The Spanish Tragedy (New Mermaids) - Softcover

Kyd, Thomas; Mulryne, J.R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0713667923 ISBN 13: 9780713667929

Publisher: Methuen Drama, 2003

Synopsis

The first fully-fledged example of 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 a scene replete with
meta-theatrical implications, Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia stage a playlet
with Portuguese and Spanish nobles as actors, stabbing them with real
'fake' daggers before they kill themselves. This edition, which appends
the scenes that were added in 1602, discusses Elizabethan attitudes to
revenge, the Senecan features of the play and the significance of the
Anglo-Spanish conflict in the 1580s.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The Spanish Tragedy became one of the most successful plays on the Elizabethan English stage and laid the foundation of the revenge tragedy, a genre that playwrights returned to throughout the early modern era and that endures even today. The story surrounds the civil servant Hieronimo, who joins Bel-imperia of the royal family to take revenge on her own brother for murdering Hieronimo’s son, the object of her affection. The work goes far beyond a story of intrigue and brings up questions of aristocratic privilege, the moral hazards of revenge, the spectacle of violence, and the agency of women at court.

This Broadview Edition includes a freshly edited text based on the 1592 edition, notes designed to help first-time readers understand and enjoy the work, an extensive introduction that situates the play in its literary and historical context, and extensive historical documents. The documents open up avenues of inquiry for students interested in the life and work of Thomas Kyd, the construction of women at court, the question of revenge, violence, and entertainment in Elizabethan England, and Spain in the Elizabethan imagination.

About the Author

Clara Calvo, University of Murcia, Spain
Jesus Tronch, University of Valencia, Spain

About this edition

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0713667923
• ISBN 13: 9780713667929
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 138