Stephanie Bailey Dr.

Diecidue ENL 4338 1 March 2012 Revenge and Justice in Hamlet, Titus, and The Spanish Tragedy The themes of revenge and justice are prominent aspects of Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, and The Spanish Tragedy. These critical concepts rely on definitions to guide any discussion of their role in the plays. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, revenge is the action of hurting, harming, or otherwise obtaining satisfaction from someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at his or her hands. The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus lists the following synonyms for revenge: reprisal, retaliation, retribution, vengeance. Justice is defined by the OED as the quality of being (morally) just or righteous; the principle of just dealing; the exhibition of this quality or principle in action. The following synonyms are listed for justice in the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus: fairness, impartiality, goodness, virtue; honor; decorum. However, there are important differences between the two terms that can be deduced from these definitions and synonyms. The first major distinction between revenge and justice is that revenge is personal retaliation whereas justice is a public concern. Secondly, there is a contrast between the two terms and their intent. Revenge is motivated by a negative emotion, such as hatred or anger. Justice is instigated by positive feelings, like duty or honor. Hieronimo, Titus and Hamlet briefly contemplate justice, but instead they turn to revenge. The effect of revenge at the end of these plays indicates that Hamlet and Titus Andronicus criticize revenge, but The Spanish Tragedy depicts revenge as an appropriate method of punishment.

Bailey 2 Hieronimo considers public justice and divine justice before deciding to seek revenge for the loss of his son. Shortly after the death of Horatio, Hieronimo is fulfilling his duties as a judge and doling out justice to other people. He remarks on how unfair it is that he is performing justice for everyone else, but no one is helping him achieve justice: That only I to all men just must be, / And neither gods nor men be just to me (3.6.9-10). The revenge hero waits for evidence to support the claims of Bel-Imperia in her letter. The second letter delivered by the Hangman serves as this evidence and confirms the identities of Horatios killers. Hieronimo shows restraint and reason in his decision to wait for evidence of the killers guilt. Hieronimo vows to either purpose justice by entreats/ Or tire them all with my revenging threats (3.7.7273). The protagonist undertakes justice before resorting to revenge. Hieronimo attempts to ask the King of Spain for justice: I come and see the King; / The King sees me, and fain would hear my suitHell do thee justice for Horatios death (3.12. 1-13). However, Hieronimo is unsuccessful at obtaining justice. He is unable to be clear and articulate his situation to the King because he is too emotional. After the scene with the King, he returns home and ponders abandoning his mission for justice and revenge in favor of divine justice: Ay, heaven will be revenged of every ill, / Nor will they suffer murder unrepaid (3.13. 2-3). Ultimately, Hieronimo believes that he has no other options available to him except avenging his son himself; consequently, he chooses revenge: And to conclude, I will revenge his death! (3.13. 20). Hieronimos elaborate revenge plan causes the death of five characters in the play. Hieronimo is responsible for three of those deaths, including his own. After the execution of his revenge, he is at last revenged thoroughly and confesses that his heart is satisfied, which recalls the definition of revenge whereby the avenger gains satisfaction from the offenders death (4.4. 173, 129).

Bailey 3 Revenge is a last resort for Hamlet. Similar to Hieronimo, Hamlet waits for evidence of Claudiuss guilt before proceeding to justice or revenge. He hopes to reveal Claudiuss guilt publicly: I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play Have by the very cunning of the scene Been struck so to the soul that presently They have proclaim'd their malefactions. (2.2. 601-604) The protagonist wants Claudius to confess murdering Hamlets father aloud for everyone present at the play to hear, which suggests a desire for public justice. Unfortunately, Claudius does not confess his crimes at the play, but does act guilty. Claudiuss guilty demeanor proves the Ghosts story is accurate and now Hamlet has evidence. While Hieronimos tragic flaw got in the way of justice, Hamlet faces an external obstacle in the path of justice. The object of his revenge is the King of Denmark, the highest authority in the country. Claudiuss position as King makes achieving justice limited. The protagonists only chance at justice is getting Claudius to admit to the murder of the late king to the entire court, which is an unsuccessful strategy. Revenge becomes Hamlets option by default. Revenge challenges Hamlets nature and religious beliefs. Consequently, Hamlet is reluctant to avenge his fathers death: Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, / Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words (2.2. 562-563). Hamlet considers suicide as an escape from the obligation to obtain revenge. However, fear of the unknown prevents him from taking his own life. Finally, Claudius and Laertess assassination attempt on Hamlet forces the revenge hero to fulfill his oath to the Ghost and kill Claudius. Hamlets quest for revenge made him responsible for four deaths throughout the play. Hamlet is motivated by his anger and hatred of Claudius. Based on the distinction between revenge and

