A revenge tragedy is a genre of play, popularized in the seventeenth century, in which the protagonist pursues revenge for real or perceived abuse. Tragedies typically use some of the same conventions, such as escalating revenge suits, interrupted trials, botched executions, and tragic endings. Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy is a curious example of this type of play, ultimately reading like a pastiche of a variety of other revenge tragedies. Using comedy and exaggerating the conventions of revenge tragedies like Shakespeare's Hamlet, Middleton effectively parodies this genre in his play, The Avenger's Tragedy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In many revenge tragedies, including Shakespeare's Hamlet, the thought of revenge emerges from a murder. Conventionally, character one kills character two, and character three seeks revenge on character one for this murder. In Hamlet there are only two clear revenge plots. The first begins when Hamlet discovers that his uncle, Claudius, has killed his father, King Hamlet of Denmark. At the beginning of the play, the ghost of King Hamlet appears before Hamlet and states, "If ever you had loved thy dear father - / ... / Avenge his foul and unnatural murder," (1.5.25) before to reveal that Claudius poured poison into his ear while he slept in his orchard (1.5.59-79). After hearing the shocking news about his father's death, Hamlet makes it his goal to prove that his father's story is true and to kill Claudius. However, in doing so, he mistakenly kills Polonius, who was hiding behind a tapestry, believing him to be Claudius (3.4.23-25). This action serves as the catalyst for the second revenge plot in the play. Laertes, son of Polonius, returning home from France, learns of his father's unjust murder: And thus I have lost a noble father, a sister brought to desperate plight, who, if praise can roll back, remained defiant , on the mountain, of all ages For its perfections. But my revenge will come (4.7.25-29). This “revenge” he refers to is similar to the revenge Hamlet aims to achieve for his father; Laertes becomes single-minded in his plot to kill Hamlet, who killed his father and drove his sister mad. Both of these revenge plots have a justifiable impulse and a linear form of reasoning to achieve their goals. The revenge plots in Middleton's The Revengers Tragedy are not so sparse and linear. Only a few characters seek revenge for reasons that can be considered noble and justified. Vindex, for example, seeks revenge for his late love, Gloriana, stating, “The old duke has poisoned, / For your purest part would not consent / To his lust for paralysis” (1.1.32-34). Likewise, Antonio and Ippolito aim for revenge against the duchess's unnamed younger son for the rape of Antonio's wife and her subsequent suicide (1.4.59-64). In both cases, the characters seek revenge due to illegal abuse, murder and rape, against their loved ones. These revenge causes are justified in the genre of revenge tragedies and can be found in multiple plays of this particular genre. However, not all of the characters in The Revenger's Tragedy are so virtuous; some seek revenge for unreasonable and absurd reasons. The best example of this can be seen in the characters Supervacuo and Ambitioso. When Lussurioso is thrown into prison for treason, the Duke gives Supervacuo and Ambitioso a seal to give to the guards,stating that Lussurioso must be executed (2.3.99-101). When Supervacuo and Ambitious bring the seal to the guards, they state that the Duke wants "[their] brother" to be executed immediately (3.31-3); however, the guards kill the younger brother instead, since Lussurio has been freed (3.4.39-40). After discovering the fate of their younger brother, Supervacuo and Ambitioso vow to avenge his death: Well, enough words – you will be avenged in faith. Come and throw away the clouds now, brother; think of revenge and the deepest and most rooted hatred. Sirrah, sit down quickly: we will cut down everything, but in the end you will cut it down (3.6.88-91). If one were to look only at these lines, it would seem that Supervacuo and Ambitioso had a just reason to seek revenge for their younger brother; however, its quick execution was their fault alone. They may believe they have a noble and justifiable cause to avenge their younger brother, but, in reality, their cause is absurd and unnecessary. By providing the audience with examples of varying degrees of justified revenge, Middleton is able to point out how ridiculous some of these revenge plots truly are. For example, when the murder of one character's wife is accompanied by the accidental execution of another character's brother, the former highlights the absolute absurdity of the latter. This juxtaposition not only serves as a comedic device but also