The Spanish Tragedy Revenge Quotes

Notice that Revenge treats the ghost of Andrea like he's about to watch a movie. He's like, "Hey, sit back, have some popcorn, and we'll watch the dude who killed you get dissed by your ex and then die." We of course already know that he'll die because of the word "tragedy." All of this sounds like a good time (if you're the ghost of a murdered guy).

To Elizabethans, the word "mystery" meant both "secret truth" and "play." So the idea is that by watching plays we all learn secret truths. This means that the audience (us) and Andrea have special information that the rest of the cast doesn't. It also means that we become aware that someone beside ourselves is always watching what happens—kinda creepy. But for Elizabethans this would be motivation not to do evil stuff—kind of like Big Brother watching you.

Interestingly enough, the first confirmed avenger in the play is a woman. She decides that the best way to get back at the guy who killed her first lover, Andrea, is to now give her love to his best friend, Horatio. She's right. Because after Prince Balthazar kills Andrea, he's all over Bel-Imperia like a crazed frat boy. And when he finds out about Bel-Imperia and Horatio, the trouble begins. The real question here is whether she truly loves Horatio, or merely sees him as a practical means to get revenge on Balthazar. The quote leaves both possibilities open, which leaves the choice up to you. Whatever the case, romantic love is part of her plan for revenge, a tactic we will not see in Hieronimo's revenge plans to come.

We get it, Revenge. You're going to jack those dudes up. But Andrea is getting impatient. All he's been seeing is his enemies having an awesome party. This is the first of a few times in which Andrea grows impatient while Revenge tells him to wait till the last act. And this impatience is a micro-theme under the larger theme of revenge. Because all the wronged characters feel like justice is moving agonizingly slow. Part of this is about saying Spain is a corrupt, lawless place (England saw Spain as its rival). But there's also something about the emotions of revenge. You know how when you want something really, really bad the clock seems to stop moving? Like, maybe waiting for class to end?

Remember when Bel-Imperia set her heart on revenge? She decided that having a new boyfriend would help her get what she wanted. Hieronimo takes another direction: blood. It's not that Bel-Imperia isn't thinking of the same outcome (she is), it's just that male and female revenge are characterized very differently in the play.

Hieronimo smears his son's blood on a handkerchief to feed the rage that will fuel his violence. Gross? Maybe. Manly? Well, maybe not to us, necessarily. But maybe the play is trying to investigate revenge from male and female perspectives? If you think about the play this way, be sure to know that Elizabethan's weren't that evolved when it comes to gender equity. One thing is clear, Hieronimo is going to be mad forever, but some killing would sprinkle a small helping of joy on his otherwise overwhelming grief.

So this comes after Andrea gets impatient with Revenge… again.The point here is that repetition is one way that authors establish themes (and sometimes boredom). But what's interesting here is that Revenge obviously thinks of revenge as something natural. And why wouldn't he? He is Revenge, after all.

Look at the metaphor he uses. It's all about harvesting corn. Doesn't sound too deadly, but a sickle is that blade thing the grim reaper uses. Yeah, that thing. And while it's a scary image in the clip, in the play it's all about patience and timing. It's as if waiting will make the corn taste better. As an audience, do we want this to drag on so we better enjoy the 'taste' of the last act?

A letter written with blood for ink? Now that's commitment. Bel-Imperia has been in captivity, so without her little box of school supplies, blood is her only choice for writing a letter. And to speak the truth, blood is all that's on her mind at this point anyway.

Remember how we talked about the differences between male and female revenge in the play? Well, this is a great example in which we see that Bel-Imperia has to literally lose her own blood to even get heard. Because her older brother is controlling her, self-sacrifice is her only means to get revenge. A martyr is someone who has to sacrifice herself for a cause, and here the play is subtly foreshadowing Bel-Imperia's martyrdom. The worst part is that her bloody letter isn't enough to entirely convince Hieronimo to kill Lorenzo and Balthazar. Sometimes, it's hard to be a woman.

First things first: this passage can be a little confusing, so let's Shmoop it up a bit. The first word of the speech, "that," refers to a dagger Hieronimo is holding. And the "this" in the fifth line is a hangman's noose (or a halter, as it's called in the stage direction). So Hieronimo is standing here with a dagger and a noose trying to figure out which way to kill himself. Ultimately, he decides to live and follow the path of revenge in the line, "This way I'll take."

Okay, now that we've cleared that up, we see that self-sacrifice and revenge isn't just for the women of the play. There's just something about revenge that makes people want to off themselves. Many critics believe Hieronimo's choice between suicide and revenge is the inspiration for Hamlet's "to be, or not to be" speech. Whether it be or it not be, we should wonder why suicide and revenge are getting linked in these plays.

This is Hieronimo's Breaking Bad moment—which means, like Walter from the aforementioned hit series, Hieronimo is finally giving in to the idea that crime is the only option for him. He acknowledges that revenge is a criminal act, and since the "safe way for crime is always through crime," (at least that's what the fancy Latin says) he also commits himself to cunningly and deceitfully achieving his goals. He still believes that heaven calls for murder to be repaid, it's just that he needs to break bad because his well-placed enemies have blocked all of his legal avenues.

His last resolution in the passage is that evil deeds bring more evil deeds ("for evil unto ills conductors be"), but the worst thing that can happen to him is death ("And death's the worst of resolution")—he's apparently cool with death, no doubt fired up by reciting some butt kicking Latin. The cruel irony is that the only way to get justice within an unjust system is to become a criminal. Recall that Hieronimo's job is to bring criminals to justice, making the irony almost overwhelming.

The theme that revenge is a slow process culminates with Revenge literally falling asleep on the stage. Make no doubt, this is a moment of dark comedy. It's just plain fun to laugh at the bored guy who falls asleep during a play. Especially if that guy should be the main driving force of the action.

But sleepy Revenge does wake up enough to defend himself. He basically says, "human time and supernatural time are two different things; what seems like forever to you is just a good time for me to take a nap." This is an important moment in the play because it teaches a moral. And the moral speaks to two groups: good guys and bad guys. It tells good guys to be patient while waiting for justice while simultaneously teaching the bad guys that they will eventually get their just deserts. In a play where only the powerful seem to have access to justice, we at least get the idea that there is a higher force at play. But since Revenge is never directly involved, we're left to wonder if it matters whether Revenge sleeps or not? You'll have to decide: is Revenge sleeping on the job or an appropriately patient form of justice?

If you think Hieronimo is frustrated because he has no access to justice, just think about how Isabella must feel. As a woman of her time, she's totally out of the loop. She has zero options. Because women were not even supposed to speak in public forums, much less seek justice publicly against members of the royal family.

So what does she do? She cuts down the arbor where her son was hanged. While this might seem sadly impotent, it's actually a powerfully symbolic moment. After going all Rambo on her garden, she brings her symbolic point home by linking the arbor with her motherhood: "And as I curse this tree from further fruit,/ So shall my womb be cursed for his sake" (4.2.34-35). Yes, she kills herself, but what does cursing her life-giving powers mean in the context of revenge?

What does this say about her limitations? But even more importantly, what does it say about female power in the play? It's a reminder that women are life-givers in a play where men do a lot of life taking. It's important to note that women tend to turn inward for revenge in the play, while men act outwardly.