How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line.)
Quote #4
HORATIO:
I saw him honored with due funeral.
This scarf I plucked from his lifeless arm,
And wear it in remembrance of my friend.BEL-IMPERIA:
I know the scarf; would he had kept it still!
For had he lived he would have kept it still,
And worn it for his Bel-Imperia's sake,
For 'twas my favor at his last depart.
But now wear thou it for both him and me,
For after him thou hast deserved it best. (1.4.41-49)
There's a lot going on here. And it's all about memory. Here's the boiled down version of this exchange: Horatio gave Andrea a funeral from which he took one of his friend's scarves to remember him by. Bel-Imperia recognizes that she gave Andrea the same scarf for him to remember her by. Bel-Imperia changes the meaning of the scarf so that it now reminds Horatio of both her and Andrea.
See how memories can change given new circumstances? A love token is supposed to stand for one love for all time, but this love token quickly changes to serve a multiplicity of loves—and all this in the space of just a few lines. What does this say about how humans manipulate memory? And manipulate love? The ghost is meant to make memory present so that justice can be served. But does this fail? We'll leave that up to you, but keep in mind that Hieronimo will find this scarf, smear it with blood, and use it as motivation to kill a lot of characters. But let's talk more about this versatile hanky while looking over the next quote.
Quote #5
HIERONIMO:
See'st thou this handkerchief besmeared with blood?
It shall not from me till I take revenge.
See'st thou those wounds that yet are bleeding fresh?
I'll not entomb them till I have revenged.
Then will I joy amidst my discontent;
Till then my sorrow never shall be spent. (2.5.51-56)
Yes, we've already talked about this quote in the "Revenge" theme section. But at the time we were only talking about revenge. And this is one of the most important quotes on memory, too. Speaking of memory, you already know that this hanky was formerly a love token. And a love token for three different loves, no less. So how does a love token turn into inspiration for a killing spree?
Well, maybe love has something to do with it (sorry, Tina Turner). It's Hieronimo's love for his son that motivates him to seek revenge. And Kyd brilliantly symbolizes love gone violent in the metamorphosis of the scarf. Maybe the play wants us to think about how violence self-perpetuates itself through two fundamental human capacities: love and memory. You know that old saying, "An eye for an eye will leave everyone blind?" Well, it's love and memory that keeps that cycle going in The Spanish Tragedy. But technically speaking, this cycle would inevitably leave one guy with one eye left—so not everyone would be blind. Go ahead, think it through.
Quote #6
HIERONIMO:
The night, sad secretary to my moans,
With direful visions wake my vexed soul,
And with the wounds of my distressful son
Solicit me for notice of his death
[…]
The cloudy day my discontent records,
Early begins to register my dreams
And drive me forth to seek the murderer. (3.2.14-21)
Hieronimo is having bad dreams about his son's bleeding wounds. He did make an oath to never forget them, so here his very dreams are helping him to keep that oath. And to show that this memory goes beyond Hieronimo, we also get the image of the "cloudy day" recording the memory of Horatio's murder. It's as if the cosmos records memories that need to be sorted out on earth.
Sure, there's some truth to this cosmos theory, otherwise the underworld would not have sent Andrea back to the living to oversee the revenge process. But is a higher order really calling for violent revenge? Or does the play suggest that bad memories inspire the worst in us? This is the biggest question of the play. And you love tackling big questions, right?