The Revenger's Tragedy
Encyclopedia
The Revenger's Tragedy is an English language
Jacobean revenge tragedy, in the past attributed to Cyril Tourneur
but is sometimes considered to be the work of Thomas Middleton
by "Middletonians". It was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld
.
A vivid and often violent portrayal of lust and ambition in an Italian court, the play typifies the satiric tone and cynicism of much Jacobean tragedy. The play fell out of favor at some point before the restoration of the theaters in 1660; however, it experienced a revival in the twentieth century among directors and playgoers who appreciated its affinity with the temper of modern times.
design brought to English drama by Thomas Kyd
: a young man is driven to avenge an elder's death (in this case it's a lover, Gloriana, instead), which was caused by the villainy of a powerful older man; the avenger schemes to effect his revenge, often by morally questionable means; he finally succeeds in a bloodbath that costs him his own life as well. However, the author's tone and treatment are markedly different from the standard Elizabethan treatment in ways that can be traced to both literary and historical causes. Already by 1606, the enthusiasm that accompanied James I
's assumption of the English throne had begun to give way to the beginnings of dissatisfaction with the perception of corruption in his court. The new prominence of tragedies that involved courtly intrigues seems to have been partly influenced by this dissatisfaction.
This trend towards court-based tragedy was contemporary with a change in dramatic tastes toward the satiric and cynical, beginning before the death of Elizabeth I but becoming ascendant in the few years following. The episcopal ban on verse satire
in 1599 appears to have impelled some poets to a career in dramaturgy; writers such as John Marston
and Thomas Middleton
brought to the theaters a lively sense of human frailty and hypocrisy. They found fertile ground in the newly revived children's companies, the Blackfriars Children
and Paul's Children
; these indoor venues attracted a more sophisticated crowd than that which frequented the theaters in the suburbs.
While The Revenger's Tragedy was apparently performed by an adult company at the Globe Theatre
, its bizarre violence and vicious satire mark it as influenced by the dramaturgy of the private playhouses.
In 1607, the Midland Revolt
occurred. It was the largest mass revolt since the Northern Rebellion of 1569: thousands rose up in protest against the enclosure of public spaces by wealthy landowners. The rebellions were brutally suppressed; hundreds of people were hanged. Since The Revenger's Tragedy is the story of how two malcontents destroy a dynasty of noble dukes, earls, and lords, it was perhaps wise of the author to remain anonymous.
It is interesting – in this context of imminent rebellion – to compare The Revenger's Tragedy with Shakespeare's Coriolanus
, probably published in 1607. Shakespeare addresses the rebels' grievances (shortages and the high price of corn
) but his hero is Coriolanus, who disdains and suppresses them. Vindice in The Revenger's Tragedy appears, at least to a modern reader, as a social rebel, who declares, delightedly, "Great men were gods -- if beggars couldn't kill 'em!"
Revenge inflicts equally upon the revenger and the antagonist. This is seen as Vindice resorts to compromising the same moral values that were discarded by the nobility. Within the play, he kills, lies frequently, convinces his mother to prostitute his sister to further his revenge, and allows others to become scapegoats for his sins. This theme is expanded past the main character, as each of the cast which seeks revenge ends up dead: Vindice, Lussurioso, Spurio, Ambitioso, Supervacuo and Hippolito.
The play opens with Vindice explicitly establishing his motive behind his revenge, introducing the backbone of the play. In this opening scene, Vindice carries the skull of his murdered lover; this alludes to Hamlet, a play commonly known for its themes in revenge. Aside from Vindice’s revenge, this theme can be seen throughout the play including Spurio’s retribution against his father and the Duchess’s sons against the Duke’s eldest son.
The theme of love is portrayed vividly throughout The Revenger’s Tragedy. Familial love, for example, is seen in Vindice’s family; brothers Vindice and Hippolito show this love through their quest for revenge. On the other hand, there is a lack of familial love in the Duke’s family; when the Youngest Son is tried for rape, the Duke does not speak up for him when he could have easily saved him.
