Revenge in Hamlet and The Revengers Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve

In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revengers cataclysm, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the word of the revengers by other characters in the plays.Although having similarities in their central themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revengers catastrophe appearing, in comparison, limited by the authors social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation.Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, contract in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middletons Vindice is largely an allegorical character his name and the name o f other characters in The Revengers Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from mediaeval morality plays names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revengers Tragedy from the opening scenes remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven deadly Sins, to Vindices simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil.Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, non only from the devastation of his father, but also from the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mothers true nature (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works CitedBradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeares Tragedies A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.Garb er, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York Routledge, 2008. Print.Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of accounting for Life. Arlington, VA Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print.Erlich, Avi. Hamlets Absent Father. Princeton, NJ Princeton UP, 1977. Print.Middleton, Thomas. The Revengers Tragedy. 1607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London Penguin Classics, 2012. Print.Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994.Wilson, J. Dover What Happens in Hamlet New York Cambridge University Press, 1959 Revenge in Hamlet and The Revengers Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revengers Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the treatment of the revengers by o ther characters in the plays.Although having similarities in their underlying themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revengers Tragedy appearing, in comparison, limited by the authors social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation.Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, have in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middletons Vindice is largely an allegorical character his name and the names of other characters in The Revengers Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from Medieval morality plays names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revengers Tragedy from the opening scenes remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven Deadly Sins, to Vindices simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil.Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, not only from the death of his father, but also from the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mothers true nature (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works CitedBradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeares Tragedies A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.Garber, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York Routledge, 2008. Print.Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. Arlington, VA Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print.Erlich, Avi. Hamlets Absent Father. Princeton, NJ Princeton UP, 1977. Print.Middleton, Thomas. The Revengers Tragedy. 1 607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London Penguin Classics, 2012. Print.Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994.Wilson, J. Dover What Happens in Hamlet New York Cambridge University Press, 1959