Then haste we down to meet thy friends and foes:
To place thy friends in ease, the rest in woes.
For here, though death hath end their misery,
I'll there begin their endless tragedy. IV, v, 45-48
I found the final scene particularly interesting. Andrea and Revenge, who open the play, appear in the last moments of The Spanish Tragedy, bringing the frame of the plot full circle. Yet their presence does not offer any closure. Andrea, who has now witnessed the demise of his enemies, is not satisfied. Rather, he asks Revenge to "Let [him] be judge, and doom [his enemies] to unrest" (IV, v, 30). Revenge grants Andrea this request and closes the play with the lines above. I interpret the final word of the play, and indeed the final lines, as containing multiple meanings. Andrea's enemies must endure a new kind of tragedy and suffering, eternal damnation in Hell. I also believe Kyd was playing on the word "tragedy." While this performance is ending, a new play is beginning, one again of violence and suffering in the after life. The horror of revenge, which Kyd portrays in this play, only becomes more terrible; the horror has only just began.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment