The last act of “The Spanish Tragedy” really solidified that Kyd was not joking around when he titled his play. (Spoiler alert: most of the cast dies.)  At the very least, the play’s title is modest, as it could be titled “The Very Gruesome Spanish Tragedy.” Revenge is by far the most prevalent and recurring theme in the play. In fact, the character Revenge literally had the last word in the play. As if the content of the last act was not cruel enough, Revenge ends the play by stating that an endless tragedy has just begun (for Don Andrea’s foes).

Looking back at all the death of this final act, I feel that the deaths of Lorenzo and Balthazar were the most expected. After all, Andrea has been sitting on the side of the stage for four Acts waiting to be avenged. Not to mention that Hieronimo has stated that his only reason for living was to get revenge for Horatio’s murder.

The hardest death for me was definitely the suicide of Isabella. I kind of saw it coming as she did seem suicidal to me back in Act Three, Scene Eight, “No, there’s no medicine left for my disease,/ Nor any physic to recure the dead.” It is really sad that in her dying speech she thinks that Hieronimo was going about life as normal, not grieving for Horatio’s death.  I do not really understand why Hieronimo could not tell Isabella of his plans to seek revenge. I think she would encourage him to do so or at least not tell anyone of his plans. Instead she died thinking that no one cared about Horatio’s death. I would also like to mention how she cuts down the tree where Horatio had been hung and burns the roots to make it so nothing could ever grow in its place. She compares the tree’s fate to her own before she takes her own life, “And as I curse this tree from further fruit,/ So shall my womb be cursed for his sake.”  I find it interesting that her grief is so strong that she makes sure that she and the garden are fruitless forever.

Now that I have read the entire play, it is no wonder why the play could be titled “Hieronimo is Mad Again.”  Hieronimo’s grief has certainly gotten the best of him. His grief has probably gotten the worst of him too because dare I say that you must have a certain determination to bite off your own tongue (which is possible, I googled it).  Not to mention that Don Cyprian did nothing to deserve being stabbed by Hieronimo, as Cyprian was kind to Hieronimo throughout the play.  I guess I could understand that grief and vengeance had gotten the best of him, but maybe by today’s standards Hieronimo should have had padded walls (and a mouth guard)?

“The Spanish Tragedy” by Thomas Kyd was a highly popularized play during it’s time period. The play, which created its own genre of plays called “Revenge Tragedies”, was able to remain among the top within it’s category during the time period. Why is it that “The Spanish Tragedy” was able to transcend through the time period with countless audiences watching the play, sometimes numerous times.
 
I asked myself this question when I read the play. The play, although written in the late 16th century, was not hard to follow. Yes, the language and various characters popping in and out did have me lift and eyebrow or two at certain moments, but I easily followed the plot for the most part. The play, thus far, is broken down into two major themes for me: love and revenge. These two themes are among the strongest of emotions. It takes an enormous amount of energy and passion to love someone in the way that Bel-Imperia, and Don Andrea do. Even the familial love between Horatio, Isabella and Hieronimo has a strong presence in the play. At the opposite end of the spectrum, it takes a great amount of hate to plot revenge towards another individual- much like the hatred that Hieronimo has for his son’s murderer. Although “The Spanish Tragedy” exaggerates these emotions in a theatrical way, they are still relatable to the audience and readers.
 
In the opening of “The Spanish Tragedy”, audiences are already given a taste of the deep range of emotions as Don Andrea reflects on his death: “In secret I possessed a worthy dame,…/ Which hight sweet Bel-Imperia by name./ Death’s winter nipped the blossoms of my bliss,/ Forching divorce betwixt my love and me.” Here, audiences are introduced to the tragic love story that will be prominent throughout the play.  There is no obvious hope for Don Andrea and Bel-Imperia since he speaks from his grave. However, the sentiments that he pours to the audience are pure and given the title pages that were reviewed in class, audiences during the 16th century enjoy the dramatics and over exaggeration that we all may not experience in everyday life. In essence, it allows one to live vicariously through another character. Even in the 21st century, audiences can relate to those four centuries ago. We watch action movies to see stunts that can never be performed in real life, or romantic comedies to see couples clumsily meet and fall in love. “The Spanish Tragedy”, despite the sadness, offers a compelling soap opera that allows audiences to feel the same sense of love that Don Andrea has for Bel-Imperia. Or perhaps, they are interested in Don Andrea’s quest for revenge for his murderer. Regardless of precisely why audiences are drawn to the plot, the similarity lies in the feeling of excitement, empathy and action that one gets from living vicariously with the characters.

The theater of the English Renaissance features pirates, witches, kings and queens, incestuous lovers, and the occasional talking dog. It was the popular, mass entertainment of its age, written at a time of intense social, political, and economic change.  Reading a selection of comedies and tragedies from this period, we will investigate their continued relevance to our own cultural contests (race relations, class conflict, and canon formation, for example) while at the same time considering the works within their historical and theatrical contexts. Turning our attention to the plays of Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton, and others, we will consider a range of topics, including genre, performance history, politics, religion, and gender.