslaaus. Aero® d e c e i t f u l l y brings T i tus word
that his sons wi l l be f r eed i f he w i l l chop off one of h i s
hands and send i t as evidence of h i s good f a i t h * Ti tus
s a c r i f i c e s m i <©f his hands t o tha Efepflpor, but i t is
scornfu l ly returned with t h e heads of h is two sons* Despite
Lavin i s ' s xsratllatlon* she holds a s t i c k in her nouth, and
wri tes in t h e sand the names of her offenders* Meanwhile,
Tamors glvea b i r th t o Aaron*a oh l i d , and a white baby la
m
subs t i t u t ed so tha t Saturninus w i l l be it on* the wit er# ' f i t us
arranges a Ttoyesteati saaqtiet # before which he s lays
Dsaetrius and % i r o n , a l i o n Lavinla t o oat eh the blood
by holding a ba*in betwoen her two stumps, carves the
bodies , and serves t b s a t o Taaora* Ti tus slays Lavinia
t o w«t her stews, and then stubs faaera# Saturninus k i l l s
T i t u s , and T i tus ' son, Luolus, k i l l s Saturninus* Lucius
i s proclaimed the r i g h t f u l Unperor, and Aaron i s condemned
t o death by tor ture*
Following t h e Seneoan nodal l e s s c l o se ly , yet worthy
of p r a i s e m» a t h i r d revonge play is The Jew of Malta with
i t s Machiavellian s e t t i n g . ?e l e a r n tha t the a f t e r a a t h
of wars between the ma of Balta and the men of Turkey
is ha t red , & having t o fu rn i sh much of t he t r i b u t e s de-
manded by Turkish o f f i c i a l s , Barab&s i s dispossessed and
swears vengeance against a l l Chr i s t i ans , He takes p r ide
in count less e v i l deeds, soae of which consis t of provok-
ing £ a t h l a s , Abigail1 s l ove r , and Lodowick, t h e Governor's
son , t o duel t o death* "erabas fo rces h i s daugbt©r t o
en te r t h e convent under f a l s e p re tenses , so t h a t she rmj
f ind bags of gold which a r e hidden under planks in the
house* *h«D Abigail i s re leased fro® t h e convent, a f t e r
having been instrumental In r e s t o r i n g t h e wealth of Barabas,
she soon r e a l i s e s h i s ru th lees p o l i c i e s , and denounces hi* . ,
She e s t e r s the eonveret a g a i n , not t o serve her f a t h e r , btfc
t o eeeepe hi*# Barabas and h i s acecnpl loe , I thaaore , send
51
it poisoned pot of porridge t o the convent, and a l l the nune
and oven Abigai l , h i s own daught*r, meet deoth. Abigai l ,
before her <i#sih, had disclosed t o r r i a r Beri®«ti»s a l l t he
d e t a i l s of fee r father* s In iqui t ies# *$hen the Jew real i s es
that hie secre te ere known, he s t rangles F r i a r Fernadine
and places the blarae on ? r l a r Jaoomo, who pays the penalty
fo r an iwstglned cri»e« Ithamore, a f t e r a drinking bout
with rel lasi i ra and F i l i a -Poraa , betrays t h e Jew, and t h e •
two cowtesans d isc lose Paraba#1 crimes t o t h e Governor
before they a re k i l l e d by odors frose poisoned flowers wtiieh
Parahas d i s play a before them# He fe igns death so tha t he
nay be f r e e t o cause wore evil* When Selim Calymath r e -
t o co l lec t the % l t « © t ribtxt e , Rambas arranges with
Fernese, the Governor of Kel ts , t o allow him t o weleoae
the Turkish so ld iers t o a f e a s t i n a monastery •which has
feeea mIned with explosives# S e l l s Calyssath ia t o weet h i s
doom *?h®8 Femese pu l l s a cord t o open a t rap-door in t h e
ci tadel* Fernese not ices that treacherous B a r a bas i s
standing d i r e c t l y surer t h e t rap-door , and when the cord li
re leased, Barab&s f a l l s in to a bo i l ing cauldron. Although
Selim* s l i f e was saved, his so ld ie r s were massacred by
the esqplosloe, and Fernese holds Selim pr i soner , while
he. boasts tha t oceans can he drunk dry before Malta ©an be
eonqttered*
SI
'h' The fourth tragedy of revenue under consideration i s > w
y Basil e t , whieh Is-saad© up of the desire for ooa the
part of a sen f o r Ills father* Samlet i s ©tiled from h i s
studies at Wittenberg t o 1&einore by news of h is father's
death* His sOTvm is deepened by bis taother's basty war- •
rlage t o Claudiua, the elder Baal et •» brother. Hamlet1 a
lover» Ophelia* reject* hia sui t at the Insist once of
Polonius* her father# l an l e t enoount era the ^toat of hia
father* *fc>o urges hist t o avenge hia foul and moat unnatural
death. Ha»l at feigns madness t o a l lay suspicions* and
plana to present a play before Claudius whieh contain# epi-
sode# that ©losf&y resemble t he actual k i l l i n g of h i s
father* With the presentation of the play, Hamlet i s con-
vinced of . Claudius* g u i l t ; however, rather than take chances
on aendlng Claudius* soul t o heaven by k i l l i n g hi® as he
prays, Hamlet waits fosr a store opportune moment. After
Hamlet k i l l s Feloulm by mistake, h® Xm sent t o England
aM i s aeec®p«aiffd by tire of the King*a spies, , who posses#
a l e t t e r de*nandlng Hamlet * a execution i*pon arrival in
England* Esaelet escape© aboard a p i r a t e vessel and returns
t o Densiaric t o find Ophelia Insane because of her father1 a
death* She drowns, and at her grave, Baralet and Laertes,
Opheliafs brother* quarrel a® t o which ttrse loved tier the
most* Claudius turns Laertes1 wrath against Hew 1s t , and
the two plot t o k i l l him with a poisoned f o i l . In a friendly
contest before the court* Laertes wounds Basilst with the
poisoned rapier* and in the s o u f f l e they exchange weapons,
which ensbles Hanlet t o wmM l a e r t e s fa ta l ly* tya»«B
Gertrude drinks a poisoned glass of wine whleh Claudius
had prepared f a r Hamlet* Before Gertrude a i l Laertes
d i e , they rsvsal the villainies of Claudius, whom Hamlet
s tabs to dsath* Thou he wrasts the poisoned otip fro® his
best f r i e n d , and b®&3 Horatio t o 11 vs t o @1 ear hla mtiae*
Aa Bea&let d ies , English asbassadors report the saeeout Ion
of Boeentrants and Chilldenstern, and Fortlnbras ar r ives
t o elalm the kln^Sosa and res tore order*
Although Soliaan mad Peraoda Is an anonynous pl&f,
there Is no doubt of I t s o laaa l f loa t len as a revenge
play. I t opens with the arguing of Love, Fortune, etui
X>eath a# t© which efearaoter has more prominence In t h e
t r ag lo stosry* t r a s tu s «sft Ferseda swear f i d e l i t y t o saoh
other by exchanging a r ing a ad a chat a# In a t i l t i n g
tournament TSmatm wins honors tout loses h i s ehsln«
Ferdimado f l a t s t he s te la* wfetoh ha presents t o h i s lovar ,
Lueiissft Fersoda thinks I ras tus u n f a i t h f u l , and in t rylng
t o rosover the ©bat® fro® Lueina in a d lee gwt»# Erestus
confronts Ferdinands, Is aooused of s t e a l i n g , and k i l l s
Ferdinand0« Rrastws la forced t o f l e e t o turkey t o ®soapt
%b® governor* a wrath.. In the meant toe, we are introdueed
t o S o l i * ® , Bnperor of Turkey, who i s determined t o ooatmer
Rhodes* B#««se tearath thinks Baleh gave murls# ®mm«&
t o Soliaan, he s tabs h i s brother, sol loan, in t u rn , J i l l s
Mmamth f u r having taken Heleb's l l fo* Erastus f inds
M
iTM«Al*t* f a w In Sol loan1 a ©yea beeauaa Bras or bs« praiaed
Braatus t i i# i ly Sraatms swceaaaftilly avert#
being appointed a. general of the f w k f i l i « w f t o awtojmgate
Hhodea* feat Brstaor s a ! h i s aoldiera ait&efe: Itiodea* k i l l
Phyllppo awl Cipria# and ©aptivata Guelpio* lttli®# Baa i l i seo ,
Fmadft* a»d Lueias. Gtealpio aid M i # ar t atabbad bm&m®
they rmtmm to dai^r Chrlat, ftaalllaeo t tints Turk, bt* re»
t « m t o Chrletendam, f o r leva of Persada* end f i n a l l y sieefc®
death at tba feanda of Solinaa« Soliaan favors and
Brsrtier favojpa Luolmi however, Irasfens I s a e s w d «ff treason
and i s strangled t o death, FwrstOa, m t l s g revenge f « r
Brastua* death, k i l l s te@i» boeauaa she baa aided Brosor
and Sol 1msn in t h e i r plane t o win Peyseda10 I w # f o r Sollsian.
P©rseda, disguised in nan's apparel* raaets Soliraan i a
• Ing le oaabat and la s l a i n . Soliaan ssteets death because
of a poisoned Wtea wtelefe P«rssd& gave fete# *ha f3*y ends
with Death possessing the most iapertant ®f t h e tragedy.
The l a s t of t h e tragedies of revenge under eeosid ora-
t i o n ia a l i o «nony8Cns« and eot&aine only threa a eta* Jfeg
Firs t Fart of Xaronimo ia th* s t o i f of revenge sought by aeaGiwRABCWfli* ^pwSHmwi**
bmmm® h# was Ignored i a the appet i s ing of *a ***
basaador t o forfemgtil# Andrea was aalaotad t o e o l l e e t
Spain*a t r i b u t e from Portugal, and Lorenso plana with
Lazaretto, a discontented court ier , t o k i l l Andrea,
Bti-ll^srS*1'® l evor , upon bia return# Andrea, i its toad of
peaceful ly c o l l e c t i n g tba t r i b u t e , inoi tea tba Portuguese
m
t o war* 2*orense urges Aloarlo, sen ©f B«k© Heilim* to d i s -
guise hiasel f as A n i r * , and wad Belllwperia. Lasarotto
k i l l s Alearlo when be mistakes him f o r A ndn»t Horatio
does no* r e a l i s e that 1% 1« not Andrea who 1® s la in* and
dedleates h i s l i f e to revenge. When t h e Spaniard* and
Portuguese f ight* Andrea la kllXt«t* Horatio take* up
Andres's f ight with Prince Bal theser , and nakes hla hie
prisoner* Lorenzo seises Saltheser*e weapon and a l so
eiaiia# him as M i prisoner* ens# Intends t© shoos©
fo r hie s i s t e r & second love* who wi l l be Baltheser* The
ghost re turns t o Boratlo as assuranee that Andrea's death
Is avenged, and Spain1» vietory la assured* Horatio**
diminutive fa ther* Ieronlao* highly praises his ©on fo r
his valoroos deeds*
Frost t h e foregoing a traceries of s i x of the t ragedies
of f t m p t we haw a gllisps© of the interdependenee of
the a s h o r e * I propose t o analyse In d e t a i l the eloeely
re la ted plays and fcrlng t o l igb t analogies and comparisons
wfeleh wi l l serve t o ©assent t he tragedies of revenge t o mm
another and t o Smemn origins*
Xasedlately obvious Is the faot t h a t a l l the revenge
plays contain p a r a l l e l orgies of bloodshed* ft*® Fi rs t
Part of lerenlno. i s camperleon with so gory a tragedy as
The Spanish Twnaeedr. h m m m f a r e i e a l in nature? however,
there a w euf f l e i en t swotink's of bloodshed wrought by the
desires of rev©Bg©~s««kers 1® The F i r s t Part t o warrant
*6
I t s being l inked with Seneean t ragedies# l a aa ro t t o mis-
takes Alea r lo few Andrea and k i l l s hlmf Lorenao k i l l s
Bon Pedroj Alexandro k i l l # Rogeroj t h e Portuguese Soldier*
k i l l Andrea* In only t h r e e a c t a , t h e anonynoua playwright
of t h e baa t i ls principal figure* t o meet death* •
and hi® vocabulary of such word* a s "blood," "bloody a t reawee ,"
and "oriaaon r i v e r s * is used more axt ana ive ly than aueh
word# a re wed i n f h g Spanish Tm&$w* shieh haa stt«h
scenes of blood-letting t ha t refer ernes t o s i n g u l a r words
of blood a r e mmeoesaary. ( In The Spanish ^raaedy the re
a r e f i v e Koritaev* two execut ions , and one death front dwel-
lug. Serf episodes which auggeet l u s t a f t e r Ms® h o r r i b l e
a r e inae r t ed near t h e end of t h e t r agedy . Bleronimo b i t e a
of f hia tongne a ad murders an innocent a* a. In t h i a
tragedy t h e Qfcost of Andrea prolongs a net © of aamgery
i n sayings
• . • though death hath end t h e i r » l a e r i e .
H e the re begin t h e i r endless Tregsdle**
l a t h e eonelttSiOKt of Tb£ >1*** Fart leronlmo* the Oh oat
of Antrea appears t o a s s ore S o r a t i o tha t he ia a bmppy
ghost and t h a t h ia death tea been avenged*
Andgoftlew exceeds the e t h e r f i v e t a g e d i e a of
revenge 1® bloodshed, t h e r e a r e f i f t e e n exeotstiona and
murders; Lavinia ia dishonored, hear tongue is out out* and
her banda a r e aevaredf T i t u s a a e r i f i o e a one of hia hands
^Thomas Kyd* The Span!ah t ragedy* IVf • . 47*49, in t h e «orks o£ T h f f a a l f a l * S f c l t a f c tarFridegfek ft, Boas.
