The Spanish Tragedy

The first fully-fledged example of a revenge tragedy, the genre that became so influential in later Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, The Spanish Tragedy (1589) occupies a very special place in the history of English Renaissance drama. Hieronimo, Knight-Marshal of Spain during its war with Portugal, fails to obtain justice when his son is murdered for courting Bel-Imperia, the Duke of Castile's daughter, and decides to take justice into his own hands. In his tragically short life, Thomas Kyd wrote one play that has become a classic. In its day, it was one of the most popular on stage and in print, going through 10 printings in the 40 years after it was written. His language is not as accessible as Shakespeare's, but with careful reading, the attraction of the play to the late Elizabethan audience becomes clear. This was one of the first revenge tragedies. By the end of the play, almost everyone has been killed or committed suicide. There are many plot lines that have echoes in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Students of that play should find it worth their time to discover what is considered by many scholars to be an influence on William Shakespeare.