Lust is also evident throughout the play. The main example of this is the Duke’s pursuit of Vindice’s betrothed. The Duke lusted for her, but she would not give in, leading him to kill her thusly igniting Vindice's vendetta. Another example is seen when the Duke’s son Lussurioso asks a disguised Vindice to persuade Castiza, Vindice’s sister, for sex. Lussurioso’s drive for lust with the virgin Castiza is brought about by her beauty.
, during the 20th century. The approach of these recent revivals mirrors shifting views of the play on the part of literary critics. One of the most influential 20th century readings of the play, by the critic Jonathan Dollimore
, claims that the play is essentially a form of radical parody that challenges orthodox Jacobean beliefs about Providence and patriarchy. Dollimore asserts the play is best understood as “subversive black camp” insofar as it “celebrates the artificial and the delinquent; it delights in a play full of innuendo, perversity and subversion ... through parody it declares itself radically skeptical of ideological policing though not independent of the social reality which such skepticism simultaneously discloses” In Dollimore’s view, earlier critical approaches, which either emphasize the play’s absolute decadence or find an ultimate affirmation of traditional morality in the play, are insufficient because they fail to take into account this vital strain of social and ideological critique running throughout the tragedy.
(Loughrey and Taylor, xxv). A second edition, also anonymous (actually consisting of the first edition with a revised title-page), was published later in 1607. The play was first attributed to Cyril Tourneur
by Edward Archer in 1656; the attribution was seconded by Francis Kirkman
in lists of 1661 and 1671 (Gibbons, ix). Tourneur was accepted as the author despite Archer's unreliability and the length of time between composition and attribution (Greg, 316). Edmund Kerchever Chambers
cast doubt on the attribution in 1923 (Chambers, 4.42), and over the course of the twentieth century a considerable number of scholars argued for attributing the play to Middleton (Gibbons, ix). The critics who supported the Tourneur attribution argued that the tragedy is unlike Middleton's other early dramatic work, and that internal evidence, including some idiosyncrasies of spelling, points to Tourneur (Gibbons, ix).
More recent scholarly studies arguing for attribution to Middleton
point to thematic and stylistic similarities to Middleton's other work, to the differences between The Revenger's Tragedy and Tourneur's other known work, The Atheist's Tragedy, and to contextual evidence suggesting Middleton's authorship (Loughrey and Taylor, xxvii). Since the massive and widely acclaimed statistical studies by David Lake (The Canon of Middleton's Plays, Cambridge University Press, 1975) and MacDonald P. Jackson (Middleton and Shakespeare: Studies in Attribution, 1979), Middleton's authorship has not been seriously contested, and no scholar has mounted a new defense of the discredited Tourneur attribution.
The play is attributed to Middleton in Jackson's facsimile edition of the 1607 quarto (1983), in Bryan Loughrey and Neil Taylor's edition of Five Middleton Plays (Penguin, 1988), and in Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works (Oxford, 2007).
Two important editions of the 1960s that attributed the play to Tourneur switched in the 1990s to stating no author (Gibbons, 1967 and 1991) or to crediting "Tourneur/Middleton" (Foakes, 1966 and 1996), both now summarizing old arguments for Tourneur's authorship without endorsing them.
A summary of the great variety of evidence for Middleton's authorship is contained in the relevant sections of Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture, general editors Gary Taylor and John Lavagnino (Oxford, 2007).
and Medieval theatre. It is written over 5 acts and opens with a monologue that looks back at previous events and anticipates future events. This monologue is spoken by Vindice who says he will take revenge and explains the corruption in court. It uses onomastic rhetoric in Act 3, scene 5 which is where characters play upon their own names, a trait considered to be Senecan. The verbal violence is seen as Senecan, with Vindice in Act 2, scene 1, calling out against heaven:
Why does not heaven turn black or with a frown/
Undo the world?
The play also adapts Senecan attributes in ways such as with the character of Vindice. At the end of the play he is a satisfied revenger, which is typically Senecan. However, he is punished for his revenge, unlike the characters in Seneca’s Medea
and Thyestes
. In another adaptation of Seneca, there is a strong element of metatheatricality as the play makes references to itself as a tragedy. For example, in Act 4, scene 2:
Vindice: Is there no thunder left, or is’t kept up/
In stock for heavier vengeance [Thunder] There it goes!