57
t® redMn the live* of his eons* whooe deaapitst ed head*
are thrown At his tm%$ be s l i t s the throat a of Lavinia's
revlshere, while she hold* a has In to eat oh their blood f
and the atrocities reach the aenith when at a banquet*
f«@da upon be? own seme* .j
- ^ % o » highly p o s h e d than ™»1 »«M» Is
Hamlet« containing nine nurder* and death* brougjbt about
by stabbing a ad poisoning, &®f©re xaeeting his mm death
from an en v® nosed award, Baalst slays Polonttas, I*a#rt«s#
art ling Claudius » who In turn has nurd ©red the elder
Hamlet and ttartmde* In i&ft&gl&g s « « ord«« of execu-
tion, Hasiiat S@§@tier&»ts and Guildeastern to death*
Qjihalia'e death by diwalng was the result of insanity#
Eaalet i s developed into a couples dramatic atpucfture
interestingly analogous t o The 3pani*h EOUStti*
parallel* will be revealed iaa later portion of thia
chapter*
Marlowe, in Tbf. £2SL J2£ Malta, i* not le*a capable
than any other author of the revenge plays wider considera-
tion, In presenting cutragecua and gory episodes to be
woven a* thread into his basic plot of revenge* Harlot#
give* seven known nurders i s the tragedy and l i s t* count*
leae other*. Barebaa provokes a duel to death between
Mat bias and Ladowiek, poison* Abig*il, Ithaaiore, Pilia^
Boraa, and Bellamira, strangles Friar BewwidlmM aid
arrangea for the death* of a l l the nttna in Bernardino**
86'
C o n v e n t , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e d e a t h s o f t h o e e s o l d i e r s v h o
a e c a s p a o l e d Selim fialynatfa t o M a l t a * £%rabas I s si 1«*«6
t o a o m i t a l l t h m m a t r o c i t i e s b e f o r e I t # totasM a v i c t i m
o f h i s mm p l o t t i n g by f a l l i n g I n t o a b o i l i n g eatildron
mileb h® bad lut ms&v& &eli»#s segmleher*
Bated Mart to flt«s Aadronlaus In naserlaal order of
deaths Is tba play* jkHlani and Peraeda. with
thirteen uwrdare* Erastus' is f©«j@a to kill Fernando la
•order to retrieve his love chain given bjr Persadaf AafunAb
kills bis brofc her, irnleb, and Sol loan begins bis wholesale
slaughter with the dssth cf his brother, Aararsth. At tha
bands of SoXimeii* Fbyllppo, Cipris, Chjelplo, Iullo,
Ifesiliaeo# Piston, ir&stas, Pars ads, arsi Brasor meet
death* i f.-rsda state Luolna tad brings death to Solisan
In tha font of a p@£sou®d kiss, ifaau Sol loan ssnte his
faithful hanofeMftxt* Bra®or, to tha bloek, th«ra la a%mm%
a rapeiitloit of tha ovgy bloodshed that and® Tfaa Spaptlsh
ffimfla&y, where lieronlat© ext ends his vengeance to an eld
f r i e n d , t h a i n n o c e n t W k e o f C a a t U e ,
la a d d i t i o n t o * b « b a s i s m o t i v e s of mizmm t i i *
o r g i e s o f b l o o d s h e d , « t h i r d S e n e e a n e l e m e n t , t h e w e a t
t h e w t b e d U U u r a M t A o A n d r e a , i n f f a # S a m l t t e
r # r e t u r n s f r o ® a n o d d l y c l a s s i c a l H a l l w h i c h h a
describes oaniplet ©lyi
T h r o u g h dreadfall shades o f ever g l © © s i i » g n i g h t # I s a w m o r e s l g b t s t h a n t h o u e a n d t o n g u e s c a n t a l l *
m
P
Or peitne® mm write, or n o r t a l l har t s mn think*
Af te r studying Andrea's ent i re speech* and reviewing the
mythological sases of the tu^erworld* we a m reminded oof
the ghost of f a n t a l u s , in &eneca*s Thy est — . who* with
Save&ge* vatebes the events of t he play# and consents
tq»<m proceedings at t h e end of each act* A M m ' » part .
Is mat ma ac t ive m&f I t i t r a the r t h a t of a s onlooker
than an ac tual par t ic ipant i a the tragedy. An ac t ive
part i s aeswod toy th« ghost. of the e lder Bastlet In
Shakespeare* s flaalet* Pros the qpeeehee of Hareellu»#
Bernardo* and Horatio, we Yieualise an aetu&l specter*
When f i n a l l y t h e ghost t a l k s to Saalet* h® suggests a d i f -
f e r®^ underworld f roo that portrayal by Andreas • • • Bat that I am forb id
To t a l l t h e secre ts of my prison-house, I could a t a l e unfold whose l i gh te s t ward ft>«M k f w r tip thy ecul , f r ees# tfey young blood. Make tby two eyes# l i k e s tare# s t a r t f r o n t h e i r
spheres# Thy k n o t t y and combined looks t o part AM each par t i cu la r hair t o stand an end# Like q u i l l s x$m th© f r e t f u l pert eat i s e i But t h i s eternal blascn nmst not be To mm of f l eeh and blood.S
When Hamlet d«n*j£s abeolufe e secrecy of Horatio and Haroellus
concerning t h e i r s ight of the g ioa t , t he undertones of
"'Swear11 frm t he elder Hwlefe are ©hilling res laders of
%honas Ryd# the- Spanish ff-ragedy^ I# i , §«*B8*
*VlUi«i 8bakeepeare, Hwdt t , I . • , 15-88, i a f h o let® Works of f i l l i e s Shakespeare* edited by William
40
an actual pa r t i c ipan t in lb# tragedy who cannot r « t u n t i l
h i s fou l and t m n a t w t l warder baa bean avenged.
In f i t u a Andrcmlous» a© use of t he # o a t la employe#
however, Ti tus appaala to the gods f o r j u s t i c e I s ap.paaae-
me&t of wrongs rendered tola, fie shoots s r w w bearing
messages t o P lu to , Jove, Apollo, Har t , Mercury, oad
Satuwu Ti tus f ee l* tha t jus t l e e baa f l e d t be ear th and
that she m l b# a ought f i r v n d m g r m d l
*f la you «ust d ig with aattook and with spade* And pi f r e e t h e twmmt ©enter at tba ear th* 4
with theee l i n e s nay be c a p e r e d t h e paaaage where
Ili«roaimO sfearas t h e conviction tha t Just ice does ndt
dwell on e a r t h !
Though m t h i a ear th j u s t i c e w i l l not be found. H e down t o h e l l , and la t h i a passion § Knock a t t h e d i s a a l l gates of Plufeos court*
The law of Malta has no #»ost a« a par t ic ipant i n t h e .
subsequent tragedy* or as an oivlookarf however# Marlowe
uaaa the supernatural t o produce a Machiavellian eetfclng,
Rachlavel vewst
I count r d i g l o i i but a ehf ldiah t o y , g And hold the re i s no s i n brat lgpcvaMM*
®fe« we becoaa aoq»al»t«d with the charac ter of Barabat,
we a r e convinced that he l a imbued with t h e Machiavellian
s p i r i t *
**111 ta» Shakespeare, Titus A^ron loua , I t , 111, 11*1S»
• 6 £bs Spanish Timasda:, I l l , s i l l # 107-109* eCkrlat«pber Marlowe, igg, £&
««* wmwImk Chvist onhar Marlowe » edited by A* 1* Bullia#
tt
M i a * ! § M fxe*.*6* intTQdncm a afeorw of a l l a s o r i -
ea l f iguraa , Forttma, Lova, and Baails# t o argtxa a t tha and
° t w c h «efe| l i t e tli® Short of AnAm and Bavaaga l a ffha
Bpatilab f m E t f n feowavar, Aadraa ia soft so Jubilant I s
countlag the aimbera of deaths as Ia Death a t the eon.
a l t a l a * of gjgl Paraada* Baeawaa A a l m tad expected
t o aaa Balthaaar a l a l a , iaatead of hia f r U n d , Horatio,
Rawaaga apaafeat
Ba s t i l l | and ere 1 lead thaa from t h t a plaeaf H a ahaw thaa Balthasar In haavy oaaa*7
Cartalnly % « p «aa« taa a l l of i i i m 1 ! daalraa f o r
ravaaga, tsfl at tha eonelualea of Tha gfwmtah f tanadar.
Bavaaga aarr laa fu r the r Andrat'a with a* i s aaylagt
Thau haata wa douaa t o xiaat thy fr la ir ta and f o m t t o plaaa thy frlaafta l a aaaa, tha past l a woaa«®
Daath, l a S*Hwm and Paraada* t r twpha w a y X*ova and
Fortnaa anl concludee in eer ie faahloni
I # now wi l l &aath* ia h i t most ha tight i a pr ide , Fatah hia i apa r l a l l Carra front dacpast be l l t A ad r ida In triumph through tha viakad world.9
Tha mmmnpam* awttior of f h £ F i r s t Fart of larwimo
doaa not iatroduaa a ghost un t i l tha aoaalusioa of tha
trsgady* 8uggaativa of t h a pre*aaaa of a fu ture ghost
i s tb# dialogtta betwean toyenso and Lassarottot
l>or» Ccna than, how ara i t hap# Andrea abal l ba erost»
7 I M Saaf l fk **# IO*HU 8 Ib id .» X?# * , 45-46*
9 M J s s e i s i .
42
Lsz« Let me® alones Q® turn# hiss t o a ,rrw""""'" gb©ii«tt»*0
At t h e conclusion of t h i s t ragedy, when t h e c a l l i s made
f u r ft boat t o t ranspor t t h e souls t o fells# or condemnation,
Andrea's gfcost, by s igns , ra tb#r than by ora l procedure*
shows Horat io tha t h i s death bas been avenged, and tha t
t h s passage t o r e s t cannot be blocked*
The forsgolng discussion shows us t h e Inev i tab le de-
pendenee of t he trag«dil®s upon Semec«n plays# To e s t ab l i sh
' f u r t h e r t h e I n t e r r e l a t i o n s of the revenge p l a y s , i t %»
I n t e r e s t i n g t o see what d i r e s t p a r a l l e l s n y be drawn front
t h e worfcs of Kyd, S a r l w e , and Shakespeare* Aaron and
Barabes have p a r a l l e l speeches in which they gloat over
rot h i s s s crimes. Aaron, when asked by Lucius whether he
is sorry f o r coiamitting heinous deeds, dee la res t Ay# t h a t I had nofc done a thousand aore* Iven nowf I ourae t h e day . . . t he r e in 1 ASA not some notorious l U i As k i l l a nan at e l s e devise h i s d e s t h j Ravish m maid* ov p lo t t h e may t o do i t f Accuse so®# innooeBt , ®ik3 forswear myself | Set deadly e r a l t y between two fr iendsf Make poor men*® c a t t l e break t h e i r necks? Set f i r e m barns and hay-stacks lu t h e night* And bid t he owners %ummh then with t e a r s , • . . And nothing grieves me hear t l l y Bat t ha t I cannot do ten thousand aore***
When Aaron has received h is sentence t o death by s t a rva -
t ion* h i s reac t ion Is as fol lowst
I an no baby, I # t h a t with base prayers
10The F i r s t Part of Ieroniao (author unknown), I , IN # TITHE. "
^*Tlftus Andronlcus» V, 1, 124-144*
m
J should rap vat the evil® 1 fcava dsns* $s* tfesugsaA warn® thiui #*sr y®t I did w « m I pmfmm9 If I «tgbi havo ay villi If mm g&ot 4mA &» *11 -19 ***• X.gld* t do rspsa* It fron Hf *«*y soo!***
Correspondln& vitb Aaron* • oatalsgas of atiofiltln 1*
§afmt»i»|; 11»U
A# tmw t mUte abroad o* nights Aral Mil sick psopls groanlag aaSsr nails* «* S«at*tl&st 1 g» abo** tBd pofsoa walla * * •
Basabaa aoatimtss his boasts of suoh as
rishlag prlssts with btxrlals# digging gravis sad ring lag
de#»a nan's Mil*, slaying frlaad a«4 fas la ths gulsa of'
soldla** batsg s filling Jail* with bankrupts, sad
driving aaa to hang thmsalass* «haa Baratoas mlitti
that ha Is to dla Is tha balling aaaldraa# his words alwoat
parallel thasa of krnmM
Tkm* Sasabaa* brsatha forth thy latest - hots* &ii I® tho twy of thy tasMuta a*«i«a to sad thy Ufa with rasoltftloxu « « • Y 4 Dls lift, fly aonl# taagpa ouraa thy fill# aa& dia« -
loth and Kjd as# folded rseoaalliatlSB
•ms«»» f spots# flllsd with hypocrisy* *««* Saturate*!®
to bafriaad Tit as la tho faUaaiag aiaftsMU
An<5ronic;u4 Coma, eons®* awasi snpsror* oaaa# M M U o a * Ytffca' ap this gpad ©M m a aafli ohaar ths |§arfc That diss la taapsst of thy angry fraaa*1*
v* ill* 185»190#
fift St «»»», II, ill# 177-179# v» *» sa-93.
*%Uaa AndronlStta* I# 1# ISM86*
44
Cast i le suggests a s i i s i l ^ r l y h y p o c r i t i c a l «©«# i n Tb»
Spanish ! « g i f e between Hieronimo a M Lorcnto j
But here* before Pr ina* Balthazar and ®ef 1 f i Miig@« eaofc other ansS perfeet f reeHae,**
Claudius l i t g t a a * p l o t s w i th Laertee t o render Bsjalet * a
death blow, and t r i e s t o pretead tha t the fenc ing la but
a sport between brothers, Immediately a f t e r the recon-
c i l i a t i o n scene l a T i tus Andr«al-*sug.» T i t u s arranges * h*»*
i n honor o f % i w a l n u s * laarrlifcge# iteicfa rcRdndtt us of the
scorn I n £ & Spanlab gyaiai ig l a which Hieroni»o arranges .
t o en te r ta in the H a g and the Portuguese Ambassador w i t h
a masque# Btua l l y as hypocr i t l e a l a scene i s i n fh# J jg|
of Malta when B**abas plana w i t h Ferneae t o have a faaat
f o r S e l l * Ca lym ih and hla so ld lera preceding t h e i r aas-
sacres.