Bailey 4 justice established in this paper, Hamlets emotional state indicates that he is accomplishing revenge and not justice. As Hamlet forces Claudius to drink the poison, he states, Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, / Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? / Follow my mother (5.2. 326-328). This is the last thing that Hamlet said to Claudius before the revenge hero kills him. In the beginning of Titus Andronicus, Titus pursues public justice and divine justice, but these methods are ineffective, and as a result he resorts to revenge. After Tituss sons are framed for murder, Titus attempts to seek justice from the judges, tributes and senators, but they ignore Tituss pleas. Titus begs the judges, tributes and senators to have mercy on his sons and not to execute them: Be pitiful to my condemned sons, / Whose souls is not corrupted as tis thought / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unbind my sons, reverse the doom of death (3.1.8-9, 24). Martius and Quintus are put to death for the crimes they were falsely accused of because Tituss effort at public justice failed. Then, Titus turns to divine justice in an act of desperation. Titus shoots arrows into the air, asking for the gods assistance in obtaining justice: And sith theres no justice in earth nor hell, / We will solicit heaven and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs (4.3. 50-53). Like the State, the gods ignore his appeal for divine justice. Without public justice or divine justice, Tituss only hope is revenge. Titus fully embraces the tradition of revenge: And worse than Progne I will be revenged (5.3. 194). The revenge hero kills four characters during the end scene alone, which is overkill and it suggests he was deeply angry, a requisite for revenge defined in this paper. This essay has determined that revenge is accomplished at the end of these plays instead of justice. Revenges effect on the ending of these plays suggests that Hamlet and Titus Andronicus condemn personal revenge whereas The Spanish Tragedy condones revenge as an

Bailey 5 acceptable form of punishment. Hamlet and Titus Andronicus portray the damaging ramifications of revenge. The endings of these plays are chaotic, violent and result in a massacre. Few survive the destructive effects of revenge. The sole surviving main character of the end scene in Hamlet was Horatio. In Titus Andronicus, Marcus and Lucius were the only ones survived Tituss vengeful slaughter. Revenge causes social and political upheaval. In Hamlet, all the heirs to the Danish throne are wiped out because of Hamlets and Laertess desire for revenge. Denmark is left in the hands of Fortinbras, who is a foreign ruler. A foreign ruler on the Danish throne does not bode well for the citizens of the country. Furthermore, the emperor, queen and the successors are dead at the end of Titus Andronicus. Lucius takes Saturninuss place and his first acts as the emperor are violent. He begins his new reign by starving Aaron to death and leaving Tamoras body out for wild animals to ravage. This violence suggests a continuation of the violence that resonated throughout the play, which could cause even further social and political turmoil for Rome. The violent, chaotic and politically damaging consequences that revenge has brought on depict vengeance in a negative light. Shakespeare is criticizing revenge as doing more harm than good and being detrimental to society. Although The Spanish Tragedy does contain some of the same negative outcomes of revenge as in Hamlet and Titus Andronicus, the conclusion of the play rewards Hieronimos violent revenge. The Spanish Tragedy has a bloody ending reminiscent to Hamlet or Titus Andronicus. The King of Spain and the Viceroy of Portugal are the only remaining main characters alive after Hieronimos revenge is attained. Additionally, there are political ramifications of revenge in this play similar to the political issues at the end of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus. The King and the Viceroy have lost their sons, who were the successors to the throne. Furthermore, the peace between Spain and Portugal has been threatened because of the

Bailey 6 effects of revenge. The marriage between Bel-Imperia and Balthazar is meant to resolve the conflict between the two countries. However, they are dead at the hands of Hieronimos revenge scheme. Now there is no union or arrangement to prevent the King and the Viceroy from going to war again. The conclusion of the play differs from Hamlet or Titus Andronicus. Hieronimo is awarded eternal heaven for committing several murders in the course of his revenge. Also, BelImperia goes to heaven for killing herself and getting her revenge on Balthazar by stabbing him. Hieronimos and Bel-Imperias crimes were just as wrong as crimes of the villains. Yet, Balthazar, Lorenzo, Serberine, Pedringano and even the Duke are punished with an endless tragedy (4.5. 48) in hell. The last scene of The Spanish Tragedy contradicts the assessment of revenge made in Hamlet and Titus Andronicus because this play rewards those who seek revenge. The Spanish Tragedy shows revenge to be a suitable method of punishment.