The Spanish Tragedy
by Thomas Kyd
Study Guide
Theatre Pro Rata
March 13-28, 2010
Contents
1. Thomas Kyd: a short biography and timeline
2. Revenge tragedy as a genre
3. The historical context of the play
4. The Spanish Tragedy: a synopsis
5. The Spanish Tragedy: production history
6. Some issues and questions to consider
7. Resources
Thomas Kyd: a short biography and timeline
Thomas Kyd was born in the autumn of 1558; he was baptized on November 6 in the
church of St. Mary Woolnoth in London. His parents were Francis Kyd and Anna Kyd;
his father was a member of the Company of Scriveners of London. Scriveners were
responsible for a range of secretarial and administrative duties, including the
maintenance of business, judicial, and historical records for members of the nobility
and governmental bodies.
At about age six, Thomas was enrolled in the Merchant Taylors’ School of London,
where he received an education that included Latin, Greek, music, drama, physical
education, and etiquette. A grammar school education such as this was much more
rigorous than the equivalent today, and students would proceed to further education
at Cambridge or Oxford or to an apprenticeship in a professional guild. Kyd, like his
colleague Shakespeare, did not attend University. He may have pursued a career as a
scrivener for some years.
Sometime in the 1580s, Kyd served a member of the nobility (possibly as a secretary)
and also began writing plays; his patron may also have sponsored a group of players.
Those who have been mentioned as probable candidates for this patron are the Earl of
Sussex, Lord Strange, and the Earl of Pembroke. Critic and biographer Park Honan
considers Lord Strange the most likely candidate.
In late 1590 or early 1591, Kyd and Christopher Marlowe shared a writing room, and
apparently wrote for the same company. Though Marlowe and Kyd both wrote plays,
from what we know about them, it’s probable that their personal opinions were
radically different, the most glaring being Marlowe’s atheism as opposed to Kyd more
conventional religious beliefs. This writing fellowship led to disaster when both men
became involved in a political controversy about the libel of foreigners in 1593; Kyd
was arrested in May of that year and probably tortured; the ostensibly atheistical
writings that were found in his lodgings he proclaimed as something left by Marlowe,
whose company he had since left. Kyd’s self-defense is contained in two letters of
appeal written to Sir John Puckering after Marlowe’s death (May 30, 1593). Though he
had been cleared of any charges, he also hoped to be reinstated with his patron; in
this latter endeavor he was not successful.
In 1594 he completed his final work, Cornelia, a translation of Cornélie, a tragedy by
French dramatist Robert Garnier. He dedicated this to the Countess of Sussex, and in
his dedication refers to his recent “afflictions of the mind,” “bitter times,” and
“broken passions.” He died in that year and was buried on August 15, age 35.
The Spanish Tragedy is the only original play by Kyd of which we have definite
evidence and it continued to be popular after his death. In 1602, some additions were
made to the text that extend the portrait of its hero Hieronimo. A long-standing
literary tradition also credits Kyd with a lost predecessor to Shakespeare’s version of
Hamlet. The impact of The Spanish Tragedy is also clear from the additional revenge
tragedies written and performed in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
Thomas Kyd in Elizabethan England
1558 Thomas Kyd born (baptised November 6).
1564 Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare born.
1565 Thomas Kyd enrolled in the Merchant Taylors’ School, London.
1576 Blackfriars Theater in London and the Theatre in Shoreditch open,
the first places in the London area to be used especially for the presentation
of plays.
1581 The Tenne Tragedies of Seneca published in English.
1586-7 Kyd writes The Spanish Tragedy (some scholars say it may be as late as 1592, the
year it was published; Kyd’s name was not attached to the play, in any document
that survives, until 1612).
1588 The defeat of the Spanish armada.
1591 Kyd and Marlowe share lodgings.
1593 May 12: Kyd is imprisoned in relation to an outbreak of public libels against
foreigners ; ostensibly heretical wrtings are found in his lodgings and Kyd, under
torture, asserts that the papers are Marlowe’s.
1593 May 30: Marlowe dies (is murdered?) at an inn in Deptford.
1593 Summer? Kyd is released from prison, cleared of any charges, but is apparently
unable to clear his name, nor is he able to return to the service of the noble he
had previously served (various suggestions have been made about this person’s
identity). He translates Robert Garnier’s Cornélie and dedicates it to the
Countess of Sussex.
1594 August 15. Kyd is buried in St. Mary Colchurch, London.
1602 Revisions added to The Spanish Tragedy, attesting to its continued success on
stage.
