ONE RECURRENT THEME: REVENGE IN SHAKESPEARE`S TRAGEDIES, HISTORIES AND COMEDIES

Abstract

This paper`s aim is to show that not only the revenge tragedies Hamlet
and Titus Andronicus are shaped or influenced by the notion of revenge, but that
Shakespeare used that notion in most of the other 34 plays featured in the 1623 First
Folio, both as a major theme and as a device, the latter primarily in the comedies. In
addition, the presence of revenge in his plays indicates that Shakespeare follows the
platitude “Omni ars naturae imitation est” and the zeitgeist at that time particularly
regarding Southern Europeans and revenge. Besides Shakespeare, other play writers
who acquainted the public with this notion through their plays were Kyd`s The
Spanish Tragedy (1592), Marston’s Antonio’s Revenge (1600) and Middleton’s The
Revenger’s Tragedy (1606). Another aim of this paper is to establish how far revenge
can be detrimental to the characters involved. For obvious reasons, this paper cannot
cover all the instances of revenge in the thirty analyzed plays.