User:Hummingbird Hue/Drafts

First Drafts (Saturday, June 1, 2024)

For a New Section: "Patience"

Points that I want to bring up...

1. [REFERENCE LAMB] Margaret Lamb discusses how The Spanish Tragedy goes beyond revenge.
   1. Bel-Imperia seeks revenge because Balthazar killed her lover Andrea. She falls in love with Horatio to make Balthazar upset.
      1. Hieronimo seeks revenge because his son Horatio was murdered. Bel-Imperia seeks more revenge because both Andrea and Horatio were murdered.
         1. Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia work together in executing the play within a play.
2. Think about what occurred instead of claiming The Spanish Tragedy to be a revenge play.
   1. Beyond revenge, there is a theme of patience.
      1. [REFERENCE LAMB] Lamb explains how Kyd is patient as he slowly reveals the ideal but fake medieval world.
         1. Hieronimo is patient as he thinks about how to carry out his revenge. Scholars have debated his motives as a result of being mad or being logical.
         2. Isabella committed a quick suicide while Hieronimo stayed patient.
            1. Their son has been murdered, but they don't confide with each other. They suffer in silence. They keep their internal thoughts to themselves in a private matter.
               1. [REFERENCE LAMB] Hieronimo may appear to have gone mad because he is internally suffering over his son's death. Outsiders don't understand him because he keeps his troubles to himself.

For a New Section: "Audience"

Molly Smith discusses how the audience plays an important role in The Spanish Tragedy.

• [REFERENCE SMITH] During the time period of this play, The Triple Tree was a famous place for hangings.
  • Hangings created a public space for people of all statuses to come together. Criminals that were about to be hung could be treated as temporary heroes. A hangman would carry out the action, the criminal would be hung for disobeying the ruler's law, and the crowd would act as witnesses.
  • Hangings also created a space for a shift in power. If the crowd agrees that the criminal should die, there is no change. If the crowd disagrees, however, there may be an uprising against the rulers.
• Due to the influence of The Triple Tree, The Spanish Tragedy includes some hangings such as when Horatio is murdered in the garden.
  • [REFERENCE SMITH] Smith associates death with spectacles. At a public hanging, spectators come to watch. In a theatre, the audience comes to watch. In both situations, they want to be entertained by the execution of death. Whether the death is fake or real, the audience values death as entertainment.
    • In The Spanish Tragedy, the play within a play is an effective piece because it involves the audience.
    • Within the cast, the royal audience watches as people in Hieronimo's play are murdered with real —instead of fake — daggers. Simultaneously, the audience in the theatre watches the play within the play occur, piecing together the layers of the revenge that unfolded.
    • Deaths are more impactful once there is an audience to witness it.

For a New Section: "Love"

Bilal Hamamra uses biblical references to explain that a woman is vital for life but also taints life.

• [REFERENCE HAMAMRA] He refers to the myth of Adam and Eve and the legacy of Cain and Abel, arguing about how mortals are cursed.
  • Specifically, all women are cursed because of how Eve went against the law and ate the forbidden fruit. As a consequence, men rely on sexual intercourse with women to make a child, and women must bear the child in their wombs in the reproduction process.
  • [REFERENCE HAMAMRA] Hamamra continues by saying how, though women have beautiful bodies, they hold infected seeds of life. These seeds, or eggs, will grow into beautiful children that will one day inevitably decay and die. To be alive, therefore, is a curse to the inescapable conclusion of death.
• Hamamra relates this to The Spanish Tragedy by unpacking the scene where Isabella cuts down the tree in the garden where her son Horatio died.
  • [REFERENCE HAMAMRA] Cutting down the tree is her way of showing punishment. Just how the forbidden tree cursed Eve, this tree cursed her son by hanging him to his death.
    • Isabella compares her womb to the earth, saying how both are givers of life that always end in death.

Hamamra also describes how love leads to war and then leads to death.

