My analysis of"The Spanish Tragedy" by Thomas Kyd

I think this play actually shows the superiority of Christianity against Greek philosophy,and thus becomes a highly religious play.Let me explain.Hieronimo represents a conflict between Christianity and paganism.In christian point of view,vengeance is not our duty but the responsibility of God.On the other hand ,from pagan point of view it is your holy duty to take revenge.And in this play vengeance is proffered by all the characters.so Greek god and goodness and their mythical stories are introduced in this play.But the purpose remains the same that is to glorify christinity by showing the bad effects of vengeance taken by humans.vengeance is like a chain and love is closely connected with this chain.In this play all things started when Andrea was killed.Bel-imperia loved him.Then she fall in love with Horatio,not because of the love of horatio but because of her hatret to Balthezar and Horatio's friendship with late Andrea.This love also continues the chain of vengeance.Because Balthazar loved Bel-imperia and Horatio becomes his opponent.so Balthezer takes his vengeance and as we can see it is for love.Then Hermenio takes his revenge by killing Balthezer,Lorenzo and Duke of Castile,and behind this vengeance there is also love,love for his son Horatio.But does the chain stops completely?The answer is given at the last scene.Andrea is not satisfied even after the death of all his enemies.The fire of vengeance is even then in his heart.So he wants the punishment of his enemy soul even after their death and the sprit of revenge assures him of that revenge.Thus,it is shown that vengeance is a never ending process and it is always better to rely on God ,and in this way the superiority of christian philosophy is shown.

In this play we also find the theme of class distinction.The life of a soldier like Andrea is nothing to the king.He can enjoy with and even give their daughter to the enemies,just after a war in which his soldiers were fighting with them with the risk of their life.The point become more visible when Duke of calchester tells his daughter that it was a wrong choice for her to love Andrea and he is pleased that she now loves Balthezer.Thus the theme of class distinction is also introduced.

We can also find that love in this play are not for loves sake but for personal interest.Bel-imperia loves Horatio not because of the love of horatio but because he was the nearest and acceptable man for her.Horatio's love depends on the social status of Bel-imperia otherwise he should not fall in love so easily.Balthezar also loves her for personal gain.This become clear when Bel-imperia says that his mind is for sth higher(actual kingdom)thus, crude love is here the ally of vengeance.