The Revenger's Tragedy Violence Quotes

Guys who talk to skulls are kind of a thing in revenge tragedies, so since this one opens with Vindice chatting up Gloriana's skull, we know right away to brace ourselves for a violent play. No PG ratings here.

Vindice's still speaking to Gloriana's skull, and it becomes clear that the Duke is pretty ghastly. This is when we learn that he poisoned Gloriana for refusing to sleep with him… ugh.

Guess it's not just the obvious baddies who are violent in this play, since here we see that Vindice is pretty bloodthirsty, too. He begins by wanting to kill the Duke, but quickly adds Lussurioso to the list. Does it genuinely seem okay to him to kill a guy for threatening to seduce his sister? It's not the nicest of behaviors, but capital punishment seems a bit extreme.

Wow—revenge has sure gone to Vindice's head. He's killed the Duke, and ready to kill the next… and the next… and the next. Looks like someone's caught the murder bug.

Castiza is one of the few characters who doesn't commit any violence. Well, okay, she slaps her brother—but she doesn't kill anyone or even try. Is she right to say in a general way that some crimes deserve the death penalty? Or does the play suggest that violence is wrong even as punishment for violence?

Here Lussurioso is talking to Junior about being serious in court, and it's clear he isn't too fond of the law. What emerges here, though, is an understanding of the law's ability to utilize violence. This leaves us with one question: Is the law's use of violence actually legit?

The Duke may not be above a little secret poisoning here and there, but he can see that violence in public is bad for his family's reputation. Do concerns about reputation have any effect in stopping violence in the play?

The Duchess thinks she's pretty great because she's decided not to kill the Duke, like some second wives would. Isn't that nice of her? It's a measure of how violent the play is that she does seem less terrible than the other characters, since her revenge stops short of murder.

Ambitioso is reacting to the realization that the plot to kill Lussurioso and rescue Junior has accidentally resulted in Junior's death while Lussurioso goes free. Oops. This would be a perfect time for Ambitioso to swear off scheming and rethink his life a bit, but what conclusion does he come to? More revenge. Some people never learn, we guess.

Yeah, not much chance of a sequel on this one—there aren't enough characters left alive. Let's hope Antonio is right and this is the end of the bloodbath. One theme of revenge tragedies? Violence produces more violence. But maybe the cycle can end here.