The Spanish Tragedie

"The Spanish Tragedie" by Thomas Kyd is a play from the late 1500s and is a very important early work of English tragedy. The story is all about payback, love, and the awful things that happen because of violence. The main character is Hieronimo, a knight, along with his son Horatio, and Bel-imperia, a noblewoman. Everything starts going wrong after her boyfriend Andrea dies. At the beginning, Andrea's ghost and Revenge show us that the play will be about getting even and that bad things are going to happen no matter what. Andrea's ghost tells how he died fighting the Portuguese. We then learn how brave Horatio is, his relationship with Bel-imperia, and the problems between countries. The first part of the play shows Spain winning a war and the complicated relationships of the royal family, which makes way for the cheating and revenge that takes over the characters' lives.