We are lamedlately liapreesed by t b a lack of p i t y which
one character • has f o r another. Ia T i t us Andrenieui » a l«
thcragh Aaron's re fusa l l o i s p w t f o r b i s crimes dees safe
cc®i«ii; sympathy* Lucius sentences Aaron t o daatb by t o r t u r e !
Set b i n breai t -dfc*r l a ear th , and famish M®f Thar© l e t hi® aV#8& and rave and cry f o r foodi I f any on® re l ieves or p i t i e s h i *# Pop the offence be d ie®. 1 "
l % h a Spanish Traasfty* I I I * * ! • # 154*185*
^ % i t u a Andronicua. V, 111# 179~188«
45
toots® # In b i s aanteneing Tamorm, just if las MB look of
p i ty i
As £m that boiiiou* f i g o r , fmom, Ko ftmoral r i t a * nop mn in wBomlng «•«!», So sicmriifttll ba l l sha l l r ing hm bur ial* But ttoro* bmr fo r th t o boasts &m bird* of prayt 1®P l i f a va t beastly tnd d*vei& of pi ty* Acd^bolag so* t t e l l faawa l i k e vast of pity*1®
Whan B&ymb&a* b®% i s brought tiaforo tho Ctararao*, a f t or
Bwrntrnm has foigjnod daath by poisoning, tho S w « w i «
OrdersI
f o r the J«»*s body, throw that m m tho m i l s
f o b# a prey fop imltwros and «1M boasts**®
f b o Ghost of A a S ? » shovs a lack of p i t y f o r h i s foot as
avidanood by tho following request »ada of ftovosgot Lot «• be jndgo ana &om# tho» t o unrest . Let loot# poor® f i t t a® from tho Vulttty#*
And l o t i o n Clpria» .supply h i s r © a » * ^
Astros Is oagar t o plaoo his f r iends i s ems®, h is oxtonlos
i s w&m* ffeo Qotronsor of Malta teas a# p i ty fo r Bavabas
in tho speech*
Should I 1» p i t y of thy p l a i n t s or thaa , Aoouroed Barabaa, bas© Jew* ro lon t t So, thus 1*11 so* thy ty*a«b*«y papain. But wiafa thou hadftt bahavod tho© otherwise#.®*
l#ny Intoraat litg par&llols In phraseology found l a tho
works of Iy<t# M&rlcw©* and Shakespeare, aarva as evldenee
1 0 M § » » ? * 198-tOO, X%ho I f «£ M**ta» f , 1« 53-60.
®%foe
**Tho Jew of Malta, V, t , 75-78.
46
*f tli® %hr#« authors* dapand®noa tip on oxta aaothar* Stat#.
mmt& concerning limitless beuadt of lov® ara fouttt In
H& Spanlah *wtg§<ag. mmA la two of Shakeapaara*a i » p i t « i r
An&raa* On whan I dotad «ora than a l l th» world, Baoaua* »h© CSel» l^arlart JLoved me aora
than a i l the
ghiror** I our® sot t I# know ah* and a l l the worMf I loir© Lavlala mora than a l l tha world#8®
SffiiSl* 1 l*v«d (fchellat forty thousand toother*, §mM not, with a l l their quantity af low, Slake xv ay aiw#®*
*» H i f a U g ! Hieroaimo 1# digging to
tha ©apfeh to flod tha body of fcla son to exhibit, he
«?l«8!
Away, Ua pip the bowels of tha earth*2®
A «UAkr passage la included la ffa^ J ® ©£ Maltai
. • * * Raping tha bowala of tint earth for the®.26
Hleroaiao aod Mmmm have alallar apaaahaa ooatlstlog of
a play t >O0 words*
Mm- therefore will 1 reet ae la onreat Dissembling quiet la vmqulet»oaa
Aaron* But let .1* foamoraJ r©st la her unrest awhile.28
Spanish f u g e ^ i XX, *i# §»«*
^ J t j ® Andronioqs. XI, 1, 71-78*
bit* ?» 1, 887-20»«
•*fc» 2z&satt» I IX* * i £# n * ®%ha Jaw jg£ Malta. 1, t« l i t*
^SSflt £B£®S&* ***» *"# 2 M 0 . ^ f t t u s Aadroolcga. I f , 11# SI*
47
Titos and Hi«r@nli§0 give axpraaaioa of t ha l r mmmtm t&r
d u c t a l * and »m reapaetiTalyi
than must isy *aa b# »#ir«d with h i t atgjtuft, Thau m e t isy a&rtte with bar tear© Be&m® a deluge* ovenflawad «ud
MtrnWm For wm amidst thaaa dark* and daathfttll shades, _
To drfff i thaa with an osaau of ®y taaras*i
than Chiron aM moritar ftaaalaxms and drag off
hi* brlfta* Chiron interrupt# protests
with!
lay, than 1*11 stop your aoafcte***
Whan Loranso aad Belthazar vu&ar Ummttm 4a Mi© bowar
and drag off hi# wiatreaa, Lorenao a t apt Bal-inperla'a
protests with the following woapda*
Coae, stop her movthj amy with her* 5 8
there are Muqr paral le l ipisodes l a JTJja fpaiilat*
f m t a j y and jWfawm and fwmwdk whicfa lead ua t o &©lteir@
that %d I»tr@<tm#a the play*vitfai«.tfae*play l a f | §
Simulate *»*«*> sM l a t e r worked out a longer play,
Sollmn >aa Person . ' '2a the l a t t e r play, tha aatlon £»
afalftad atnreptly fro® t o m&Am a t regular
Inter mlsf lyd usaa tha aaste teehnlqo© I s ah l f t lng action
fro® Portw^l t « Spain* Shan Solium» M i l s hi* brother
L», 111, 1, 228"280»
®%be Smala-h f raised* I t , w, ®»tS#
**%ltwi AMroslmis« XI* Hi# 1SS»-
*^QMt Simulate t&m&> 21» •**
48
Amuratfc f o r having aXaia Baldb# i f# ®r® r e s t a t e d of t h e
sees® t a The ftwaif it f n t g e ^ r I n which t h e Vleeroy appears
between two l « rda # one of itea»# by a etanpge of t r esehe fy *
near l y b r ings t h e o the r t o b i s 4Umm» ffei-s eeeue l a f o l -
lowed by the f i r s t tender In te rv iew baft ween Herat l e and
Rei-lraperia, and i s Sollaaaii and Pe*aeda« a f t e r t h e *iNtiNN&
between t h e brothers of S»l la«M f Fa rm ado and &ueiaa «* -
change words af leva* Fernando % m t m t h m $
A® f i t s t b a t i n e , eo now w e l l f l t a t h a p l ace t o ooole A f f e c t i o n w i t h our wogde and lo©|©% It I n q w thought* be MabSanfc etsspathte*®®
Hora t i o ha 3 a s i m i l a r 3peech t o bif f a l a t r eaa*
low# Madame, a l m a % favor of yowr love Oap hidden amoke I s tu rned t o open f lame* And t h a t w i t h lookeg and worde we feed oar
t h o a ^ i t a . . * S 4
The episode i s W l m and Peraedft wtiere Pursed® la do*»ed
t o mmmfeion s a l d e l i v e r e d on t h e vary s t r oke of daath
has a ©otsifteifjert l a The Bmmish t ragedy* where A l a m j i d M
e l a i l a r i y sakee ready f o r b la death , and l a caved ae i f
by a m i r a c l e . AlexaMro*® @ojst«H»tio» on a f a l a e charge
l a p a r a l l e l e d by the, mri igpaet i fc o f ftutv on p e r j u r e *
evidence* !
Th> S p m U h g r u f t a una fhm Tlrtt g « r i at I w o n f a o
cen ta ls Ident l e a l nanee l a t he dramatis nareonaet however.
m m i $ r n m and Parsed** I t # . i , 2*$#
S % £ f g f i t o f t l l * u *
4i
the characters have nothing In coamon hut t h e i r mmm*
The f i r s t Fart of Ieronl»o t» a medley of f a r e # s»d Mlo*
drama In eonparlsoB with f h e gpmBlafa ££LS8&* ***• reveag#
motif i s present IN fhg* Fi rs t fa r t . of faaqailiMH yet ta reaso
Is provoked feces ub e be Called t o receive * p o l i t i c ! «jk
poix&sunt* t h i s hardly su f f i ce s f o r the motivation ©f r@»
v«age when we consider the other t ragedies which have i&*
pe l l lng motives f o r securing re?t»ge#
^ H e l d lag in popularity only t o & £ tuailliti
is the t f ^ a y &«aM» play* Tlt\*s Aagr«ie«i» *tUb hears
el one reeemblaBoe t o Thyeetce* The w l l e y where Bassianua
Is murdered is not tunlike the noetic of At reus* slaughter
of fhyestea1 eons, end the Seneoar. iadehtetotes of the
last scene where tmrnmrn is treated to * fisyeslssit hammet
in which her MM son* B flssh Is halted is uqmsstiemble* ^
Free the foregoing par&llelisiss, we can move Nea r ly
see the Inteftspendeace of Kyd, i e r l w e , ami Shakespeare,
Of rnmb interest would toe a surrey of the ®aiij»er in whioh
the wri ters creete& unforgettable dfessaiOters* lis attespt*
ing to analyse the character portrayals, we shallw® h«r
the characters s&ployed certain dramatic devices- to f u r t h e r
their l a a i f M m l plans. W# shsll consider the principal
figures «f f|t Sufntish Tmm&i* fit fit a n d
because the revenge-eeefeers baw ft grater tenacity
of purpose than have the heroes of The I g SL MIS,.
s o i i w b s s £ « n d a a Z k s l IfciL 2 1 1 " , ° n l a a -
50
uses thi? desire f o r pcwrer mad for & woman a*, \
motive# which necessitate revenge ofi the part of Hieronlao
f o r hi* aoa, 8e» t i s» ShskMp«9ire fnraishea Titue with
the dec Ire for refuse for multiple injttttlees he haa «a»
tored* Haaaet eeeks revenge for the death of hit father,
Rleronteo has ft® prominent par t i n The Spanlah Tragedy
un t i l # after h is discovery of his ecu* a body waving is
the wind, he dedicatee hie life to §mwAmg revenge*
These few l i n e s r e v e a l h i e de te rm ina t i on?
I# heaven w i l l he revenged sat ©very ill# • !f@r w i l l t h e y s ta f f e r »« rde r i w r e p a f d * %#» stay, Hlereajiwo, attend their will* __
For m w t a t l men may aot appo in t their t i m e . 3 ®
Haulm*® IndeelelOD to aet la well expressed in hie •olilo-
W * after the ghost of the elder Baalet lnfoiwe hi* of Clataditai' g u i l t t
• • * To d i e t t o s l e e p ; fto moref a«d by a sleep to aay we end f b e h^rfe-a©h@, and t h e thousand n a t u r a l shores That f l e s h l a h e i r t o * # t i s a ( M r a m m t i o n ©evoiatiy to be « tsh # d# • , « Ana wakea m rather bear thoee 111® we have Than f l y to o the rs that mm tow not of# f tm# conscience does ssake cowards of u t a l l , AM thue the native hue of resolution <e-I s s i c k l i e d # e r w i t h t h e pa le east of thmigfet#*5®
Hamlet de lays i n k i l l i n g Claudius bemm® to® i s not w h o l l y
convlneed that the ijhoet Is not a devil sent to thwart
f u r t h e r hie p e r v e r t e d adnd. When Haslet deeidest to have
^%he Bmxfato Tragedy. II1# xili, l-«. g63aailet* III, 1, 6&~S&.