• The first example is how Andrea loves Bel-Imperia, but in war, Balthazar kills Andrea.
• The second example is similar to the first. Horatio loves Bel-Imperia, but in a war over love, Balthazar kills Horatio.
• War against countries or lovers, therefore, leads to death.
  • [REFERENCE HAMAMRA] Bel-Imperia is similar to the Garden of Eden's forbidden fruits: "Bel-Imperia is a forbidden desire — like the fruit of Eden— since Balthazar is the rightful owner of her validated by father figures" (Hamamra).
    • Bel-Imperia is beautiful, but the men who fall for her die. Further, love is forbidden when it doesn't align with the rules of marriage. Since Balthazar is destined to marry Bel-Imperia and not Andrea or Horatio, only Balthazar is allowed to love her. Bel-Imperia, however, doesn't love him, and she creates tension by enacting revenge. She is from Spain and he is from Portugal, so in a broader sense, she doesn't mend the tension between Spain and Portugal when she doesn't marry Balthazar.

Influences

[REFERENCE SMITH] The Triple Tree was a famous place for public hangings. The hangings in The Spanish Tragedy were most likely influenced by this place since they both existed in the same time period.

[REFERENCE HAMAMRA] The story of Adam and Eve and the story of Cain and Abel influence the garden scene in The Spanish Tragedy. Eve eating the forbidden fruits creates a burden to women, who must go through the pain of childbearing. Women are necessary to reproduce more life, but once a child is born, they are destined to decay and die. In The Spanish Tragedy, Isabella relates her womb and the tree as bearers of new life that will die. Similar to how the forbidden attracted Eve who was then cursed, Hamamra describes Bel-Imperia as a beautiful woman who attracts men who consequently die.

The Spanish Tragedy is also special without the influence of Senecan or Christian concepts.

• [REFERENCE LAMB] For example, Margaret Lamb dives into what occurs in Kyd's play instead of summarizing it as a simple revenge story. Hieronimo's revenge scheme of a play within a play has a lingering effect on the audience in the cast and the audience in the theater. Specifically, the audience in the theater is left to ponder what this means.
  • Hieronimo confesses why he did a play within a play. When all is said, he bites his tongue: "But this chaos is not only inside Hieronimo. He makes the entire court feel what he feels. Then they know, at last. Then he need not bother to speak. Words express moral ideas and so are useless. Kyd shows the unspeakable" (Lamb 39). The audience, therefore, is left to interpret what they see instead of listening for answers. Revenge goes past the play and into the lives of the audience, forcing them to reflect on their lives as well.

Second Drafts (Sunday, June 2, 2024)

For a New Section: "Patience"

Margaret Lamb discusses how The Spanish Tragedy goes beyond revenge. Bel-Imperia seeks revenge because Balthazar killed her lover Andrea. Then, Bel-Imperia falls in love with Horatio to make Balthazar upset. Hieronimo seeks revenge because his son Horatio was murdered. Bel-Imperia seeks more revenge because both Andrea and Horatio are murdered, and Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia work together to execute the play within a play.

Lamb focuses on what occurred instead of claiming The Spanish Tragedy as only a revenge play. Beyond revenge, there is a theme of patience. Kyd is patient as he slowly reveals the ideal but fake medieval world. Hieronimo is patient as he thinks about how to carry out his revenge. Scholars have debated his motives due to being mad or being logical. Isabella committed a quick suicide while Hieronimo stayed patient. Their son has been murdered, but they don't confide with each other, for they suffer in silence instead. They keep their internal thoughts to themselves in a private matter. Hieronimo may appear to have gone mad because he is internally suffering over his son's death. Outsiders don't understand him because he keeps his troubles to himself.

For a New Section: "Audience"

Molly Smith discusses how the audience plays an important role in The Spanish Tragedy. During the period of this play, The Triple Tree — which is better known as the Tyburn Tree — was a famous place for hangings. Hangings created a public space for people of all statuses to come together. Criminals that were about to be hung could be treated as temporary heroes. A hangman would carry out the action, the criminal would be hung for disobeying the ruler's law, and the crowd would act as witnesses. Hangings also created a space for a power shift. If the crowd agrees that the criminal should die, there is no change. If the crowd disagrees, however, there may be an uprising against the rulers.