The medieval qualities in the play are described by Lawrence J Ross as “the contrasts of eternity and time, the fusion of satirically realistic detail with moral abstraction, the emphatic condemnation of luxury, avarice and superfluity, and the lashing of judges, lawyers, usurers and women”. To personify Revenge is seen as a Medieval characteristic and although The Revenger’s Tragedy does not personify this trait with a character, it is mentioned in the opening monologue with a capital, thereby giving it more weight than a regular noun.
Festival Theatre in 1965. The following year, Trevor Nunn
produced the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company
; Ian Richardson
played Vindice. Executed on a shoestring budget (designer Christopher Morley had to use the sets from the previous year's Hamlet), Nunn's production earned largely favorable reviews.http://www.alanhoward.org.uk/revengers.htm
In 1987, Di Trevis revived the play for the RSC at the Swan Theatre; Antony Sher
played Vindice. It was also staged by the New York Protean Theatre in 1996. A Brussels theatre company called Atelier Sainte-Anne, led by Philippe Van Kessel, also staged the play in 1989. In this production, the actors wore punk costumes and the play took place in a disqueting underground location which resembled both a disused parking lot and a ruined Renaissance building.
In 1976 Jacques Rivette
made a loose French film adaptation Noroît
, which changed the major characters into women, and included several poetic passages in English; it starred Geraldine Chaplin
, Kika Markham
, and Bernadette Lafont
.
In 2002, a film adaptation entitled Revengers Tragedy
was directed by Alex Cox
with a heavily adapted screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce
. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic Liverpool
and stars Christopher Eccleston
as Vindice, Eddie Izzard
as Lussurioso, Diana Quick
as The Duchess and Sir Derek Jacobi as The Duke. It was produced by Bard Entertainment Ltd.
In 2008, two major companies staged revivals of the play: Jonathan Moore directed a new production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
from May to June, 2008, starring Stephen Tompkinson
as Vindice, while a Royal National Theatre
production at the Olivier Theatre was directed by Melly Still
, starring Rory Kinnear
as Vindice, and featuring a soundtrack performed by a live orchestra and DJs Differentgear.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Jacobean revenge tragedy, in the past attributed to Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur was an English dramatist who enjoyed his greatest success during the reign of King James I of England. His best-known work is The Revenger's Tragedy , a play which has alternatively been attributed to Thomas Middleton.-Life:Cyril Tourneur was possibly the son of Captain Richard...
but is sometimes considered to be the work of Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
by "Middletonians". It was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld
George Eld
George Eld was a London printer of the Jacobean era, who produced important works of English Renaissance drama and literature, including key texts by William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Middleton....
.
A vivid and often violent portrayal of lust and ambition in an Italian court, the play typifies the satiric tone and cynicism of much Jacobean tragedy. The play fell out of favor at some point before the restoration of the theaters in 1660; however, it experienced a revival in the twentieth century among directors and playgoers who appreciated its affinity with the temper of modern times.
Characters
- Vindice, the revenger, frequently disguised as Piato (both the 1607 and 1608 printings render his name variously as Vendici, Vindici and Vindice, with the latter spelling most frequent)
- Hippolito, Vindice's brother, sometimes called Carlo
- Castiza, their sister
- Gratiana, mother of Vindice, Hippolito, and Castiza
- The Duke
- The Duchess, the duke's second wife
- Lussurioso, the duke's son from an earlier marriage, and his heir
- Spurio, the duke's second son, a bastard
- Ambitioso, the duchess's first son
- Supervacuo, the duchess's middle son
- Junior Brother, the duchess's third son
- Antonio, a discontented lord
- Piero, a discontented lord
- Nobles, allies of Lussurioso
- Lords, followers of Antonio
- The Duke's gentlemen
- Two Judges
- Spurio's two Servants
- Four Officers
- A Keeper
- Dondolo, Castiza's servant
- Nencio and Sordido, Lussurioso's servants
- Ambitioso's henchman
Context
The Revenger's Tragedy belongs to the second generation of English revenge plays. It keeps the basic SenecanSeneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
design brought to English drama by Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama....