SI
s p»0up of plsy©rs r©-©na©t Claudius* ©3?i®« in *Sfe® Ku*d«r
©f <?oiis*go»" ws ««rt« with hi* prufst©^ pemarkss
« * • Tbs pU^k tfa© thing "' w
Vhsrsln V1X eatcto th© oonaei#iie© of the king#*5'
Issaleft mes th© pX*p»witlil&»tb*>»plfty to prutee© ©o»clu«iv©
widen©# ®f CXaMi^a* guilt | y«t» further irr*solut©ii©ss
1« sfaosra «fe*n Hamlet finds Gla«diws pf*yi«g» Banlsfc r©»
fuses to k i n Claudius sad rationalises thus* m m A # sad l m o * t h o u * m o r e h o r r i d temtt
Vfaen h« is druisfe ©sleep* 05? im hie rsge# Or in the i&eestixeus pl©ftsur© of his b«df At game, «p at)out sane set That fess a© r«lish of saliratioii la* 11 Then trip him# that his hs«ls » | ki« E at heairen And that hi© soul m y b© u d a m M and hlafck As hell, ©hereto it goes*
Sa*let * b delay is du© t© inner conflict J Rl«r©nisi©» s d©»
It; is due t© external prohlans* Bierosta* is imiuti c&ppad
at first hj aofe taiwlsg who has murdered his son* When
B « a . * i ^ © r S s s e n d s h i m s l e t t e r , penned Ir blood,
a a a i n g L o r e n z o a n d S a l t h a s a r # H i e r o u i m o r e f u s e s t © a e e © p t •
the lelter as proof of th«ir guilt* Biereniao, after
feeing cmwlmod of th«ir guilt, delays frees, use of his age
and inferior soeial position* Blerenisw sis© usee s play
ss s d e v i e © for g a i n i n g reveng©* faww, whereas H a m l e t
mmltd to 1*1# the p l a y i » ord«r that tie «si#t fulfil
Claudius' reactions, HIeronlmo dolos out the pa its of his
mmm*m 11* II, «02-e05*
Ill, iii, 45-50*
m
play, "fto&iaftft and Feraada," ao that acttml murder® a*j
be p«sr£@i®@d ttud©p color of stage business# Xyd por*
traya Hieronlao t« an old M S, and hla frenalad owtbureta
m k * m m l l t i that hit ®adne«» it not felgaed* Unlike
H&eramme* Baalet assises aa "aiitle disposition1* la »d#r
that he m y iOlay atiaplolotia* Sas&et aaainife to a happy
eharaetevf hi# retvoapeetlon preventa mirth#- »« a#® the
true Hamlet when he la al©»©. Hia obvious brutality
toward Ophelia U overlooked whan w# read of Haslet*a re*
am«fttUy paaeienate outbursts at Ophelia^ grave* Hie
brutality l o w M Oerfcrade eauaes ae la ok of apspathy for
hiaw tolifc waa shrairdly istelligex** cruelly kind, and
reaeluta&y lrreao3Lute«
fltts# Aatoovlewi oosmuda ear ayiapathy front M i flrat
stag# «&»»«*# W® ara aware of the aeolaoatlmia to® r#»
eeivea for being a victories* geaeral* however, ha aourne
tha death of hla twenty-©»e alaia mm* *® admit® Titua*
blind loyalty to Saturalaua, but hardly are we in a p a -
thy with a father who Jdlla hla. w n aoa» who to* triad to
interfex* with Titua* loyalty* and we c&unol; ayapathlae
with a nan who takw hla daubster* a life ao that har steam#
ml git die with bar* tltua never loaaa »l#it of hla d*.
aire for vengeaaee beeeuae lamnerable Bufferings ara ia»
flloted UJJ©» him. Titua aaata&ea aadneae ao that a delay
in 8 eeuri eg revenge la hardly not load* The in^uatieea p tied
npiTltaa h&v® not enough, laps a of tlste bat ween than for
a delay In aetioa to be dlatraotlng to tha readerv
m
Wimtly as M s t s n d l a g ehawM^era mm the v l l l a i a s
in the tin*## plajm* la Th£ Spanish Tmm$& t*Qmmo*s
character Si deteH^ped with war r ing oon«ltt«iHqr from th#
moaeat he assures Balthazar that h# mm v ia Bel**!wpmrim**
Iw&» Lorenso gives w l e e to hie t h e m e s with th® feJU-
lowing statementt
I ha ire already fotaid a atratageme
f© seuast the bottom© of th i s doubtfull thea»©»3®
**» &*• imrnrvlm with Pedrlagaae* korent© a hew a bis de~
t m l s s t l e a t o force the servant to toetraj B@I-tiaperla»s
eonf Ideas* »e is the v l l l a t a *per e*oellenee," i M his
character l i the sabodimejit of hs-poerlsy, eynleisai*
cruelty, and leek of hmmrn sympathies. Mp@st l a f t t u s L» «»<* Barahas, to f | £ Jew *>!*•* are typ les !
v i l l a ins . A catalogue of the i r a t roc i t i e s and pa ra l l e l
speeches eh owing the i r reftiaals to repeat for t he i r crimes
have toeea, l i s t ed la mn e a r l i e r part of t h i s ehapter. « •
« w aware of the fact that Aaron# Barehas* and Lorenzo
le t a© pares* or thing stead la the way of t h e i r evil*
doings*
ClatKlltia# la Hamlet, has a ©hameter with sons r#»
dsnptiosw Hie t ea l le sot so blaefc ae these of Aaron aad
Barabas. After Claudius toons that Hamlet le aware of hfc
guilt when "The l w l » of Qmmgon la staged* Claudius
esea^es t o his roots t o pray fo r atoaeweat ©f his alas*
ggfflMft SflMMftr,* IX* *» 5SWSI6.
M
Mm rea l i se* tfeo f u t i l i t y of "words without thoughts* &M
dsftsmlss* to gcft.Bmlvt oat of tho « | # l i s plan® t o
haio Haslet oxoetafced qpen a r r i w l l a SngUnd go sway# and
bosauso ho p lo t s with Laortos t o k i l l Hax&rf; with a poi*
sowed rap io r , wo fool that ho is reluctant t o porfopa tho
warder hlasolf* I®. ©r« of tho- aforo-raostlonod v i l l a i n s
would have shown amy hosltanoy i s oasmltting a wwdwfe
Z o i m q , l a First. Fart ^ Imp-mima* %m f a r tmm
boing tho typ ica l a r i s toc ra t lo v i l l a i n , M® stoops t o
midigislfiod Jooulmrity with £*s«?ett0» felt accomplice.
Lorenzo*s chi ldish suggestion t o Alosrlo that ho v i a
Bolllaperlft** lovo fey disguising hlstsolf In "a onl t j t u t
of AaAroa,f oal lors* glvos no hint of p<rmoditmtod ovl l -
doings. Leronso doos f launt hio hypocrisy shen ho mfwaos
t o a t tsnpt t o savo Zosorotto*# l i f o *
1nth. of * Mrfearoii® nat wre I s vovoaXod l a iolla»a*«
®ha»«t«r Ss SolteaR and Porasribu Viet 1st o f t o r vl«kUt»'
beginning with h i s oint brotbar , f a l l s toy his ©sdor or %
hio hand* Wo soo a v i l l a i n of hOKloldal fury *h©# booawao
of h i s royal posit lo®f doos not bavo t o «s# a»y »«fchods
of evi l thinking t o o w a t t or laos.
In tho s ix tragodloe qf revenge under dlsousslon* a s
wall as in tho Sonsoan tragodioo described i s tho f i r s t
ehaptor# tho horolnoo occupy a posi t ion whioh i s I n f e r i o r
t o that of tho heroos* In f h o Spanish f rago t f Bel-lmporia
possesses siasettlln© strength cf wi l l and I n t e l l e c t . Sho
55
parrlaa Baithaear*# worda of l#r#a®d coro-
pletaly ilasfieBi fe*p havtglity reaerva «b«ai »tet allies U®%>*
®®lf with Iof^I© to avenge MMrm*# daath* In Tha First
Fart gf tmmih p Ballioperia ,1# a sent laantal * "taenia t tag
e m t w t with no prominent •jMMMtoM to build bmr reputa-
tion aa & self-reliant haroln** Abigail 1b Tha 9m jf
m i Is waofa Ilk* Balli&peria of Tha Flrat Part of •
Xaroaigto* Abigail could also parallel Optoolia1 a -ofes»©%«r
In lualot In ifest both gift* aofcalt willingly to paraulal
Pentad* reaembla* Bel-isaperia of ft*# Spaalah •
fngtir i» her pevwrn ©f repast *e a si in her «elf-s»eli&i»«e*
Persesla'a detatwlaatiois to- a¥©nge th© death of Ernst tsa
n e w falters# X«vl»ia, la T Itua Andronion*» I® leu#
oarefully drawn than any of the ettw harolnea j she la out-
atandingly absurd, anfl possesses no part of d©»p@r®to r#»
vangefnlaaea* 9b» f*ol« of Tcmorct In thla p%Aj is note
prominent than that of tlnla* femora %mmm no etreng
impression until ate# Inltlatas hey adtOM of revenge
aanetlosiing tha ©otragas of Pemetrlua and Chiton apt! net
Xenial** flafcrai oal th© rest of the tyagedy* femora Isa-
presses w® wttte her vD Ic Imru i idaaa asft b^jroeidttoal
nanaer®»
la a dleeiieaien of soia# of tha eharaetore, it ia
necessary to describe tba ©iofcdit# In the tragedies of
n w g % w® find the use of ©dale relief, trbeFeaa in
Saaeean playa, there ia 110 davice f w relieving tension*
Tb* S>mnlsh contalan almost an independent l i t t l e
linedy in tii® grialy Jocular episode of the t r i a l milI « e »
eutlen of Pedrtagftao# 2b® Boy# who oarr!#® an esptf beat*
supposedly ©oat&lnlug JP®<lido^a©,s pardon, t M fete® ilaapaii
are subordinate f igures In the eoaady* In S d i a m and
Piston, l ike Fedrl»@ris% Is the aernuit of on®
of the principal f lgorea , and la t ruly a v l t t ; oharaetar*
Shakespeare* In lamlet« m m the gra•ve-diggtng s&ane .a#
oooio re l ie f* *'he two €kmrn9 with ap&daa, Jest a t t he i r
task of (Jigging Ophelia grave* fhr«gbo«fc The First
?»si .«f gleroiilaff there i# a eonle under-plot. Lasarotto
hwerously point a o«t that h i t MM suggests that his body
is "rot t ing in th i s lasy k g ^ * fte® principal f i g u r e
Hlerottlmo, aisaks into buffoonery in w w $ a dene vhare he
appears* neither f l t u e AMponiem mm ft*# ew of' Malta
has comic teaeWi*
-I'" Pkw the foregoing diaeuMlon of s imilar i t lee in
plots of the tragedies under dli'®y®#i«3% we rea l i se ho®
they f e l l into the ©ategory of rmvmge plays* M t t » g « %
> a » 3 t 8 „ i r i m i p a l ©hsmeter seeking revenge* ^#he methods
for a t ta ining s t r ik ing yet grotesque s i tuat ions bear &
d 1st!not relat ion to thoee of Senega* 3? he authors cC the
tragedies ©f revenge " £*31a»ed S t a w t ' i preeedewt f o r having
horror piled on horror un t i l l a eaoh conclusion, a l l the
loading characters met death#- la reviewing aimlogiea and
ecnpariaone of para l l e l epiaodae and stook Seneean
I
m
/
characters, we easily recognise the lotemlst 1 onshlps of
the plays} &A the mutual dependence of tbe authors
°ne another and upon their predecessor, t(W©ltffl Seae&u :
CHAPTER If
DRAMATIC Am STYLISTIC Ef¥IC!S
11 THE SEVSSGS f M m
fba prooadlng etmptmm I»vt mttmspted to trace tba
rolatlousbipa of tba m m m ® pMya to their aowroaa* and
to indicate a ana ist*fva&«ti«nMhtp* asong tba playa tb«a~
aalvaa* fba pmi^osa of tbia ahaptar is to pra»«nb aavaaal
dMUMilia and etjllatio daviaaa of tha trttgedlaO Of XVVaitga,
©n& to tmaa tha liu® of daaaazA of tli# plfif# fpew &mea&
to tfa« l&is&batha&a#
n fmfaolag a dlaauaaloo of tha draaatie darioaa, a V-' m - * | - « . . . . . . . /
briaf afeateh of tha aigpiflaa&oa of tha aborua fit Qvmk
trsgody la necessary, became t»m the C*reek chorus stem
% tha Sanaaan ohorm and tba EH*abatba& <teibvisb©w« Tha
tradition of tha analanfca tea it tbat Tbatpli *aa tba
flwt to present an motor appoaita tba chorus. Ik tha
interval wfell© bia danears rested, Thaapia csme forward
a at declaimed to tba awdlertoa feissself.^ la *aa not
limited to monologue! fee ©owM aa®aga in ©oiwaraatioii
with tba laadar of bia chorus, Greek dv&m passed swiftly
from tb® doom In of religion to tbat of art* Throughout
*?• X* Lueaa* Sanaaa and Elizabethan Tgaaadar,. p* 8,
w
tbo hlatory of t ragic dwdaa, wo a## gnd ta l extinction
of the Tragic Chorus, bMfttw# tfeo aetoro dominated and
evicted th© deeoendanta of the rust le dancers* Surlpidoa
was the f i r s t to u»k@ the ©hor^s sing lyric* irrelevant
to the letted late action*** Because religions convention
forced hia t o sake nee of the oborue in hia noderalat
daws*, SuripSdoa converted the amisifeers from au aotlng to
an oreboctittl port* providing amslcal lafcarlud*a between
porta* Tbo ohorua waa an Inheritance fro® th® past of
what ted om« boon tbo »ost issportanfc element In the
d i w , In tbo play* of Kuripideo, wo do not find anCb
long oboral passages mm mm mml SM Aoaefcyla** a *mmA
predooeftcor of 8«ne6a* but Earipidos A m * forgot that
there «uat aleaya bo f l f toon poroono on tbo stage wbo
were aware of a l l of tbo action* The ©«b®3?a of th®
chorus wore usually frioM® or servant a of tbo feet*# or
heroine* FreftuenlHy# tbolr connection with tbo plot was
intimate, a« i» the m c ^ a t or tbo SqpplimfcM however,
tbo connection la loss close in tbo or tbo
Oocaelcnally tbo regnlar choral songs were
dissociated frflut tbolr context, but mere frequently tbo
aubjoat of tbo song waa ccsmesfc % th© past* OF speculation
8SIS** *• xo*
60
as to the fat tip# of the leading character*, or of the
mmhwm of the ehopua thmmmlvm*® x
^ la Seneca*a ta&gedles, w# find the ehosms used for
the furtfaenanee of rhetorie&l effeets, end the d#»dram~
tiaatioa of the ahorus is a striking feat tire of hie
tragedies# fhe ftinot ion of the e horns became aeeha nieal,
that of anHOtmeiag pereotm on entering, questioning m m *
setters, or interrupting a lament# &ven in its exereSae
of auch naehanleal functions, the ehorus at lima appears
Ignorant @f what hee takes place in the eooree of the play#
Several episodes in Seneea's plays shoe that the chorus
m a Invariably absent during the progress of the action.4 y
In fftoestes* the C&orus the reconciliation of
At reus and Thyestes, asd rejoices m m the poser of 1OT«
between toother** although the preceding scenes expose
the plot of Atre®sf crime, uwJeiag reeondliat ion tii
brotherly low iaposeible* & a later episode of Ttarsstes.