exaggerates the role of revenge in these revenge tragedies, effectively satirizing the genre and its main trope. Because death plays such a vital role in revenge tragedies, images of death, such as skulls, are eminent. In Hamlet, before Ophelia's funeral, Hamlet finds himself in a cemetery conversing with some gravediggers. After picking up a skull and recognizing it as a former jester he once knew, Hamlet throws the skull to the ground and reflects on death, stating, "Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returns to dust, dust is earth, of the earth us to take charge of, and why couldn't they stop a barrel of beer from that dirt he has converted to? (5.1.192-195). that while life may be important and some will equate to greatness, in the end everyone dies and becomes a skull in the ground His reflections are philosophical and existential, highlighting the innate gravity of revenge tragedies and the deaths that inhabit them The Revenger's Tragedy, Vindex, on the other hand, uses this image of death for other purposes. In the opening scene of the play, Vindex enters carrying a skull, cursing the Duke and his family. During his first monologue, we learn that this skull is "the yellowish image of [his] poisoned love" (1.1.14) or his dead fiancée, Gloriana. This conventional use of the skull is similar to that of Hamlet; Vindex turns to the skull and reflects on the untimely death of his love. He does not delve into its philosophical implications as Hamlet does, but he recognizes its serious meaning. However, this solemn reflection is short-lived. A few acts later, the Duke hires Vindex, disguised as Piato, to arrange a meeting with him and a lady in an abandoned lodge (3.5.8-18). Vindex sees this as the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge on the Duke and decides that the "lady" he will bring to the Duke will be the adorned skull of his murdered fiancée: Madam, His Grace will not be absent for long. Secret? Never doubt us, lady. It will be worth three velvet gowns for your lordship. Known? Few women respect him; misfortune? A poor thin shell! It is the greatest grace you have to do it well; I will spare your hand from that toil, I will expose you (3.5.43-48). Following this quote, Vindex debunks this“madam” and reveals her true identity. This is in stark contrast to Hamlet's existential musings. By having Vindex dress the skull as a woman, Middleton injects humor and absurdity into an otherwise serious scene. Vindex's madness is acknowledged in the play, as Hippolito states, "Why brother, brother" (3.5.49) after Vindex unmasks the skull. By having another character recognize this absurdity, Middleton calls attention to the fact that dressing up your dead girlfriend's skull is, indeed, a ridiculous plan. Likewise, because the audience saw Vindex's solemn reflection on this skull in the play at the beginning, Middleton further highlights the use of comedy in a conventionally humorless scene, successfully delving into the idea that this opera is a parody of the typical revenge tragedy. Another convention typical of revenge tragedies is the use of involuntary execution. In Hamlet, Claudius sends Hamlet and his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on a ship to England with a letter calling for Hamlet's execution upon his arrival (4.3.60-70). Hamlet, learning of this, exchanges the letter with the one he wrote. This letter states that "the bearers [should be] put to sudden death" (5.2.48) which, in this case, are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as Hamlet leaves the ship and heads for Denmark. Through the involuntary execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet is not only able to avoid his own execution, but also to punish those who worked against him, without showing any sympathy for his traitors: because, friend, they did the I love this job. They are not close to my consciousness. Their defeat grows because of their own insinuations. It is dangerous when the basest nature comes between the pace and raging points of powerful opposites (5.2.58-63). These deaths serve to further the idea of ​​revenge in this play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have wronged Hamlet; so Hamlet devises a way to have them killed. Their performances provide a means to an end that benefits both Hamlet and the overall narrative, proving purposeful rather than superfluous. The Avengers Tragedy, on the other hand, employs involuntary executions for a different purpose. When Supervacuo and Ambitious tell the guards that the Duke wants their "brother" executed, they intend for the guards to execute Lussurioso, their half-brother (3.31-3). However, Lussurioso was released without their knowledge; therefore, the guards instead bring their younger brother to his execution (3.4.39-40). When the