Brian Gibbons

The Revenger's Tragedy (New Mermaids) Brian Gibbons 3rd edition

The Revenger's Tragedy (1607) shows a brilliant court culture against a
sombre background; although fashionably Italianate in appearance, the
play is concerned with substantial issues in the Britain of King James
I. The new king's court became notorious for luxuriousness, spectacular
masques and torchlight revels; and poets and playwrights attacked the
rumoured sexual and political corruption in high places. By 1607
revenge tragedy had already developed as a hybrid form incorporating
complex intrigue plots and elements of farce, including, as here,
elements of horror. The hero Vindice is eloquent and engagingly witty;
but as a poet he sees the skull beneath the skin, and as a revenger he
carries out some of the cruellest killings in all English Renaissance
tragedy. As the introduction demonstrates, the play proves highly
successful in present-day performance, both professional and amateur,
and in a variety of period settings.