thfc ahorus aates the reason for the uanatusal datfeness,
although the explanation haa been gives by the Messenger
who described the » r t r of ?hyestes' shlldrea* In Troas»
after a <5©tailed his been m€m of' the ap-
pearance of Achillea* shade* the Chorus concludes that
there ia no such thing aa existenoe after death* Such
%illlam I, Bates, tarjaldea» pp# SS»M«
% « a r d V» canter, IE I M fraiscdica of 8 enema. p. 35* ^ s <5>, r,,:>
61
re la t ions as Seneca* s chorus bear t o the d » » a t l c action
a r t regularly found at the beginning and condusicm of
each of his f i v e acts* uses a ohorus to review -«*—
preceding event® and t o an t i c ipa te fu tu re act ion, In
analysing the introductory and concluding remarks of the
chorus, m f ind that they abound in deta i led descript ion 7f
of a l l kinds, expanded enumeration and character izat ion , "f
©f persons* th ings , and places* and in rec i ta t ion of J«.U. material composed of a moral and philosophical character*
For his philosophising, Seneca f inds f r u i t f u l souroes in
such subjects as death, for tune, f a t e , soc ia l pos i t ion ,
power., emotions, and beauty, ,•
From Seneca, Horfcon and Sackville made beginning
which were to be developed in to the peculiar merits of
Elizabethan tragedy* In Gorbocluo, the authors re ta ined
a chorus eeesposed of four ancient and sage nan of
Brittany t o review each a c t , -with the exception of Act V,
f h e authors replaced the Senecan introductory chorus with
a f a r more dramatic device, the dumb show, Which i s d i s -
cussed l a t e r in t h i s chapter* f h e chorus of lor ton and
Sackville was eeeiparable to that of Seneca, pa r t i cu la r ly
in the restatement of previous ac t ion , and in the declama-
tory moralizing*. The chorus of Gorboduc was not a n t i c i -
patory of ecsui-% *v«t&s as was Seneca's chorus; lor ton and
Sackville aide t h e i r Suatius foreshadow ensuing events*
-4 _ / 1 >,A „,J.f v
<r
62
Thmmm Hughes adheres to the eetablished t r a d i t i o n
of the charts©. * four In Mmfesr# la f h « Misfortunes of Arthur#
His chorus Is tooth re t rospect ive and ant ic ipatory l a char-
a c t e r , sad In Act V, Hughes Introduces t h s Innovation of
the chorus in dialogue with Arthur and §sd«®*# Mee of
Cornwall* Like Morton &M Sackvllle* Hughea esplofs th s
Ruatlus t o herald events*
To perform t h e funct ion of t he Tragic Chorus, Th&sas
Ey& eiaploy® the Qhoat of Aindrea and Revenge t o es tabl ish
the s e t t i n g f o r t h e Spanish Trsgedsr» At t he end of m i l
of tho four s e t s , Andrea end Revenge take i toek of the
amber of deaths necessary f o r t h e avenging cf Andres's
death, predlet en addi t ional number of forabodinga, sad
s t t he conclusion of the tragedy* the dialogue Is de»
l lvered g leefu l ly because leveijge ha# sad© poaalble the .
assured b l i s s f o r Andrea* s soul*
Much l i k e the part of Andrea and Revenge In The
Spanish Tragedy i s the ro le of the Cborus, consis t ing of
t h s a l l egor ica l f igures of Fortune, l»ove, and X>eath, In
the anonymous play, toliiasn and Perseda* The three menfeers
of the Chorus open the tragedy with an argument as t o t h e
preoslaence of each member t o serve as chorus In the
t r ag ic story* At t he close of each act* t h e question of
prstfmlnenee I s s t i l l debatable} however. In the conclusion
of Soilman and Feraeda* I>eath triumphs as the aost i aperient
mmbmw of t h s Chorus*
63
Xn f ha F|rat >ar> of laroatoo* tha author
has thraa members fm hta Gh@rt»# Andrea1 a Sfeost, !Urraiiga«a»d
Charon, although the three wwibar* 4# not appaar usitll the
third and last aet« Tha Obortae fats only m ®lt$it eoBM«ltOB
with tli# context of the tragedy* Rrranga a Mo*® Andrea to
shop by aetleas that he is pleaaed with Horatio*a avenging
raatho&a. Charon hail only on© apeetife ihi«fa ia worthy of
seatloot
Indeed'tie auoh a tiae, tha troth to $aXl»
1 never want a fare to passe to hell#®
In fitue Andro»iitfo»« we see so nae of the ehoraa as -
found is Saneeay however* whan Tanora ddaguiaee heraelf
and goaa with her two son® to via it Titoa, aha attempta
to convince his that aha is Revenge accompanied by Bapizie
and Xttrder* Her dialogue with Tit no ia amah Ilka that of
Strong* and Andrea in The Spanish Tragedy* yet we aannot
aay that tha rolt ia that of a ehoroa beoaoae it ia a
feigned role# and In tha preceding playa under diseuaaion*
tha ehopua haa been a part of tha dopaaati* persona o«
A second dramatic devio® used by tha writ ere of revenge
playa la tha innovation of tha dxssh show* In Sanaaa1*
tragedies there ia so evidence of a dumb ahow? lta ellipsis
waa due to Seneca'a invariable wae of tha ehorua and tha
measatiger for necessary explanation of the transience and
recurrence of events* In G o t h a earlieet English
5tfae Plret Fart o£ leroalmo. Ill, ill, 86.87.
64
tm®®dy molded In Seneean torn* we have the d«»fo show
befo re eaoh ac t* The duab shoes r e p l a e e t h e a n t l e l p a t e r y
ohoms of Seneea, end se t f o r t h t h e incident# of easli
ae t 1B pantomime* The d m b a bow preceding Act X of
Oorbodne * 1 U t« rv« a s an example*
F i r s t t h e musicke of Violence b e p n t o p l a y , du r ing whleh earn# in vpen t h e stag® s l x e wild® sen c l e thed i n leaves* Qf when t h e ttmt ba re In lit# awake « fagot of s n a i l a t lakac* whleh they a l l both i t w i l I f a M t o g e t h e r assayed wi th *11 t h e i r s t r e n g l h e s t o break e» but I t eoold not bo broken by then* At t he l eng th one of t han plmefced out one of t h e a t l e k e s and b r a k e i t t And t h e r e s t p lnek lng ©at a l l of t h e o the r s t l e k a * on# a£t<8r en o the r € M e a s i l y breeke tfeea, t h e s ane being eeveredt whleh being OOBjoined they hod before a t t s o p t e d In value* A f t e r I hey had t h i s doge* they depar ted t h e s t a g e , and t h e Musloke eeased* 9
This a e t i o n s i g n i f i e d t h a t a ratified s t a t e eon con t inue
aga ins t a l l f o r c e , b*ot being d i v i d e d , a s t a t e I s e a s i l y
destroyed* The &wab show was noth ing wore than a p r e f a -
t o r y pantonine . b r i e f i n g t h e au&lenoe upon t h e f a e t t h a t
King, Govbadne tod d iv ided h i s kingdom between h i s two
sons* Ferreac and Por re* , end i t p r ed l e t ed the d l e a e n s l o s
whloh would be i n e v i t a b l e between t h e two bro thers* Before
©a eh of th# dwfe shows in Qorbodne* i t I s i a fee res t l ag t o
n o t e t h a t s o c l e of seme o r i g i n I s sooa&edU With t h e ab»
senoe of a otaorel i n t e r l u d e , a s was evident In t h e txwge*
d i e s of Enrlpidee and Seneoa, perhaps Norton and S a e k v l l l e
Included nue loa l ehords t o prevent a complete abandonment
of t he ©horns#
*Oorbodue. Dtsato Shoe, 1-1G* ^ f W
66
I n f h f MUfortunea Arthur* the i l i b w i t # d«ai>
«h@i8 prepared toy Prencls Baeon and other of
Gray*a Urn foisset fete# aoet important f u t u r e of t h e
tragedy- 7 freeedlisg eaoh ae i i t a M eh«r wfaiah make#
use of ebaraettrs and stage denotation t o f « * f i v e ®&*
d l t l o n a l ehova* Hughes has the three P w l e s l a hie f i r e t
dunb show bearing etipe of v ine* f i rebrands, and
whip# to s i g n i f y t h e banquet and death of Arthur* and the
hatred, c r u e l t y , and ambition necessary f o r the mmMtmdty
of the tragedy* Hn#e®# next three duiato shcwe br ing out
the magnificence of ooattsaing, but they do nc& mmmwtm w>
t o the agbstitar of the f i f t h d w b « h « » A f t e r the mast#
has eounded, four men i n blaok appear wi th a r t l o l e e i n
one hand syabol l i lng t h e unfortunate r t e t o r l e e of Ar thur ,
a ad w i th t a r g e s 1b t h e other band uhieh were w i a t e ly de-
p le t lng t h e etruggle* f o r v ictory* A f t e r the four bmib l a
b laek, followed a l i n g i n bleak a t t i r e and hie page,
bearing a target oa whloh wm poitwtyed a pel ican peeking
her blood t o feed her young* The three e t r l k l n g colore,
b lack, geld, slid red , are predominant i n a l l of Hughee'
dunb shows*
.I>ea® s t r i k i n g than the daub Mb,mm of Qorbodiitt and
t h e l la for tunee o£ Arfetor i# the masque given by Heronim©
i n The Soanleh Tragedy* Hieronlao has p r a i s e d t o
7 John f . G u a l i f f e , ed i to r , l a r l y ioif l lgl i ClaeaiaiA p* 90#
66
entextala the Hag aM Ambaisador with ease fom of jeet
& banquet. fie entere with a drum, three knights, and
three kings. The knight* talc# the kings1 ®&mm•* ftoe
King of Spain Is pleased with the short Basque* however,
there la not enough tymboliea 1b the dumb show f o r tbe
l ing to s a S m l t i i i t« meaning, lyd effect ively mil em
filerortiaio to explain fu l ly the meaning ot the a how* The
three knights reprea anted Robert, Sari of Gloucester,
Basmiid, Earl of l en t , awl John of Gaunt , $ufee of Ianeaater,
who had In turn eoaqwad Spain* Thm anbaaaador was to
aaatna tram the preaentatlon of the &mnb that Spain
wo«M not gloat mm vouQvmrlfig Fortupsl, aince aha had
known m t m t at the laMs of English warriors#
Shakespeare mm tfco dm&b shorn la Baalet t o preoede
hia play~wlthl»-t he-play. After the hautbeya play, a
King and a Qomb enter lovingly* ffa# King Ilea down t o
aleep, aad the ^ueen leases htm* Soo» a th i rd pevaoa
esters* takes the King*a ©rown, kisse® i t , pours polaea
in the ltfig#a ®ar», and depart a . Whm the Queen find*
the King* a body, aha lament a , and is consoled by the
Pole oner who wooea her with g i f t a and wine bar love. M
la Inter eating t o note that Ophslla a ska the meaning of
the dtsnb ahoe i s the mma manner that the King of Spain
aaked I1»«b1»o in ?he Spaalah Tragedy* Unlike Kyd, toon-
ever# Shakeepeare doaa not le t hla principal ehareeter
give the neanlng of the dumb sheer, alnoe the Playera enter
i&saedlately#
67
A t h i r d d r a n a t l e d e v i c e u s e d by l y f t a w l BMkmpmm
i s t h e p l a y » v l t h i & - t h e < » p l a y « O b v i o u s l y t h i s < t « l e ® was
mm e x v ^ l d of Xyd*s d r a a a t l o g e n i t a # s i n c e t * * r e mm n o
suoh devtcm g l i t e a r l i e r t r a g e d i e s of r eve t ige*
Kyd used h i t p l a y * v l t b i » ~ t h e » p l a y t o t h e e x t e n t of a i d i n g
H l e r o n i a e t o s e o a r e e e n p l e t e r e v e n g e b e f o r e t h e s p e o t a t o w *
S h a k e s p e a r e mm h i s d e v i c e t o e n a b l e B a s i c * t o b o o o n -
v i n e e d of t h e v e r a e l t y of tfee e l d e r ^ a a l e t *s s p e e c h •
B s a l s t * s p l a y - w i t h i » ~ t h « N p l a y was "Tbe Mt i r tu r of G«m»go w
w i t h ft p l o t M e f i t l o a l w i t h t h e m u r d e r cd? t h e e l d e r fla»X®t» •
H a s l e t a s sumed c o r r e c t l y t h a t by w a t c h i n g t b e e x p r e s s i o n s
of C l a u d i a * f h o ooaXd e s t a b l i s h t b o K i n g ' s g u i l t . H i e r o n l n o
c l e v e r l y worked wp a p l a y # * 3 o l i » a a aaf t f m m m t a # 9 and as**
s i g n e d t b o p a r t s wh loh Meant a o t u a l d e a t h t o b i s enmlm*
B i e r o a i a ® p r e f a c e s b i s p l a y w i t Is t h o f o l l o w i n g s t a t «eaaut I
And i f t h o w o r l d l l k o n o t t h i s T r a g e d i e *
Hard I s t h o hop of o l d # H i e r o n i r o o . 8
A s i m i l a r r emark i s u t t e r e d by Hamlet p r e c e d i n g h i s p l a y t
P e r i f t b o king: l i k e n o t t b e comedy* Q
Why t h e n * b e l i k e , he l i k e s i t s o t , p e r d y ?
A l t h o u g h 1yd a n d S h a k e s p e a r e wore t b o o n l y a r b o r s
v h o i n s e r t e d a p l a y - w i t h i n ~ t h e - p l a y i n t h e t r a g e d i e s of
r e v e n g e u n d e r d l s o u s s i o n , a l l of t b e r e v e n g e p l a y w r i t e r s
u s e t h o s o l i l o q u y a s a n e f f e e t i v e d r a m a t i s d e v i c e . T h e %!»« SpaBlsfa I g » « « a r . XV, 1 , 196-197 .
% a B l e t . I l l , 1 1 , 8 8 7 - 8 8 8 .