1603 Queen Elizabeth dies; James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.
1616 William Shakespeare dies.
The Historical Context of the Play
The late sixteenth century was a very dramatic time in European history. The
Protestant Reformation began in 1517 in Germany and spread to other countries. In
England, Henry VIII initially opposed reformers, but when his personal marital crisis
was not met with an appropriate response from the Catholic Church, he broke from
Pope, and declared himself head of the Church in England. The short reign of his son
Edward VI retained the same status, but the subsequent reign of his daughter Mary,
reinstituted the power of the Pope. When Elizabeth became queen in 1533, the
Protestant church again became the state church. Prosecution of both Catholics and
Protestants occurred during these periods.
The European Reformation, while successful in a number of countries, did not alter
the power of the Catholic Church in Italy, Spain, or Portugal. Spain during this period
was at its most powerful; it controlled territory from the Americas to the Philippines,
to the Low Countries (which included territories now in France and Germany), to most
of modern-day Italy. From 1580 to 1640, Spain also controlled Portugal and its
empire. The original time frame of The Spanish Tragedy is linked to the Spanish
triumph over Portugal. But running an empire the size of Spain’s was a huge financial
burden, and outbreaks of political and religious dissent created on-going problems.
Queen Elizabeth supported the Protestant cause in other countries (including the
Netherlands, controlled by Spain), and in 1588 in an attempt to stop this interference,
King Philip II of Spain (supported by the Pope) sent the Spanish fleet, the most
powerful in the world, to attack England. The Armada, in a dramatic reversal, was
defeated.
Because of Spain’s powerful position during this time period, the people of England
had an interest in the country and its people. Kyd’s choice of setting for his play was
no doubt influenced by current events; most evidence indicates that it was written,
and probably produced, before the events of 1588.
Revenge Tragedy as a Genre
The Roman philosopher Seneca wrote nine Latin tragedies modeled on those of the
Greek Euripides, though they were written to be recited rather than acted.
Elizabethan playwrights, however, assumed they were written to be performed and
used them as a model for their own work. During the European Renaissance, they
were translated and imitated in Italy, France, and England. The first English tragedy
was Gorboduc (1562); these and others that followed were more strongly influenced
by Italian and French versions of Senecan tragedy than by the original Latin dramas.
We don’t know if Thomas Kyd was familiar with Seneca’s tragedies directly, though
they were published in English in 1581. The style was “in the air,” and Kyd’s Spanish
Tragedy became an emblematic example of the genre. The theme of such tragedies
involves the revenge of a father for a son, or the reverse, with the revenge often
involving the ghost of the murdered man. Other elements of such dramas include the
hesitation of the hero, the use of real or pretended insanity, suicide, intrigue, a
clever, scheming villain, philosophic soliloquies, and the sensational use of various
types of horrors.
Beginning about 1588, two different types of Senecan tragedies were written in
England: the Countess of Pembroke and playwrights under her influence produced
plays modeled on Robert Garnier’s French Seneca tragedies, including Cornelié, the
basis of Kyd’s final work—a translation of that play into English. The second, and more
significant group, including Kyd, Marlowe, and Shakespeare, combined English tragic
tradition with a variation of Senecan technique. The Spanish Tragedy is part of this
second group. One of the most significant differences between the Senecan model
and these English works is that the murders and horrors occur onstage. Another early
example of this style is Shakspeare’s Titus Andronicus (1590-91), and perhaps the
ultimate, brilliant example is his Hamlet (1599-1601)
The Spanish Tragedy: a synopsis
Andrea, a Spanish courtier, is killed in battle by Balthazar, Prince of Portugal.
During his lifetime Andrea was lover of Bel-Imperia, daughter of the Duke of Castile
and niece of the King of Spain. When Andrea’s ghost appears before the judges of the
underworld to be assigned its proper place in the world of shadows, the judges cannot
agree, and send him on to their rulers, Pluto and Prosperine, who permit the ghost,
accompanied by the spirit of Revenge, to return to earth to see vengeance executed
on his slayer.
Balthazar, Andrea’s slayer, becomes the shared prisoner of Lorenzo, Bel-
Imperia’s brother, and Horatio, son of Hieronimo, the marshall of Spain (a Knight
Marshall serves as a judge, who hears and determines all pleas of the crown; Kyd
transferred this traditional English position to Spain). The King awards the ransom to
Horatio and the custody of the royal prisoner to Lorenzo. In the Duke’s household,
Balthazar falls in love with Bel-Imperia, and the King conceives the idea that a
marriage between these two would unite the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal more
firmly than a dozen wars.
Bel-Imperia, however, has secretly taken Horatio for her lover because he was
Andrea’s friend, defeated Balthazar in battle, and gave Andrea's body burial rites.