: a young man is driven to avenge an elder's death (in this case it's a lover, Gloriana, instead), which was caused by the villainy of a powerful older man; the avenger schemes to effect his revenge, often by morally questionable means; he finally succeeds in a bloodbath that costs him his own life as well. However, the author's tone and treatment are markedly different from the standard Elizabethan treatment in ways that can be traced to both literary and historical causes. Already by 1606, the enthusiasm that accompanied James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
's assumption of the English throne had begun to give way to the beginnings of dissatisfaction with the perception of corruption in his court. The new prominence of tragedies that involved courtly intrigues seems to have been partly influenced by this dissatisfaction.
This trend towards court-based tragedy was contemporary with a change in dramatic tastes toward the satiric and cynical, beginning before the death of Elizabeth I but becoming ascendant in the few years following. The episcopal ban on verse satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
in 1599 appears to have impelled some poets to a career in dramaturgy; writers such as John Marston
John Marston
John Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
and Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
brought to the theaters a lively sense of human frailty and hypocrisy. They found fertile ground in the newly revived children's companies, the Blackfriars Children
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
and Paul's Children
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre.St...
; these indoor venues attracted a more sophisticated crowd than that which frequented the theaters in the suburbs.
While The Revenger's Tragedy was apparently performed by an adult company at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
, its bizarre violence and vicious satire mark it as influenced by the dramaturgy of the private playhouses.
Themes
The play portrays a decaying moral and political order and demonstrates a nostalgia for the Elizabethan era. Vindice, the revenging protagonist, explicitly links economic problems with the issue of female chastity in several of his speeches. While the play uses this in part to analyse women themselves - their inherent weakness, which eventually leads to heavenly grace - it is also clearly looking back to Elizabeth, the 'Virgin Queen.' The power structure depicted at the play's outset is corrupt and morally bankrupt. The plot follows Vindice's quest to undo this new order, responsible for the death of his beloved and unfit to rule. The thought of unseating a ruler, deeply troubling to Shakespeare, was seized upon with glee by the anonymous author of The Revenger's Tragedy.In 1607, the Midland Revolt
Midland Revolt
The Midland Revolt was a popular uprising which took place in the Midlands of England in 1607. Beginning in late April in Haselbech, Pytchley and Rushton in Northamptonshire, and spreading to Warwickshire and Leicestershire throughout May, riots took place as a protest against the enclosure of...
occurred. It was the largest mass revolt since the Northern Rebellion of 1569: thousands rose up in protest against the enclosure of public spaces by wealthy landowners. The rebellions were brutally suppressed; hundreds of people were hanged. Since The Revenger's Tragedy is the story of how two malcontents destroy a dynasty of noble dukes, earls, and lords, it was perhaps wise of the author to remain anonymous.
It is interesting – in this context of imminent rebellion – to compare The Revenger's Tragedy with Shakespeare's Coriolanus
Coriolanus (play)
Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus.-Characters:*Caius Martius, later surnamed Coriolanus...
, probably published in 1607. Shakespeare addresses the rebels' grievances (shortages and the high price of corn
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
) but his hero is Coriolanus, who disdains and suppresses them. Vindice in The Revenger's Tragedy appears, at least to a modern reader, as a social rebel, who declares, delightedly, "Great men were gods -- if beggars couldn't kill 'em!"
- Revenge
Revenge inflicts equally upon the revenger and the antagonist. This is seen as Vindice resorts to compromising the same moral values that were discarded by the nobility. Within the play, he kills, lies frequently, convinces his mother to prostitute his sister to further his revenge, and allows others to become scapegoats for his sins. This theme is expanded past the main character, as each of the cast which seeks revenge ends up dead: Vindice, Lussurioso, Spurio, Ambitioso, Supervacuo and Hippolito.
The play opens with Vindice explicitly establishing his motive behind his revenge, introducing the backbone of the play. In this opening scene, Vindice carries the skull of his murdered lover; this alludes to Hamlet, a play commonly known for its themes in revenge. Aside from Vindice’s revenge, this theme can be seen throughout the play including Spurio’s retribution against his father and the Duchess’s sons against the Duke’s eldest son.
- Justice
- Sinners: The Duke is brought to justice in his death for the crime of poisoning Vindice’s betrothed. The third son found his justice for his crime of rape, even with his brothers attempting to save him.
- Law: There are forms of law without justice. Many acts of justice are performed out of the range of legality. Vindice carries out his revenge as a vigilante.