68
soliloquy «&» mw& to retail a situation In the plot, or
t« reveal the thoughts of a character, Glancing througi
% few of S««w*s tragedies, we find freqiseat »®»©loga«s
inserted saslnly for rhetorical effecty however, i»
Hercules delivers m passionate soliloquy
of despair and remoree ffcen he regains his consciousness
and recognizes his dead wife and children, In Xedeau we
see the iimer conflict of $mm as he lament® the hard
lot assigned fain by fate, in whleh he mm% either desert
Medea or let® his mm life, ftaresfceg includes aior# so-
liloquies then any other work of Seneca#*** At reus de-
claims 1c twenty-eigit bonbaat ie lines shoot his vengeance
m Thyestes. 1hen Thy est es returns to Argos from banish*
meat, he atteaspts to restore his faltering courage in a
brief but ttiou^i-reveellttg sollloqsyt
With ithe* the tdtagOOM* geven Is# beheld.# and will retgunta*
Beset M late with stteb mishaps, ss ell mm eorate full hard*,
I steu&e and Joyfull west but mm agayne thus into fear®
I as retume, isy myude aisdoiisfeee, art baelceward seekes to beare
Ky body tamaa*, and fort he I draw ssy mee smynst
*r win* 1 1
Atrens completely reveals his oharaeter when he soculte
m m his plan for vengeance in sixteen lines of oratory*
10lo®ard V.Canter, eg* clt.. pp» 59w»,60#
- Ill, 424-428*
if
A 1\
The villainous cfaaraoters in *21 the rev#nge plays
reveal their wickedness in soliloquies* Before en evil !\
deed 1» conaaitted, the Atutiesce Is given ample eppoxttadU \
ties to jrdge the ©vil-doors* In The Spanish Tragedy*
both Balttmsar *xtd Lorenso reveal their iniquities in &#»
aaading the life of Horatio* After Pedringtno bee nuwd •
Horatio ma &4L~lxnperim1 a lover, Balth*s*r obseures himself
in the garden and in a length; solilaquy* gives en insight
into his .Kindj Both well and illi it sates ae glad and sads Olad that 1 know the feiaderer of wj lovef ' Sad* that I fear* she hates ae whose I lover Olad, that 1 know on whan to be reveng*dj 1 g Sad, that sfa#®l» file me* if I take rtvsngs#
Lorenzo reveals his villainous plotting is the following
lintst
fateb still, nine eyes, to see this love disjoined! Beare still# «&ne eares* t o hear thera both lament J tive# hart# to Joy at fond Horattos fall#
1,5
The 2in»» fpa the two forgoing-soliloquies have a tvo*
fold purpose# personal characters are revealed* and
sltuat lens furthering continuance of the plot a » . shorn*
The soliloquies of Aaron in Tit tie kmlroxiicm and of
Sambas in U s of Halt.* ms?« similar to those of Kyd
in ffeg. Spanish Timgedsr*. neither As rem ma? Barabas 4i*».
©loss# their true evils except in aonologues. In the
^%h# Spanish Tragedy II* 11* 111«*11§*
lsXb|§«» II, ill* 21^23.
70
previous chapter pa ra l l e l s i n the speeches of the v i l l a i n #
haw been not; edj however* I© br ing ©at. Bar***** l as t f o r -
gold* i t l a neeeeeary t o include an exaexpt from on* of
b la so l i loqu ies* A l t a r Ab iga i l baa secured b la Money fmm
th« ©omrent, Berates aseelalaai
®y gold, My for tune, ^ f e l i e l t y l Strength t o mf aottl* death t o mint enamyl
tba f i r s t beginner of »sy b l l a a i * *
Aaron* a so l i loquy concerning Money doaa not mwml b la
ftvarlet) Instead tba raoaiologtte la a f faat Iva ly Inserted
f o r p l o t cont inu i ty* *h«a Aaron enter* tba foreat w i t h a
teg of ha # *©« l i f e to b la e v i l pisfe t o sanation
t l i# i ^v ia i i f»g c£ l av l n i a w i t h the fo l low ing l i nes I
Be that ted w i t would th ink that X bad none, f o bury a# much gold l a t e a t ree* Ant never a f t a r t o Inhe r i t i t , Lat him that th inks of ate ao a b j e c t l y Know that t h i s goM amst cola a stratagem* ®bt@h# cunningly af feetad* w i l l toegsi A vary excel lent piece of v i l lanys And so repose# awaet gold, fo r t b a i r unrest**®
Xn BWamn and Peraeda we f i nd frequent so l i l oqu ies !
however, they are not baa a chare at er revelat ions such aa
wa f i n d i » tls# preceding revenge plays• Baall laao f launt#
hla van i ty i n the fo l low ing l i nes*
Tba fork#®* wfe« thay aaoomift f o r barbarous. Having forabard of Basil iseoos worth A msaber under prop aw w i t h t h a i r ahouldere. And i n prooeeeion bare ®a t o tba Church*
1*Tt»« Jew af IX. 1, 48-80.
, A » XT*, %%%$ 1«*8»
? 1
As I had bee»e a aeeond M*fe<met« I # f e a r i n g t hey would adore ®e f o r * Ood-
Wisely Infolded them I teat 1 was but ma».ie
S oilman i® addloted to lengthy «o lUoqulea 4a wfeiefa w#
r e a l i s e b la u t t e r d i s regard f o r h m a a l t y , Pereeda uaee
t h e nonolega* adTOxfte&eeusly'to denial*© ba r a l l e g i a n c e
t o t h e idea of a waging iSmst-oa5 death*
f fee aaoigMBaui au thor «f ffae Pi rat fart of dees isot w e t h e eolilor^ t s sxtrawa&u&ly aa 4® t h e o ther
au thors of t h e revenge p l a y s , Lorense, d isappointed he-
eause Andrea hae fee#® se lec ted ae ambassador t o Port tag*!*
glves a nendtague f o l d i n g revenge. f h e language of hi*"
so l i loquy la very ®en»®iipXaee# none of t h e r h e t o r i c a l e f -
facts a re enpleyed* The feXlowlag passage U an example
©f t h e f l a t - s o a M i n g phrases»
I ha t e Andrea, ©ana® be s l u e s a t honor, . then ay purest theft s w@ffe In a pit A y vile,
Which a r e a# d i f f e r e n t m heaven ami b e l l # * '
<3tf a l l t h e s o l i l o q u i e s i n t h e revenge p l e y s , t h e most
B i i d f i b l i l e Haralet !s » to be o r uefe t o beB lo l i locpiy ,
whlefe haa pbrases tha t a r e so abso lu te l a power for©#*
fu lneee t h a t t hey have not l e e t t h e i r appeal In t h r e e
emntuwlm* We a r e a b l e t o beeome lafclasfte with Haslet * a
Bind when we have our a t t e n t lost a r r e s t e d with eueh apeeehee aa t h e fo l lowingt
fo fee or not t o bef that la t h e question*
H s d l l i a and f«rseda# IV# 11# H-17*
X7The First Part ,g£
72
Wfe«feii#r *t is nobler in the sdLad t o s u f f e r The s l ings and a r r o w of outrageous fo r tune , fit le t ake arsis against a sea of t roub les . And by apposing end th^a. , , , ?or in that s leep of death wh@t dreaws amy mmm§ Vhm we imm'skmfflsd off t h i s swstaJL o o i l , lust give us pause* there** the respest That makes eatlftttlty of so l«ng life'* » * But t h a t the dreed at something a f t e r death, The noftlsftevwr'd country from whose b e t n
®:@ traveller- r e tu rns , pussies t h e will*1®
Shakespeare** language la Hamlet *s soliloquy I s without
parallel in beauty* Gphelic gives an Insight Into Hamlet's
ehaimcrfcia* I s one of her monologuee a f t e r S«al«t Mb a#*
vised her t o go t o a nunnery. Baailet, 1» re fus ing t o k i l l
Claudius at prayer* i s afferied tbw opportunity of explain*
lag fels de l ibe ra t e inset loci* Claudius seeks atonement
for h i s s ins la a soli loquy which eomands no l i t t l e ayiapa**
thy frora t h e audience, because unlike afore»stentloned
v i l la ins* speeches, h i s prayer i s one of honest e f fo r t*
At the conclusion of Act If, we r e a l i s e f r o a Basket 's apo-
logue timt he is deteralned t o sot t 0, fsw» t h i s time f o r t h , , a % thoughts be bloody# or fee nothing worth.'
.In Shakespeare* s Bsnlet* the soliloquy* which had i t s
being. In Seaecan vorki f o r the fur therance of rhe to r i c ,
reached i t s senlth* Shakespcsrs wrote t he speiwfass so thstt
not only the sound but the sense t n v t i s e a s i l y and e f -
fec t ively* He made h i s audleaee want to bee r , t o l i s t e n .
1 S Haale t . I l l , i , 55-60, 1 9Ibid*» f t , W , 65-66*
75
t o fee l* and to £ I n oast©ring eoapletaSLy the so-
li loquy as & drasraitio devie®, Shakespeare sad® hia s«l«t$«8 '
do f u l l service. His l ines were to admnee the s tory, t o
revoal character In th® speaker, and t o s t r i ke responsive-
ness in th® l istenmm* The soli loquies were not ©cm-
p r e « 8 i « i of legio aor were they t ru ly natural* hcwerer, •
Shakeepeare ddLIgtoted his audlcnce In lending a Magle
toaeh t o the speeches whleh «®«ased spontaneous. ffee
©raating and in terpre t ing of ohasaeter wm an assent l a l
drama t l e device of th® Elizabethan playwrights, who peopled
the i r plays with ladlwidoala instead of walking abstrac-
tion®# n
imt a® s imi lar dramatic davlea* war® «3ed by Bemm
and wri ters of revenge play** ®o the sane stylist1® de-
vise® n e w 1b most erf tbeee dramas. I t ten been mentioned
previously tha t Bmmm abounded la atyohoaythia, a ll&a*
f o r - l i a a dialogue, atilah showed tba degre# In wfeiiti tea m a
iafl'THmttf In $hm0& and s t y l e by the sententious; *@d® of
expression dcwiimat In Ms® rhetor ical schools of h is time*
Seneca's use of stlehaaythla In hla t r e a d l e s take® the
fossa of a rhetor! aal "altercati©1* by s ta t ing pros and et»s#
or by making one character natoh wits with another* Oodley
very adequately d©scribes Seneca's stiohOBiythla as follow®f It doM not m t t e r Is th® l<#a*t who 1® taking
part in the Seneean I t mrmt ever characters
74
on the ttsge, the dialogue la m mnmm&im of throat«"&nd**par?y rapartaaa* &eb spmkmr mhcmm off his alav P&ass at parrying tha opponent *a foil within tte# allot*ad apae* of a lis®, or half a Itna, ©r ©van a <p»rfc«r*®c?
I» all of Sanaaa'a tragediaa thar-a is so fixed ti»a for tha
character* to display thair erudition* Tha following !£»«§
i 9 m *«&«*• containing dialogs im whiah tb« imraa MUklCMM
Madaa about har outapokan vows of vangaanoa, ax»@ ««platy
of Sanaea1 a moralising!
Iters#, lb© waares tha goldencrestad erowna him drad *ith ava ye« should.
*7 fathar was a King, y«k I batrayad his Plaaaa of gould.
O&rraot tha daadly "eyolenea of wmpom m."m thaa faara?
»®# tfcaugi Biwti grt&ly lads thay are • * * Thau wilt thou aaat tfayaalf to daathf Would God that I ware dead# Ply, fly to aave thy life* Why ahall I fly? Fly far thy ohlMmmm stake. Yea sa© by whom, an!! tea** A wretched Mother £ am mad®,
Fjflroa. Thy lyfe by flight to mm Dost illm niatruat?
Bedae* Hay, fly I will# bt* trangaanne® first il»
K A aeeond atylistie de iea occurring usbmkhr* tinea
in aaefa of Seneca* a tragedies is repet it ion of tha saisa
word* op practically tha save word is eueeeaaive «t«te»
xtenta* Tha rapaatad word aarriaa tha miad baok thus t
Mot ritches makes a kyng or hi s renowne,
, B* Godia?* wSenecan in Xoj&lah kitera-tura and tha Classics, edit ad by 8* S.. ( h ^ f ^ w r
i3Hedaa, II, 155-160, in Sanaaa Bit f tramMted by ffa©raaa lewfc on*
75
Kofc garsislit w0©cSe with purple 'fyrian d i e . Sot l o f t y looks, or head «nelos«ed with crowns, W* gXyttving b«itm©» with goMe and txirrefe* h i e . 8 8
The repeated negatives occur f ree ly throughout Senees'i
plays# and they r e f l ec t strongly the dIsappolritment and
displeasure of most of t he characters in t r ag i c situations#
Seneoe uses o aunt leer class ioal a l lusions whioh ot&nuaber
those of Euripides, his pat tern , and in the use of tropes#
Seneca, with only twerrty~seven esanples of the hyperbole fiB
in hie ten t ragedies , must have f e l t that the hyperbole
is too f r i g i d f o r o apposition® which aim primarily at fore*
and s t r ik ing effects* Kis us© of the apostrophe is mmm
frequent then that of the hyperbole* The apostrophe is
used in any tt iming aside by speakers from th» lnraediate
eourse of thought, t o address vividly d l v l n l t l e s , heroes, '
things, or places* In the ten tragedies Bmem unm 157 2A
eadtaplea of the apostrophe# Notable Instances of the
apostrophe am found f a Medea » wtm ledea invokes th i r teen
d i f fe rent powers f o r vengeance upon Creon and hie daughter,
* a Oedtiffls* whew Oedipus ea l l s up or mrfou® d iv in i t i e s
to attend, him l a his lapr'eeetlsn against the murderer of
l-olus. it eg, l ip m~®M. This Elisabethan t rans la t ion
r f f l « d S T w T I 5 w parallelism in the original Katla*
®®B4>wa*dl Canter, ©g* clt»« p« 177* 8 * I b l d . , p. 178.
