The Spanish Tragedy is a play by Thomas Kyd written in the late 16th century centering on the themes of death and revenge. The ghost of Andrea desires revenge on Balthazar, who killed him and who has been captured by Horatio and Lorenzo. After Lorenzo discovers that his sister Bel-imperia is now in love with Horatio (after loving Andrea previously), he locks her away and kills Horatio. Eventually Bel-imperia and Horatio's father, Hieronimo, kill Lorenzo and Balthazar during a play they put on for the king.
HAMLET SOME ASPECTS OF THE PLAY HAMLET as a Revenge Tragedy Elizabethan dramatists did not first invent HAMLET Behind the play versions of the tale are known which go back at least to the thirteenth century but in all versions the theme is the same revenge Elizabethan playgoers had a peculiar delight in this theme and there are many revenge plays Most of them follow a pattern just as in these days the crime and detective thriller runs to type In the thriller there is first the crime The masterm
ENDINGS IN RENAISSANCE TRAGEDY Among the various definitions of tragedy the one most commonly proffered is a play that treats at the most uncompromising level human suffering or pathos with death being the usual conclusion According to Aristotles Poetics the purpose of tragedy is to show how humans are at the mercy of fate and to cleanse the audience by provoking extreme emotions of pity and terror The tragic actions on the dramatic stage cause the audience to experience these extreme feelings