- Court: Corruption permeates the court in the play, which obstructs the natural order of justice. The Duke’s opinion overrides the court’s decisions, because he was the one who made the final decision regarding his youngest son’s death.
- Vigilantism: Vindice embodies vigilantism. He is aware of this fact as he later admits to his actions of murder.
- Rebellion: Each of the Duke’s sons desires the mantle of their father. Thus they go as far as murdering their own brothers to acquire a position of power.
- Love vs. Lust
The theme of love is portrayed vividly throughout The Revenger’s Tragedy. Familial love, for example, is seen in Vindice’s family; brothers Vindice and Hippolito show this love through their quest for revenge. On the other hand, there is a lack of familial love in the Duke’s family; when the Youngest Son is tried for rape, the Duke does not speak up for him when he could have easily saved him.
Lust is also evident throughout the play. The main example of this is the Duke’s pursuit of Vindice’s betrothed. The Duke lusted for her, but she would not give in, leading him to kill her thusly igniting Vindice's vendetta. Another example is seen when the Duke’s son Lussurioso asks a disguised Vindice to persuade Castiza, Vindice’s sister, for sex. Lussurioso’s drive for lust with the virgin Castiza is brought about by her beauty.
-
- Adultery
- Morality and Sin: During the play, Vindice both kills and indirectly causes the death of half the court due to their lustful and self-destructive actions. Vindice therefore views himself as a vigilante and justifies his actions by the corruption and adultery he sees in the court.
- Corruption: Each member of the court possesses his or her own political agenda and is willing to do anything to further his or her own gains, including setting aside moral codes. Even Vindice, who sees himself as working for justice, lies and kills his way through the play.
- Misogyny: Much of the misogyny within the play is created by the women, who view themselves as weak and incapable of operating without a man. The men in turn see the women as naturally lustful and deceitful, and cannot bring themselves to trust the female cast characters.
- Family: Familial ties are present, such as the somewhat twisted bonds between the Duke’s various sons, Vindice’s fondness for his sister and his initial relationship with his mother. However, as the corruption progresses through the play, it poisons these ties as brother kills brother and Vindice’s mother sells her own daughter for gold.
Analysis and criticism: “subversive black camp”
Ignored for many years, and viewed by some critics as the product of a cynical, embittered mind, The Revenger's Tragedy was rediscovered, and often performed as a black comedyBlack comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, during the 20th century. The approach of these recent revivals mirrors shifting views of the play on the part of literary critics. One of the most influential 20th century readings of the play, by the critic Jonathan Dollimore
Jonathan Dollimore
Jonathan Dollimore is a British sociologist and social theorist in the fields of Renaissance literature , gender studies, queer theory , art, censorship, history of ideas, death studies, decadence, and cultural theory...
, claims that the play is essentially a form of radical parody that challenges orthodox Jacobean beliefs about Providence and patriarchy. Dollimore asserts the play is best understood as “subversive black camp” insofar as it “celebrates the artificial and the delinquent; it delights in a play full of innuendo, perversity and subversion ... through parody it declares itself radically skeptical of ideological policing though not independent of the social reality which such skepticism simultaneously discloses” In Dollimore’s view, earlier critical approaches, which either emphasize the play’s absolute decadence or find an ultimate affirmation of traditional morality in the play, are insufficient because they fail to take into account this vital strain of social and ideological critique running throughout the tragedy.
Authorship
The play was published anonymously in 1607; the title page of this edition announced that it had been performed "sundry times" by the King's MenKing's Men (playing company)
The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron.The...
(Loughrey and Taylor, xxv). A second edition, also anonymous (actually consisting of the first edition with a revised title-page), was published later in 1607. The play was first attributed to Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur was an English dramatist who enjoyed his greatest success during the reign of King James I of England. His best-known work is The Revenger's Tragedy , a play which has alternatively been attributed to Thomas Middleton.-Life:Cyril Tourneur was possibly the son of Captain Richard...
by Edward Archer in 1656; the attribution was seconded by Francis Kirkman
Francis Kirkman
Francis Kirkman appears in many roles in the English literary world of the second half of the seventeenth century, as a publisher, bookseller, librarian, author and bibliographer...