76
Sim®# a plays were not acted, tha whole fcurdaa
ma thrown upon tha language# Seaeoa^ audience was
steeped In rhetor io , and therefor® hla language had t o
ba violently rhetor ical . Wmmlty Seseaa had no more than
t » or th ree speakers os tha stage at one ti i t% asd aetual
poetic qual i t ies vara lacking In hla tragedies, because
tha reel ted parta ware aonareua* «nS hla audience had t o
be kapt tens© with horror plXad upm horror* From Seneca's
s t y l i s t i c devises waa formed tha pattern t o which KjQ, Mmtlamm,
and She kea peer* wara t o give l i f e*
In Oorbedno we are aisased that tha aarXiaat English
tragedy, noldad »o cctspXateXy 1» Sanaaan fomt# ha a ae
styehcuaythla* fba Ml* for t raw of jkrttwy ferns Hire of tha
Xiti«*f©r*Xigi# dialogues, tha content of whlah la a lsdlar
t o that of Seneca* Vhan Conan, Modrad'a f a i t h f u l eoun-
aeXXor, a t t a in t a to advlee Mardrcd against being wengcfoX,
tha dlaXogaa Is as follow# *
>r&» I have aa great a share la elm nee, aa ha« ~ I* Bia walaa ba blind®, that nakc&h chasca hiss
gaidab I* Whose r®fug® XIaa l a Chance, what dares ha »dfc? t. W&rres wara a crlne f a r r a woraa than aXX tha
Mord. The safest passage Is from had to worse. • u that ware to paaaa too farra* and put no ateane*
Ba la a fooXe, that puts a naana In crlstee* * But sword and f l r a wouXd cause a oonoon vonadL^
So sword and fir® wlXX often sear# tha so&re**5
Ela fortunes of Arthur* 1, I t , 75-8X*
rt
Although Hughes doea not \m © etyehomythla t o freqttantly
m Brnmm- dom, t he aoral lal i ig i s very obvlooa. Tbe «stttqr~
mch author of 3oH«an »ni y w a d * uses tte® l iue- fe twHu*
dialogue only ©tie#, when Plat on mad Baalllaee a re engaged
I s a l i ve ly repartee whieh afford* nere east!© r e l i e f than
epigrams. f b » F i r s t f a r t of l e r c d a o tea no atyehomytfaia,
twfc i w t of fcfa® apeeehea contain no k i t # than on® sentence
of f i v e m Mix word*. Bel*£nperia* in frha Soanleh Tragedy*
wiaa the east eat of wit a in two lnttaneea* She eueeeaa-
f u l l y m r r l m the love apeeehea of Bait.bazar, aoi
provea auperior in in te l l igence In eenpariaon with Lorenxo.
Shakeapear®,. in ff t iaa ABdroaletig and i s SaaXet, p i ta
atycho*ytbia t o apontaneon* draaa t ie mm* The volleying
of phraaea I s inaerted t o re l ieve BOaeata of tenalon or
« © i t anient* as l a found in the grave-digging ooene i s
Bpilat «ba» the tiro clowns exchange humorous r a w n t e eon*
oeralag the fcofi®# whieh fchoy excavate* ' i n f l t n a Andronlcttg,
the atyoheiBythia i s employed t o f u r t h e r the t « u i « n t -a®
ia found in the dialoga® teetwe#n Chiron and Be»efcrius when
they view Lavlnla'a mutilated body*
I s 61««utti*g the as# of r epe t i t ion and pasal la&tta
in t h e tragediea of revenge, i t la neeeaeary t o inolude a
concrete de f in i t ion of t h e teraa* According t o Rubberd,
repe t i t ion la the uee of the ease word, or worda, In auo-
eeedlng l ines of vereef paral lel lam ia the repeated me-
70
of t h e same form of express ion la. suocsedlng l i n e s of
? •«• •»** The t i n # ® r e p e t i t i o n of t h e srnae word i s xtost
f r e q u e n t l y foaad i n The Misfortunes of Aatbagf
A l l , t r u t h , a l l t r u s t , a l l blood* a l l bands be broke*
Hughes employs ware s i n g l e r e p e t i t i o n than any o the r t ypo
of repeat®® us©* Very e f f a o t l v a l y tssed Is h i s ccrabismtion
of r e p e t i t i o n and p a r a l l e l eona t rue t ion i n t h e sans® or
success ive l i n e s i
Thare wimp# ppepar&e fch®>.f©w*ei*j# a ides from f a r r e * Thm*& were Hie ImrrmtA powers of d ive r s Kings, There were our p a r e n t s , b r e t h r e n , soxmes, a n ! Man#*®8'
For t h e fo l lowing examples of r e p e t i t i o n and p a r a l l e l i s m *
l i n e s £mm T i t as Andgonlcittti and from The Spanish Tragedy
w i l l be used t o # « « § ! » % © t h e s t y l i s t i e dev ice as per*
f e e t e d by Xyd and Shakespeare* Both au thors expe r t l y
app l i ed p a r a l l e l i s m between the f i r s t ha l f and t h e xeeond
ha l f of t h e same 11»© as i s found i n t h e f o l l o w i n g !
In ju r ious t * a y t o r , monstrous h o a i o i d # , 2 9
Ti tus* Witness t h i s wretebed a t u s a , wifcnass L1'"'ULir,r tfaas# or i&s on H u m *
3« Hubbard, "Repe t i t ion and P a s a l l a l i a s i n B a r l i e r S l i sabe tban Snwa«* Pabl i t ia t lana of t h e Bodwn tmm Aeaoeiat l o a , XX (1906 J * Sffe#
Mia f o r t i e s of Ar thur , I I I , 14*
n * & © - » •
2%fe® Spanish Tragedy*- I I I * i , 67*
if na Andronious* V, l i , 22*
7®
For parallelism between the f i r s t half of a l i ne and the :
f i r s t . half of succeeding U»«t# we have!
Itorgngos Thus must w© irorfc.© that wi l l s void® dis t rus t | f h w w » l we pre at lee t o prevent alehap#®*
Whole line®, whieh are paral le l In groups of two or *ore,
prodtte* the same dranat1c effect that s ingle repet i t ion
of words produce* Both Xyd and Shakespeare frequently
use t h i s type of parelleliasrt
Hi# men are s l a iae , a weakening t o hie H©almf HI# oolor® a tilflfc «Mfe© his » « t | s 2 l i s soon# diet r e s t , « corsive t o his hart****"
She is a wcwn, therefore nay be wm*&$ She Is a woman, therefore a*y b® wonj » She 1® Lavlnia* therefor® ®mst be low3U ,
Kyd'e s ty le of pregrscelv* repet i t ion and paral le l !** i«
easily detected. In Raltha*ar*s speesb* w® rea l i s e In-
s tant ly the feree and power of loglot
First la h is hand he brandished a sword, And with that sword he f ierce ly waged w®rr% And la that warre he gave m dangerous wotaida, And by those wounds fee fcreed ne t o yteld, AM by sy yeeldlng I beeaae his slevel How* l a his stowth he mrrlm pleasing thteh pleasing mavdms dm h&rbotsr #feet conceits. Which sweat eoneelts are 11M1 de with s l l e decei ts , %£©fe s l l e deeelts smooth Bel-lmperl&'s eares. Arid t h r o n g her eares dive downe Irafe© b«r har|» And la her hart set h i* where I stioald s tandi®
Shakespeare does not mm the progressive repeti t ion* how-
ever* a dreaatic effeot equally as great Is aehieved by
S*Ths Spanish l»£g§Z* I I X» l i » 105-106# SSIbM*» I , 11, 141-145•
^ l t t t s AndroolCttS. I I , 1# 82-84. 5%fae Spanish frageiy* II# 1# 11§-M§»
m
hi* single repetition of words. A few lines from Bralat
are worthy of quoting to illustrate such repetition*
Ohost* 0» horriblel 0, horrible! Most horrible!55*
Hftnlet* 0 villain, villain, srailing damned villain!5®
PtiLeedue# That*® an ill phrase, a vile nhrase* Beautified is a vile phrase#57
Baxalet. Wm*% weep? woo*t rightly woo't fast?
woo»t tear thyself?®®
Karl owe, in The Jew of Malta, do#a not us® repetition as
a definite stylistic device. Instead, he uses parallel
•trustare in lines, sane examples of «hieh are as follows}
Bet* Se'er shall she grieve me more with her disgraeet !•'» shall all® live to inherit anffbts cf mlae****
Pern. And mugjtit is to be looked f» now tout w*jpt* And naught to us more welcome Is than
Bmp« Xteev» governor, »t was I that slew thy son# Know, Calyngth, *t wis I that ained thy ov«r~
throw.*1
The a»otiyw»s authors of Solinan ana Perseda and of ?h#
First fart of leronlaao use rep et it ion and parallel sentestew
, I# % 80* 3i;Ifald.. I, v, 106. 37Ibid. * Ilt ii, 110-111.
^Ibld.. V, i, 273.
*%he Jew of Ifelta, III, iv, **-27.
Ill, V, SS-SS#
4XIbld.. V, vi, til-Si.
81
structure infrsquently; however, la both plays there 19 a
rather erode recurrence of words pertaining to the anatomy
of the hutaan toeiag» Following are sorae of the notable
passages i
Baa# 1# villain©, I have broke jay shin bcoe. My bacJc bone, ay ehanell bone, and my thigh
bm®0 m Beside two does en snail Inferior bones#**
ter# My knee sings thanks tmt® yo«r biases borneft ief Come hether, boy Somtioj fould thy |©ywfe#i Kneel© by th? fathers iopMi, and t ha rite my
leed^e**9
g<ffi Cone, noble rib of honor, vail la nt oarcasse, I loved thee so entirely# when thoa breatbedst. That X could die# vert but to bleed with thee#**
Per the discussion of the last of the stylistic de-
vices tased by the SXlaabetfeaa writers of revenge plays#
It is appropriate to seleet the first one hundred lines,
emitting the 1stroduetory chorus, to estimate the fretuamgr
of class leel allusions &M trope. In SeHnaa i M Perseda.
there are two elassieal allusions in the selects, lima,
and because Brestns is trying to exprt^s his love to
Perseda, wash use is waa of the simile* Here, also, are
found three examples of thm hyperbole# In the First Part
^%Olinan and,. fiiraeda* I, lv, 54U46*
^ h e First Fart «£. frawM&ns. I, lf 4Mb,
3:-!# il, 149-161.
82
of leronlmo there are no classleal al lusions In t he f i r s t
m& hundred It mm, and no examples of the m
tli# hyperbole, fyd mm only two c lass ical allusion# in
the introduetory line* a f t e r bl» Choima bat spoken; how~
ever, i t Ss worthy of noting that the Chora* alone has
twenty~two classical allusions within s ix ty - f ive lines*
Throughout The Spanish tmm&z* &y€ uses c lass ical allusions
almost t o the extent of pedantic* and the play exhibits
store iwweroua examples of the hyperbole than any other re-
venge play* The hyperbole ia a s t y l i s t i c devloe which i»
nccessary fo r describing the exaggerated evi l deeds and •
the infc enalfled emotion® of love and hatred# and Kyd's
plot fo r fh# Spcntst* tyame&r demawSed such a figture of
speech, the hyperbole 1® abundant ia Marlowe's Jaw of
Ml,ft fo r the same reason, although in the f i r a t one
buna red. l ine*, there la only one exaggerat %m of the number
of eaaele, mulea, and wagons required to transport the
wealth of Sarabcs* Karlowe uses c lass ica l allusions spar-
ingly, and includes none in hie introductory lines* Be
does not mire use of the apostrophe in hie play* yet one
of hie contemporaries, Shakespeare, inser ts t h e apoet raphe
In appreciable numbers, and uses the hyperbole sparingly,
while he abounds in c lass ical al lusions, M the selected
l ines f ron f t t n a AMronleus. there are two elaaaleal
a l lusions, s M one exaggeration of a t roel t ies* In Hamlet
Shakespeare pract ical ly abandons class ical al lusions and
83
hyperbole while be retains mmwm® exanples of the apos~
trophe« fb® hyperbole was not neoessary for the exaggera-
tion of ©vll dMdi In Hamlet» audi Shakespeare* s stalls tie
d«viec« were used evenly and effect ively without gross
misrepresentatton of actualities, which Kyd and larlow®
required*
In reading tbe tlx tr&geites of revenge for tbe sol©
detection of poetle qmXttlm# m •ontluft# that the osly
%w® real poets were Eyd and Shakespeare* Marlowe* a m»
preset@® la phmaed In an ©tdlnary methodj Shakes?** v** a
expression. In Haaflet particularly, is a flew of poetle
eleQueiiee# a eont imumm lyric of beauty* Iydf'« skill lzi
Baking even tbe horrible assume poetle beauty la evidence
of his genlit#*
In etansarlslng the dramatic and stylist le demises
of tbe revenge plays, we find only a few innovations which
Seneea did not me* He mde me of the chorus, s ollloqqy,
atlehcaiythia, class leal allusions, and trope* Wort on and
Sack villa apparently Invented the du»b ahow to further
drama fc le effect* H'«gh«s effectively used the d®fe show is he foiafortitnes of Arthur* In the revenge lay» under
discussion, the authors gradually abandoned the ©horns,
and depended upon other far am of eacpressl©n to reveal
incidents of the plot, or to reveal a character's thoughts*
fhe lnnovat lea of tbe play-wlthln-the-play In The Smalsh
•mg«4f mum foreign to Seneca*a work, but aside fr« the
64
duab «h«w and the play-within-th»-play, the writers of tha
roraxtga playa laoludad a l l of dreamt its d ^ i s i c ,
t M ia l ta tad ami l»pro<vad graatly b i t a t y l i a t i o davieaa*
Vtiltim Sanaoa* tha H I mb«%Mn playwright a did not ovaxw
burden t h a l r plays with ©pigrsusiaatte atyeboaythia# • Saai*
l i a » » F OJCWIIR® dialogue provided ®«i© r©li«f among tba
8 » w iaauaa* olaaaieal alluatona v«r« bald t o * miaiawai
and tropa waa inaartad with logle, Whemm Sanaoa employed
a ty l l a t lo davioaa t o atim hia audlenea» Elizabethan playw
wrigbta poliabad tbaaa MUM a t y l l a t i c dtarleaa to stsrifei
ayapathatie raaponalvanaea fwm t ba i r audienoaa.
manm ?
