Books by Thomas Kyd

The Spanish Tragedy became one of the most successful plays on the Elizabethan English stage and laid the foundation of the revenge tragedy, a genre that playwrights returned to throughout the early modern era and that endures today. This Broadview Edition includes a freshly edited text based on the 1592 edition, an extensive introduction, and extensive historical documents.

As the Elizabethan era gave way to the reign of James I, England grappled with corruption within the royal court and widespread religious anxiety. Dramatists responded with morally complex plays of dark wit and violent spectacle, exploring the nature of death, the abuse of power and vigilante justice. In Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy a father failed by the Spanish court seeks his own bloody retribution for his son's murder. Shakespeare's 1603 version of Hamlet creates an avenging Prince of unique psychological depth, while Chettle's The Tragedy of Hoffman is a fascinating reworking of Hamlet's themes, probably for a rival theatre company. In Marston's Antonio's Revenge, thwarted love leads inexorably to gory reprisals and in Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy, malcontent Vindice unleashes an escalating orgy of mayhem on a debauched Duke for his bride's murder, in a ferocious satire reflecting the mounting disillusionment of the age. Emma Smith's introduction considers the political and religious climate behind the plays and the dramatic conventions within them. This edition includes a chronology, playwrights' biographies and suggestions for further reading.

Thomas Kyd's highly influential and popular revenge play is now available in a richly documented and critically engaging Norton Critical Edition.

Revenge plays became the most durable and commercially successful type of drama on the Elizabethan stage. The Spanish Tragedy brings to life the intrigues of the Spanish court, dramatically contrasting romantic passion with violent deaths and clandestine politics.

One of the more popular plays of the Elizabethan period and a major influence on Hamlet.