in lists of 1661 and 1671 (Gibbons, ix). Tourneur was accepted as the author despite Archer's unreliability and the length of time between composition and attribution (Greg, 316). Edmund Kerchever Chambers
Edmund Kerchever Chambers
Sir Edmund Kerchever Chambers was an English literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama....
cast doubt on the attribution in 1923 (Chambers, 4.42), and over the course of the twentieth century a considerable number of scholars argued for attributing the play to Middleton (Gibbons, ix). The critics who supported the Tourneur attribution argued that the tragedy is unlike Middleton's other early dramatic work, and that internal evidence, including some idiosyncrasies of spelling, points to Tourneur (Gibbons, ix).
More recent scholarly studies arguing for attribution to Middleton
point to thematic and stylistic similarities to Middleton's other work, to the differences between The Revenger's Tragedy and Tourneur's other known work, The Atheist's Tragedy, and to contextual evidence suggesting Middleton's authorship (Loughrey and Taylor, xxvii). Since the massive and widely acclaimed statistical studies by David Lake (The Canon of Middleton's Plays, Cambridge University Press, 1975) and MacDonald P. Jackson (Middleton and Shakespeare: Studies in Attribution, 1979), Middleton's authorship has not been seriously contested, and no scholar has mounted a new defense of the discredited Tourneur attribution.
The play is attributed to Middleton in Jackson's facsimile edition of the 1607 quarto (1983), in Bryan Loughrey and Neil Taylor's edition of Five Middleton Plays (Penguin, 1988), and in Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works (Oxford, 2007).
Two important editions of the 1960s that attributed the play to Tourneur switched in the 1990s to stating no author (Gibbons, 1967 and 1991) or to crediting "Tourneur/Middleton" (Foakes, 1966 and 1996), both now summarizing old arguments for Tourneur's authorship without endorsing them.
A summary of the great variety of evidence for Middleton's authorship is contained in the relevant sections of Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture, general editors Gary Taylor and John Lavagnino (Oxford, 2007).
Influences
The Revenger’s Tragedy is influenced by SenecaSeneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
and Medieval theatre. It is written over 5 acts and opens with a monologue that looks back at previous events and anticipates future events. This monologue is spoken by Vindice who says he will take revenge and explains the corruption in court. It uses onomastic rhetoric in Act 3, scene 5 which is where characters play upon their own names, a trait considered to be Senecan. The verbal violence is seen as Senecan, with Vindice in Act 2, scene 1, calling out against heaven:
Why does not heaven turn black or with a frown/
Undo the world?
The play also adapts Senecan attributes in ways such as with the character of Vindice. At the end of the play he is a satisfied revenger, which is typically Senecan. However, he is punished for his revenge, unlike the characters in Seneca’s Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
and Thyestes
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, King of Olympia, and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
. In another adaptation of Seneca, there is a strong element of metatheatricality as the play makes references to itself as a tragedy. For example, in Act 4, scene 2:
Vindice: Is there no thunder left, or is’t kept up/
In stock for heavier vengeance [Thunder] There it goes!
The medieval qualities in the play are described by Lawrence J Ross as “the contrasts of eternity and time, the fusion of satirically realistic detail with moral abstraction, the emphatic condemnation of luxury, avarice and superfluity, and the lashing of judges, lawyers, usurers and women”. To personify Revenge is seen as a Medieval characteristic and although The Revenger’s Tragedy does not personify this trait with a character, it is mentioned in the opening monologue with a capital, thereby giving it more weight than a regular noun.
Performance history
After its initial run, there is no record of The Revenger's Tragedy in performance by professionals until the 20th century. It was produced at the PitlochryPitlochry
Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....
Festival Theatre in 1965. The following year, Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
produced the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
; Ian Richardson
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
played Vindice. Executed on a shoestring budget (designer Christopher Morley had to use the sets from the previous year's Hamlet), Nunn's production earned largely favorable reviews.http://www.alanhoward.org.uk/revengers.htm
In 1987, Di Trevis revived the play for the RSC at the Swan Theatre; Antony Sher
Antony Sher
Sir Antony Sher, KBE is a double Olivier Award winning South African-born British actor, writer, theatre director and painter.- Early years :...
played Vindice. It was also staged by the New York Protean Theatre in 1996. A Brussels theatre company called Atelier Sainte-Anne, led by Philippe Van Kessel, also staged the play in 1989. In this production, the actors wore punk costumes and the play took place in a disqueting underground location which resembled both a disused parking lot and a ruined Renaissance building.