guards bring the decapitated head of their younger brother to Supervacuo and Ambitioso, they feign shock, still believing that it is Lussurioso (3.6.39-42). However, immediately after this fake mourning, Lussurioso enters, causing Supervacuo and Ambitioso to exclaim: “Alive! In heat! Released!" in an attempt to hide their surprise (3.6.58). Upon learning that it was, in fact, their younger brother who was executed, they similarly exclaim: “Plague! Confusions! Darkness! Devils!”; however, this time, these exclamations are sincere (3.6.75). The repetition of short exclamations serves to highlight the surprise these characters face when they learn the truth. Furthermore, by having the characters alternate with each individual word, Middleton introduces comedy into the scene. Not only is the accidental execution absurd in itself, but so are the characters' reactions. This humor and absurdity reject the conventional cliché of the involuntary execution, like the scene in Hamlet, thus effectively undermining the serious tone. used in many revenge tragedies. Typically, revenge tragedies end with brutal and bloody death scenes, and theHamlet's infamous ending is a well-known example of this convention. Claudius agrees with Laertes that he should avenge his father's death and suggests that Laertes challenge Hamlet to a fencing duel, which would give him the opportunity to kill Hamlet without it appearing like foul play (4.6.79-84 ). Furthermore, Laertes anoints his sword with poison to ensure that Hamlet dies, and Claudius has a poisoned chalice to give him, if all else fails (4.6.111-133). However, this plan fails. While Hamlet and Laertes are fencing, Laertes wounds Hamlet, they drop their rapiers and Hamlet grabs Laertes' rapier and wounds Laertes, meaning they have both been poisoned. While this fight is taking place, Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, takes a sip from the chalice, is poisoned, and dies (5.2.234, 253). After learning that the cup has been poisoned and that Claudius is to blame, Hamlet stabs and kills Claudius and, soon after, both Laertes and Hamlet die from their poisoned wounds. At the end of this scene, the only character left alive is Horace; all other characters are killed by another, exemplifying the typical death scene of a revenge tragedy. Not only does everyone die, but they do so in dramatic fashion, uttering profound apologies and statements in the moments before their deaths. This increases both the severity of these deaths and the moral implications that accompany them, making the audience feel as if this play is truly tragic. However, The Revenger's Tragedy handles the final tragic death scene very differently. Vindex, Ippolito and two gentlemen enter Lussurioso's banquet as part of a masquerade. They begin their masquerade dance and, during all this frivolity, kill the four nobles sitting at the table, including Lussurioso. The mask then retreats and a new mask, consisting of Supervacuo, Ambitious, Surpio and a fourth man, goes into a dance routine. Seeing that Lussurioso has been stabbed, Supervacuo states: “Then I proclaim myself. Now I am duke,” (5.3.54) prompting Ambitioso to shout, “You duke! Brother, you lie" (5.3.55) and stabs Supervacuo so that he can become the new Duke. This causes Spurio to shout, “Slave! You too" (5.3.55) and stabs Ambitious, who leads the fourth man into mask thus exclaims: "Vile villain, have you killed my lord and master?" (5.3.56). This chain of stabbings is very different from the death scene depicted in Hamlet for a number of reasons. First, there is no secret revenge plot that started all this murder; instead, these men impulsively stab each other when they see fit, exaggerating the act of killing. This certainly makes the death scene dramatic, but it is not as tragic as the scene in Hamlet. Tragedy involves suffering and anguish, neither of which is represented in these hasty deaths. Secondly, the characters in this scene do not express meaningful reflections and statements in the moments before their deaths like Laertes and Hamlet in Hamlet. Instead, they fight like children, arguing about who is in the wrong. This introduces comedy into a traditionally dark scene, removing the potential gravity of the situation. By exaggerating the act of killing oneself and employing humor, Middleton is able to highlight the absurdity of some tragic death scenes and then successfully parody them. Middleton more blatantly parodies the revenge tragedy genre by making The Avenger's Tragedy a metadrama, meaning that the act of killing oneself the play is aware of the genre it inhabits. Examples of this can be found throughout the play and include the abundance of digressions, Vindex's continued mention of the word revenge, and the employment of traditional conventions of the tragedies of,.