Revenge Tragedy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama: Themes and Context

Revenge Tragedy

Revenge Tragedy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama-Renaissance Lit: The Revenge Plot - The Spanish Tragedy (a revenge play) follows the Senecan model:

• A secret murder, usually of a benign ruler by a bad one
• A ghostly visitation of the murder victim to a younger kinsman, generally a son
• A period of disguise, intrigue, or plotting, in which the murderer and the avenger scheme against each other, with a slowly rising body count
• An eruption of general violence at the end, often accomplished by means of a feigned masque or festivity
• A catastrophe that generally decimates the dramatis personae, including the avenger

Early Works

The Spanish Tragedy (Thomas Kyd 1582-1592), The Battle of Alcazar (George Peele c.1590), Titus Andronicus (William Shakespeare 1592)

Late Works

The White Devil (1612) & The Duchess of Malfi (1614) - John Webster, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (John Ford c.1630-33), The Cardinal (James Shirley 1641)

Main Works

Hamlet - William Shakespeare (1600)

Context

Questioning the fundamental relationship between religion and the universe, English nation was imperiled by the threat of the Spanish Armada, English society endured the uncertainty of succession between the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. The revenge tragedy appears as the ideal vehicle by which to project concerns about political corruption and social malaise.

Themes

• Subjectivity: When is the avenger fully satisfied? Does revenge have any limit?
• Madness: Must the avenger be mad to enter a quest for revenge?
• Family: Is revenge just an individual act or does it involve more people?
• Religion: Does revenge go against the law of God?
• Justice: What is the relationship between revenge and justice?
• Public/Private: What kind of revenge is more tolerable? When does private revenge invade the public sphere?