In 1976 Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
made a loose French film adaptation Noroît
Noroît
Noroît is a 1976 experimental adventure fantasy drama directed by Jacques Rivette. It is loosely based on Cyril Tourneur's The Revenger's Tragedy. The film stars Geraldine Chaplin and Bernadette Lafont as pirates...
, which changed the major characters into women, and included several poetic passages in English; it starred Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
, Kika Markham
Kika Markham
Kika Markham is an English actress.Markham was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire. She is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn . She has led a long career in the cinema, television, and theatre as an actress...
, and Bernadette Lafont
Bernadette Lafont
Bernadette Lafont is a French actress and the mother of Pauline Lafont .Bernadette Lafont won the César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for L'Effrontée...
.
In 2002, a film adaptation entitled Revengers Tragedy
Revengers Tragedy
Revengers Tragedy is a film adaptation of the 1606 play The Revenger's Tragedy . It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fellow Liverpudlian, Frank Cottrell Boyce...
was directed by Alex Cox
Alex Cox
Alexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
with a heavily adapted screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce
-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and stars Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
as Vindice, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
as Lussurioso, Diana Quick
Diana Quick
-Life:Quick was born in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of a dentist's four children. She was educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent. She was greatly aided by her English teacher, Miss Davis, who encouraged her to pursue acting...
as The Duchess and Sir Derek Jacobi as The Duke. It was produced by Bard Entertainment Ltd.
In 2008, two major companies staged revivals of the play: Jonathan Moore directed a new production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...
from May to June, 2008, starring Stephen Tompkinson
Stephen Tompkinson
Stephen Tompkinson is a British actor. He is best known for his work in comedy and drama productions such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, In Deep, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks....
as Vindice, while a Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
production at the Olivier Theatre was directed by Melly Still
Melly Still
Melly Still is a British director, designer and choreographer.She has worked as designer and co-director on many productions including the RSC's version of Tales from Ovid and Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie at the Royal National Theatre.She often works closely with the designer Ti...
, starring Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
as Vindice, and featuring a soundtrack performed by a live orchestra and DJs Differentgear.
Further reading
- Campbell, O. J. Comicall Satyre and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library Publications, 1938
- Chambers, E. K. The Elizabethan Theatre. Four Volumes. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923.
- Foakes, R. A.Reginald A. FoakesReginald A. Foakes is an English author and Shakesperian scholar. He has published works on Shakespeare and the Romantic poets, and has edited many of Shakespeare's plays in the Arden and New Cambridge editions...
Shakespeare; the Dark Comedies to the Last Plays. London: Routledge, 1971 - Foakes, R. A., ed. The Revenger's Tragedy. (The Revels Plays.) London: Methuen, 1966. Revised as Revels Student edition, Manchester University Press, 1996
- Gibbons, Brian, ed. The Revenger's Tragedy; New Mermaids edition. New York: Norton, 1967; Second edition, 1991
- Greg, W. W. "Authorship Attribution in the Early Play-lists, 1656-1671." Edinburgh Bibliographical Society Transactions 2 (1938–1945)
- Griffiths, T, ed. The Revenger's Tragedy. London: Nick Hern BooksNick Hern BooksNick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nick Hern in 1988.-History:...
, 1996 - Harbage, AlfredAlfred HarbageAlfred Bennett Harbage was an influential Shakespeare scholar of the mid-20th century. He was born in Philadelphia and received his undergraduate degree and doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He lectured on Shakespeare both there and at Columbia before becoming a professor at Harvard...
Shakespeare and the Rival Traditions. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1952 - Loughrey, Bryan and Taylor, Neil. Five Plays of Thomas Middleton. New York: Penguin, 1988
- Wells, StanleyStanley WellsStanley William Wells, CBE, is a Shakespeare scholar and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.Wells took his first degree at University College, London, and was awarded an honorary DLitt by the University of Warwick in 2008...
"The Revenger's Tragedy Revived." The Elizabethan Theatre 6 (1975)