Due to the influence of The Triple Tree, The Spanish Tragedy includes some hangings such as when Horatio is murdered in the garden. Smith associates death with spectacles. At a public hanging, spectators come to watch, but in a theatre, the audience comes to watch. In both situations, they want to be entertained by the execution of death. Whether the death is fake or real, the audience values death as entertainment. In The Spanish Tragedy, the play within a play is an effective piece because it involves the audience. Within the cast, the royal audience watches as people in Hieronimo's play are murdered with real — instead of fake — daggers. Simultaneously, the audience in the theatre watches the play within the play occur, piecing together the layers of the revenge that unfolded. Deaths are more impactful once there is an audience to witness it.

For a New Section: "Love"

Bilal Hamamra uses biblical references to explain that a woman is vital for life but also taints life. He refers to the myth of Adam and Eve and the legacy of Cain and Abel, arguing about how mortals are cursed.

Specifically, all women are cursed because of how Eve went against the law and ate the forbidden fruit. As a consequence, men rely on sexual intercourse with women to make a child, and women must bear the child in their wombs in the reproduction process. Hamamra continues by saying how, though women have beautiful bodies, they hold infected seeds of life. These seeds, or eggs, will grow into beautiful children that will one day inevitably decay and die. To be alive, therefore, is a curse to the inescapable conclusion of death.

Hamamra relates this to The Spanish Tragedy by unpacking the scene where Isabella cuts down the tree in the garden where her son Horatio died. Cutting down the tree is her way of showing punishment. Just as the forbidden tree cursed Eve, this tree cursed her son by hanging him to his death. Isabella compares her womb to the earth, saying how both are givers of life that always end in death.

Hamamra also describes how love leads to war and then leads to death. The first example is how Andrea loves Bel-Imperia, but in war, Balthazar kills Andrea. The second example is similar to the first. Horatio loves Bel-Imperia, but in a war over love, Balthazar kills Horatio. War against countries or lovers, therefore, leads to death.

Bel-Imperia is similar to the Garden of Eden's forbidden fruits: "Bel-Imperia is a forbidden desire — like the fruit of Eden— since Balthazar is the rightful owner of her validated by father figures" (Hamamra). Bel-Imperia is beautiful, but the men who fall for her die. Further, love is forbidden when it doesn't align with the rules of marriage. Since Balthazar is destined to marry Bel-Imperia and not Andrea or Horatio, only Balthazar is allowed to love her. Bel-Imperia, however, doesn't love him, and she creates tension by enacting revenge. She is from Spain and he is from Portugal, so in a broader sense, she doesn't mend the tension between Spain and Portugal when she doesn't marry Balthazar.

Influences

In the 16th century, The Triple Tree — which is better known as the Tyburn Tree — was a place for public executions of criminals.

The Triple Tree — which is better known as the Tyburn Tree — was a famous place for public hangings. The hangings in The Spanish Tragedy were most likely influenced by this place since they both existed in the same time period.

The story of Adam and Eve and the story of Cain and Abel influence the garden scene in The Spanish Tragedy. Eve eating the forbidden fruits creates a burden to women, who must go through the pain of childbearing. Women are necessary to reproduce more life, but once a child is born, they are destined to decay and die. In The Spanish Tragedy, Isabella relates her womb and the tree as bearers of new life that will die. Similar to how the forbidden attracted Eve who was then cursed, Hamamra describes Bel-Imperia as a beautiful woman who attracts men who consequently die.

The Spanish Tragedy is also special without the influence of Senecan or Christian concepts. For example, Margaret Lamb dives into what occurs in Kyd's play instead of summarizing it as a simple revenge story. Hieronimo's revenge scheme of a play within a play has a lingering effect on the audience in the cast and the audience in the theater. Specifically, the audience in the theater is left to ponder what this means. Hieronimo confesses why he did a play within a play. When all is said, he bites his tongue: "But this chaos is not only inside Hieronimo. He makes the entire court feel what he feels. Then they know, at last. Then he need not bother to speak. Words express moral ideas and so are useless. Kyd shows the unspeakable" (Lamb 39). The audience, therefore, is left to interpret what they see instead of listening for answers. Revenge goes past the play and into the lives of the audience, forcing them to reflect on their lives as well.