COKGLtSIOl
It* till# thes is an attesgrt hat been amde t o estimate
Urn tntlmmm of Seneca upon six Sllsabethftn tsmgndiet of
revenge, and t o t r ace t h e l i n e of descent from hlw t o t h e
Elisabefcfean playwrighta who wrote during the l a s t decades
of t h e s ix teenth century# Xoreover, a de ta i l ed *%«% of
t h e play® with t h e problems of chronology, eonreee* and
authorship has been presented I s order t o show some char-
a e t e r l a t l e e of the techniques nut conventions followed by
t h e i r authors*
^ The tragedies of blood, whlefa w e r e - 4 m f e I z e d version*
of catastrophic f i l l e d with incredible horrors wrought by
s e v e r s of revenge,. were popular f o r a var ie ty of reasons,
among which were the rcmaatlo love of incident aad the
neo-classic des i re t o follow Latin and Oreek model#* The
Slsebethai is fetaid a a t l i f a e t l o n In wtt-neetlng the dupllcl**
t i e s and scenes of horror which a re log iee l ly associated
with t h e revenge plays* I s the Elizabethan era* knowledge
of the Greek dramatists was H a l t e d , and Ssneea was the
c lass ic d iwas t le t , *par excellence,* fro® wh«w t h e play-
wrights took t h e i r revenge thanes, t h e i r ghauts, and t h e i r
horrors« Before the end of the sixteenth century anny
8® \ \ • V
plays ctf the revenge type must have been in eKisteziaef
h m m m 0 the majority of ih-as# bav® perished. In draoat ia
qual i ty the plays are earspsrable t o th<s best Ioiowh plays
of the ooz&uyy; t h e revenge playa were the work of men of
g m t m 0 such as Kyd# Marlowe, and Shakespeare who imitated
Seueoats pat terns of tragedy# Seaeea sa t t h e pat tern f o r
flve~aot division* a retrospect ive i»d maticipat©if cfaorua, •
lengthy rhe tor ica l speeches* and wash mpigmmmiti« styoho-
mythia. Bia p lo t s war* by no m s i eonplaxf there were
aeldan more than two or th ree characters on the stage a t
one tiia®, and a leading character was motivated by revenge.
Although Seneca did have a l l h i s characters meet death as
t he fu l f i l lmen t of the catastrophe, he oaraftally removed
stasis ac t ion fro® t h s ap ic ta tors ,
A discussion of two purely Senesas imita t ions ,
Oortwdw ®M The Misfortunes of Arthur* idvoilf t ha t the
dramatists closely followed Seneca, but they ware reapostsW
b le f o r the innovation of t h e dumb show, a l l egor ioa l repre-
sentat ions which prseeded the various aota t o explain t h e i r
s igni f icance , whereas Seneca used the chorus and iseeaenger
f o r aucb reports*
A study <ot the chronological incidence of t h e plays
reveals that frcaa 1675 t o the turn off the century, a
gradual r i s e i s the masher of such plays presented culmi~ • •
nated in a marked climax with the appearance of Shakespeare's
87
Hamlet • The quickening popular dataand f o r revenge p lays
r e s u l t e d 1b keen compet i t ion f o r sub jec t j aa t t e r , and »«®h
d u p l i e s t Ion Is revealed by a thopottgh s tudy of t h e source*
f o r t h e revenge plays*
A d e t a i l e d study of Thcnas Xyd's The Spanish
r e v e a l s t h a t t h e s t o r y ««s t h e product of Kyd's Ingenious
Bind* ^The p lay might be considered t h e peek of t h e r e*
v*ag» plays, t h e f o u n t a i n t v m which flowed ffae F i r s t
Part of leronlme. Sol laan and P era ©da. T l tua Andronlcua,
Haislet » and f h £ I f f of Kyd* s Sj
wi th I t s l a r g e element of h o r r o r , presua*s m audience
eager f o r scenes of v lo lenoe , and s imul taneous ly , an
audience very e r i t l e a l of dramatic worth. The survey of
t h e s i x t r a g e d i e s of revenge r e v e a l s t h e mutual dependence
of t h e revenge playwrights upon one ano the r and xxpen Seneca*
The dramatic and s t y l i s t i c device* weed by t h e K l i s a -
betban* were more e f f e c t i v e l y worked I n t o t h e t r a g e d i e s
than were t h # sane dev ices used by Seneca* Bmmmm Seneca
m s a r h e t o r i c i a n , andBt of t h e meaning of h i s t r a g e d i e s
I s l o s t In lengthy speeches . His s o l i l o q u i e s were burdened
with e l a s s l e a l a l l u s i o n s ; cha rac t e r r e v e l a t i o n was appa ren t ly
of miser Importance. His chorus was Inva r i ab ly r e t r o s p e c -
t i v e and a n t i c i p a t o r y ; h i s messenger repor ted a c t i o n which
was excluded front t h e audience* His l l n e » f o r " l l n e d i a logue
l o s t d i g n i t y and ease because be I n s e r t e d stychootythla a t
Inopportune stcnentef a person of low l n t e l l e e t was t o o
88
frequently erudite* Seneea crowded his passages
with lb® hyperbola to prod his aiadieu©#, The Ellaabetbane
had b@ newI for euoh atarfcllng devioeaj lnatead, they oo®»
aeientioualy atrove to produce tragedies which had geatiia®
poetic mlttiee* Lengthy aoliloquici of the Elizabethan
playwright a were not sere esaaplea of bosbaatf they re-
vealed Inner thought* of the character®, or the eolllo>~
a«y **» aeeeeeary for plot continuity* In this $«as%
the soliloquy of • leading character replaced the Seneean
aeaaenger* Tbe Etiaabethaa audience wee thrilled with
the participation of the 0 m % as a mesber of the dramatic
pwwoiwe* The actual role of the gboet and the dt»b shoer
were outgrowth* of Seneea'a traditional oho™, The in-
®ow%l®» of the play-wit hin«t he-play la The Spanish f ragedir
aad gj^Let «a® foreign to Seneca's work*, yet %d«s uaage
of the play*witbla»the-p Jay le a tribute to hie genlw for
knowing the taate* of hie audlenee, The whole work riaee
at the end to a ellaex in the play aeone* Conteaporarle*
found la this tragedy a Seneean play adapted to popular
requirements.
Kyd# realizing the need for notion oa the stag®, con-
at rooted a play which borrowed 0MMa*» ghoeta anS revenge
thenea« In lle» of walking abati-3 ctlone whieh were found
in Seneea*a tragediee, Eyd provided eharaetere with force*
ful, eapable dialogue. Be contributed a new type of tragic
hero to the atage* Indeed, the principal figure® in tragedy
89
txp to bin tine bad hmm mnpemmi Kyd*s subtle character
delineation appealed mmt to bis audience. MleFOftist# &mm
safe briskly pi la bl» revengef he stoves froa a mere figure*
bead In t he first act to a dominant figure who hssltates,
falle into nadnesa and indecision, and then cc^pletes his
task*
Although Kyd presented th© hesitating typs* Shakstpssrs
magnifies the character in Eaglet* Shakespeare
bia protagonist Into a noneal «an with a wrong to redress*
and he la open to supernatural influences, full of doubt,
asd retioence. Hamlet la stolcel and fatalistic
In bis philosophy of life# and Shakespeare provides solilo-
quies wbieb donand inmedlate sympathy froa the listeners.
The oboice of worSs Is unparalleled incthar ir©rsi©iia of
th« reveag# tragedies, Shakespeare applies bis majestic
imagination, penetrating psychology, and magic verbal
srasle to contribute a «ar?eio«s literary ©reat ion wfctleh
is sufficient ©vide®®® a Ion© of his invent lire drswiti©
craftsuianshlp. .
tbm rmm&s plays, after a rapid rise fro® S«@«a»
origins to great popularity, achieved lasting suosess*
The &lsabethan playwrighte artistically retained the
Seneean convent iona of the chorus, five aota, moralising,
rhetor!#®! sty©fe<wytbia, ghosts, and the supernatural, yeit
thsy eostrlbated several features which lifted the dranas
; , ; 00 t '
/ ; f • / • )
I; !
t r c n tfa« r * a l » of pure S«n#©&aim, Wi th t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n
of vtolmm m ttm stag®# t h « dumb sb«w# th® p l a y - w i t h i n -
tbo-plagr* ecmplexi ty of p l o t s , u t i l i z a t i o n of s«r m a t e r i a l .
f o r plots.*; eoist© r a l i a f , »©f# r e a l i s t i c ebaroeterlsafcions#
«nd l o s ^ aiirt i f l e l a i s t y l e , t t i # El isabetban drwn&t io ts p ro -
duc«d ^''vrijiupio ganro of s?«®ug® p i * ? *
J/
A - ' ' - i \ ii •'
Plays Studied
f i r s t s tm
V
mi p'^0ss» liox*
Hugtutt, fhOBB8, fit# Hisfovttt! GI&as lea lY^" ^
^ / . «tr«r&# ' 0li"r#aoirTpes»* l i l C Tboaa«#
'* / fo<U edl /. lEmss,
1
-V
Karl eg*, Christ «pbcr, Tlvj £55 #f Malta* In Tb<> l ^ s of
Bovtttby Yfeoraas, and Saekvllle* Thosaa, g©rbotes* In Early - ®fe ^Isss^eal^ *SSt #En^T^Eit W» SuK'l'lff®,
rnvBtrnm Cant bey unknown), la Tfa# f
Chicago PfM« r 1907
Luoiua, Ammmmm* in f: edit eel by Pf®w" «»'"Will©*>* Chicago Fj»#sa# 1907.
©ago
Seneca, laaeitts, by ftmak J / F m s , M ,
in f: jffil ^ - L 3 8 " ! 8 ! ' , ^ 1 ^ i v w s i t j of Cbi©ag©
S J ^ S P f i g f 1 ' *®Efes. T»gyl t— of Sywaa. « m « d ^»»k J« Ki l l e r , Cnle@g©7uEWewiE? e^CSiicag©
Preaa, 1907*
by Fwink J, Preaa, 1907*
edited c&g©
V"i S « n . « , luclne 1b The TraflHtl« of SeooM. edited by P*»nk jr. Miller# Gh l«tgo. 0 a I 7 « n i t y of Chicago Preaa* 1907.
93
Chicago Press, IWfm
Shakespeare* Villi.aw, Hamlet. 1st Tho Coerolst e 1
gifer in f h » Vyfcf «f ttecwy Kyd. ©dlfcsd
* Bats, c l a r eHBi ' r r ee s , 1901.
Wojffcs OoagultcA
i m & A a m w * i t y ' 'Frees, 1042*
Bato*. Vllliam H.. Buripidss* Philadslohi* . Qsivsrsitv of **88»"2085*
Baas, Frederick 8», CtHpiatoofaer Marlowe, Cfcfo:rd» Clarendon PrMi, 1948*
yWm*, fr@£erlofc ft*# editor* ffe# fortes of Thomas i M , Qa&f&wtI, Clarsndon Press, l w l »
Brooks, ۥ P. Tuokar, Tbs fiador Praia*. Cambridge, Rlvar* s i l t Press, 1911*
Brook#, 0, F* Tusker* adit or . ftet Works of Stolstentisy (kfwd^ d a n H M nNiM * lilfe#
X Howara v . . Bh«t o»ic»l ia_th» Tg»g»aiM of Seneca. Chieajco» The t ta lvmil iy o f U l i a o i i Prass, xjfeg;
Cfaasftsrs, B» K»#1M &££! , f o*« ^ w « » Clarendon Pr®««, 1923*
Chambers, E» _E« « JH»ko»|i>earet | & S S > Hew Tork, Oxford University Vmm,
'mmrltm, B* B*, Tjyt fepf fmi f ^ « i l t | o | M P 1 fg : | | i ^y i f Tragedy. Manefcest e r , University Press, If
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^tsllffe* JobnW.i Jdttoy, SjMfijrftoftM tmm^k Chtford, Frets,lilt*
;-*£n«ler, Harriett, T»MBidbr» lew
(few* Allison, editor, itifilejs la iteisllgta ®mm* Mm Xttrie* , D* Applet on anS Company, fiX7«
*'•- 0odley, A« D#, *$exieea» tragedy,® la Bagllafa Lit eratura an& the Plasties m edited by 0* S« ' ilareMoa Press, IfIf *
QnnTfllt»Etork«r, Barley, Cta Draaatle Method. London, fte« WtetsilaiUr Press, 193T.
8bnvllle* Barker , Barley, Prefaces to §Mlce«iesr«* Ronton* Sldgpieic sad SmMm# \mi-m '
^lawat, n L..3«n«<H»and H i n t ^ i TwgHy, e»>brWg«, &n«fS Utolvertlty Press, liiS«
ftot* ?», tttttr, |M T^fadlss I«8&» Chicago Silvers It y of CbieagoPress, 1©0*7#
fttwttg* Th««# «*»<*, SmgBjIfc If SIS, York, Alfred A# Knopf, lft7*
Sew
Nlcoll, Allaxdaree, Brit lata Drama« lew Tork, Thomas X* Crovell Company, 1955.
Ovid, Ifefcaiaogpfaeses, translated by Pfrnule J* Killer, l©w Ketamorgfeeaei, translated by sr. York, C f • :Lr«tims* s Sous, 1§S8
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Articles
Cunliffo, Jcribs W«, "Italian Prototype® of D«vcdop»«flt ©f *""' & M s M s ® fosgmt
Hubbard* P# G«, "Repetition and: Parallelism in larllar KLtMbetbiui Draiaa** Publications of the .KedUKrn !#»«»«# kmoei&ttom. • XXUlosV fSdS-SW