Lorenzo, who considers Horatio an inappropriate suitor for his sister because of his
lower rank, is keen to forward Balthazar’s suit, and bribes Bel-Imperia’s servant
Pedringano to reveal the details of her meeting with Horatio. Lorenzo and Balthazar
with Pedringano and Serberine, another servant, arrive at the lovers’ rendezvous,
hang Horatio, and imprison Bel-Imperia so that she cannot spread the truth.
Hieronimo apparently goes mad when he finds his son's body; yet he knows he
must seek justice for his dead son. As a judicial official, his initial plan is to seek that
justice from the King. Lorenzo pays Pedringano to kill Serberine, and then permits
Pedringano to be hanged for the crime; by eliminating these witnesses, he persuades
himself that the crime will remain unsolved. But a letter recounting the details of the
slaying is found on Pedringano’s body and brought to Hieronimo.
When, after many persuasive speeches, Bel-Imperia is released for the royal
betrothal ceremonies, Hieronimo manages to meet with her long enough to plan their
double revenge. He arranges a play for the entertainment of the royal guests with
Lorenzo, Balthazar, Bel-Imperia, and himself as actors. During the course of the
performance Hieronimo fatally stabs Lorenzo and Bel-Imperia kills Balthazar and
herself. Before he attempts to hang himself, Hieronimo explains to his audience that
the deeds of blood are real, not sham, and the reason for them. The party rushes
down from the royal box to prevent his self-destruction before they can learn the
names of his fellow conspirators. During the confusion Hieronimo finds an opportunity
to stab both the Duke of Castile and himself. Revenge and Andrea have achieved their
goals.
Adapted from Alice B. Fort & Herbert S. Kates, Minute History of the Drama (1935),
posted online at: http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/kyd002.html
The Spanish Tragedy: Production History
The Spanish Tragedy entered the Stationers’ Register and appeared in print in 1592.
“The first recorded performances of The Spanish Tragedy were [...] in the early
months of 1592 at the Rose on Bankside.” Philip Henslowe, who held the early rights,
recorded it as being performed by Lord Strange’s Men—in fact “an amalgamation of
Strange’s and the Admiral’s Men”—“twenty times” during that season and a further
“three times in the short season of December-January 1592-3.” The next record of
the play being performed—also from Henslowe’s Diary—refers to “the Admiral’s Men’s
season at the Rose beginning 25 November 1596. Jeronimo was played first on 7
January 1597” and “twelve performances are recorded between January and July”;
“in the joint season of the Admiral’s and Pembroke’s Men which followed, Jeronimo
was the opening performance on 11 October 1597.” (Edwards, 1959: lxvi)
The play was a box-office success at the time with “twenty-nine performances
between 1592 and 1597, a record almost unsurpassed among [Henslowe’s] his plays.
The publication record is still more impressive, with at least eleven editions between
1592 and 1633, a tally unequalled by any of the plays of Shakespeare.” (J. R. Mulryne)
The play was a success abroad too: adptations of the play “were printed between
1618 and 1729 and performances took place from Holland to Bohemia and from
Denmark to southern Germany.” (Erne, 2001: 127) Schick’s and Boas’s exhaustive
studies record performances in Germany; versions of the play were performed at
Dresden (1626) by English actors, at Prague (1651) and at Lunenburg (1660). (cf.
Edwards, 1959:lxvi)
The third most performed play in the London of the 1590s—after The Jew of Malta
and The Wise Men of West Chester (now lost)—The Spanish Tragedy disappeared from
the English stage with the closing of the theatres in 1642. Between 1642 and 1921
there is only one recorded performance of the play, reported by Pepys in his diary:
“24 February 1667/68 at the Nursery Theatre in Hatton Garden [...] The play that had
been performed by the leading actors on London’s main stages for about half a
century before 1642 was now played in a marginal and temporary playhouse by
mediocre actors.” (Erne, 2001:134-5)
The Spanish Tragedy has been revived only in amateur stage productions during the
first half of the twentieth century. In most cases they were the initiative of university
dramatic societies whose main aim was to “give performances of dramatic
masterpieces of the past” which, as the special correspondent of The Times records,
“could not survive the vulgar tests of the box-office.” ('Oxford Summer Diversions',
The Times, 31 July 1937, 10)
The play was also revived in radio productions by the BBC in the fifties. If in 1953
Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy was part of a revival of “unfamiliar” plays of various times
and places, in 1956 the play was revived as part of a chronological series of Early
English Drama.
It was only in 1973 that The Spanish Tragedy returned to the professional stage in the
UK. Several professional productions followed in the eighties and the nineties.
