User:Hummingbird Hue/Scholarly Source 2: Beyond Revenge

Research Topic: Revenge in The Spanish Tragedy

NOTE: I reference the page numbers, but I am still writing the information in my own words.

"Beyond Revenge: 'The Spanish Tragedy' by Margaret Lamb
The Spanish Tragedy may cover revenge and justice, but it's special because it doesn't rely on Senecan or Christian concepts (33).


 * We should be thinking about what occurred in The Spanish Tragedy instead of comparing it to other plays and other cultural references (34).

The first part is about the revenge to kill Horatio. The second part is about the revenge that Hieronimo undergoes to avenge Horatio (34).


 * [Theme] But Hieronimo goes beyond revenge

Purpose of Chorus: to be a little confusing, but to also be an ironic placement

Contrast!!!


 * 1) Don Andrea and Revenge are removed from the situation, acting in a slow or sleepy manner, but the characters in action are full of energy as they suffer (35)
 * 2) Rhetorical speeches mirror the formal language and formal culture of that world

[Theme] Kyd is  patient , unfolding the world slowly to reveal an  ideal medieval world that is fake  (36).

[Motif]  Bloody handkerchief replaces the scarf  (love and revenge themes)


 * (I kind of want to read more about this!!!)

Strengths to stage business


 * Foreshadowing references like trees and final public show (36)

The Spanish Tragedy is also special because it  changes the theme  (37)


 * Traditional English medieval drama and Senecan values have a beginning theme that carries through to the end
 *  !!! "But Hieronimo learns what he had never dreamed, and the world turns upside down" (37) 
 * Hieronimo doesn't expect his son to die, which makes his actions more unpredictable due to this shock
 * Bel-Imperia is an example of a character that is not static.
 *  Characters don't need to be consistent  (37)

Just as Kyd is patient with how he unfolds his play, Hieronimo is patient too (37).


 * Scholars see  Hieronimo's patient and mad behavior  differently
 * Patience may be logical because he is trying to study the people that he wants to kill
 * Transition from going to an official to carry out justice to taking revenge into his own hands (37)
 * Justice from official to individual
 * Instead of looking at the ethical behavior, we should be looking at how Hieronimo is suffering (38)
 * Look at him in a more humane way; he is acting this way to cope with his suffering.
 * Hieronimo is private and patient during this process because this is internal suffering that he needs to unleash somewhere eventually

Questions of madness lead to judgment at the end of the play


 *  Tongue-biting : It may be seen as mad, savage, or punishment...
 *  !!! Avoid the moral problems : By seeing this as a revenge play, society ignores our current problems around excessive killing... and just keeps it contained in the horrific play version instead (38)
 * Talk about this point!!!
 * If we compare it in the real-world context, it's the horror
 * If we keep it contained to the theatre world, then it's art
 * Perspective varies based on what you are connecting to it

Play within a play double response (39)


 * Instruction? Entertainment?
 *  Message to the real world 
 *  !!! Tongue-biting: "But this chaos is not only inside Hieronimo. He makes the entire court feel what he feels. Then they know, at last. Then he need not bother to speak. Words express moral ideas and so are useless. Kyd shows the unspeakable" (39) 
 * Once his purpose is done, he cuts off his tongue.

To conclude, this is the first English tragedy to not just be about good and evil, but about something deeper. Something more (40).


 * Just saying that this is a revenge concept doesn't do it justice to the weight of what has actually occurred. More to that.

Criteria

 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes because it goes beyond revenge on the deeper message
 * Is it written neutrally?
 * It was proving an argument to take Kyd more seriously and to appreciate the play for its breakthrough and the deeper layers besides just revenge
 * Does each claim have a citation?
 * Yes, footnotes
 * Are the citations reliable?
 * Yes
 * Does the article tackle one of Wikipedia's equity gaps (coverage of historically underrepresented or misrepresented populations or subjects)?
 * Touches on how we need to view the characters with more humanity
 * Touches on how we need to reflect on how these horrors in theatre are a reflection of our activity in the real world (instead of just being hypocrites)
 * Check out the article's Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Consider posting some of your ideas to the article's Talk page, too.