[from the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, University of Warwick, which also
includes a bibliography: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/kyd-
spanishtragedy/performancehistory/]
Some issues and questions to consider
The Spanish Tragedy is performed for an audience in the theatre, but also includes an
audience onstage for the entire play (the ghost of Andrea and Revenge), and an
additional onstage audience for Hieronimo’s pageant early in the play and during the
final act when the court watches Hieronimo’s play-within-the-play, Solimon and
Perseda. What effect do these multiple audiences have on your response to the play?
Early in the play, we hear three descriptions of the recent battle: one by Andrea’s
ghost, one by a Spanish general reporting to the King, and the third by Horatio. How
do these three reports differ? Do you see any significance in those differences?
Hieronimo is the apparent hero of the play; yet by the final act, he himself is playing
the role of Lorenzo when he murders the actual Lorenzo (who has assumed a role in
the play parallel to that of Hieronimo’s dead son Horatio). What does this say about
the power of revenge and its impact on those who pursue it?
Hieronimo’s apparent madness and desire for revenge in response to Horatio’s murder
is the central action of the play; what other characters respond strongly to Horatio’s
death and how is their response similar to or different from Hieronimo’s?
How does the initial action, the war between Spain and Portugual, have an effect on
subsequent events? Which characters are most actively involved in the political
aspects of the play?
One key issue of the play is that of justice versus revenge. In an equitable political
system, those guilty of murder should be tried and punished. But in a system where
justice can be determined by the power of the King, who may or may not be
sympathetic to a petitioner, taking justice into one’s own hands may appear to be the
only option. How does Kyd explore this issue in his play? Who violates the code of
justice and why? Is that the only possible recourse? How do you respond as an
audience member to the events in the play?
What is your response to the characters in the play? Whose actions do you consider
justifiable? Whose are not? What characters are treated unjustly by others? What is
the ultimate impact of the actions of the characters on the world of the play?
The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet: A Comparison
The Spanish Tragedy Hamlet
Hero Hero
Hieronimo, judicial officer of Spain, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, whose father
whose son Horatio is murdered the King has been murdered
Supporters Supporters
Bel-Imperia, Isabella Horatio, Ophelia
Villain Villain
Lorenzo, nephew to the King of Spain and Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, now the King
friend to Balthzar, son of the Viceroy of
Portugal
Accomplices Accomplices
Balthazar, Pedringnano, Serberine Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern
Innocent Victims Innocent Victims
Isabella, wife of Hieronimo; the Duke of Ophelia, beloved of Hamlet; Gertrude,
Castile, father of Lorenzo and Bel-Imperia mother of Hamlet and wife of Claudius
That Way Madness Lies That Way Madness Lies
Hieronimo may (or may not) be mad; Hamlet may (or may not be mad); Ophelia
Isabella goes mad goes mad
Parallel Plotlines Parallel Plotlines
When the Viceroy of Portugal believes his Laertes, brother of Ophelia and son of
son Balthazar has been murdered, he Polonius (whom Hamlet murdered), seeks
almost kills the wrong man whom he revenge
believes responsible
Let’s Put on a Play Let’s Put on a Play
Hieronimo stages a pageant at a royal Hamlet welcomes traveling players to
banquet early in the play; in the final act Elsinore, and has them stage a play that
he stages his revenge before members of includes elements related to the murder
the court of his father
Body Count Body Count
Nine (ten if you count Andrea, who only Eight (nine if you count Hamlet Senior,
appears as a ghost in the play) who only appears as a ghost in the play)
Resources
Editions of the play
Revels student edition, edited by David Bevington (1996)
Scholar Press facsimile edition (1592)
New Mermaids edition, edited by B. L. Joseph (1964)
Fountainwell Drama Text edition, edited by Thomas W. Ross (1968)
Biography/Criticism
Ardolino, Apocalypse & Armada in Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy (1995)
Edwards, Philip. Thomas Kyd and Early Elizabethan Tragedy (1966)
Freeman, Arthur. Thomas Kyd: Facts and Problems (1967)
Honan, Park. Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy (Honan has a nice section on Kyd and
his relationship with Marlowe) (2005)
Murray, Peter. Thomas Kyd (1969)
Nicholl, Charles. The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe (1992)
Fiction
Chapman, Robin. Christoferus, or Tom Kyd’s Revenge (1993). An “Elizabethan
espionage novel,” told by Kyd in the first person.
Websites of interest
on Thomas Kyd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kyd
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/kyd.htm
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/elizabethan_jacobean_drama/kyd/
(this is a superb site with a text analysis activiy, an interactive timeline, a
bibliography, and audio and video lectures by leading experts on Kyd)
on revenge tragedy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_play
on historical issues
Tudor England: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_period
The 16th century history of Spain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Spain
The Portuguese succession crisis of 1580:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1580_Portuguese_succession_crisis
The Spanish Armada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada
