A Brief Comparison of The Revenger’s Tragedy and Hamlet
Dean Ferguson Sayers

Hamlet, written by Shakespeare in 1602, is a classic tragedy. It comes with it all the elements of a tragedy, in Greek form: the archetypal hero has all but the fatal flaws of ambition and vengeance. Cunning, well – read and dangerous, Hamlet returns to Denmark while war is brewing, to encounter a terrible set of events that set into motion a potential power – grab by the protagonist. Claudius, the current King, has (apparently) killed king Hamlet to get his place at the throne. Under fear of treason, and with a ghost in his head symbolizing the ambition of King Hamlet, Hamlet dances around the idea of killing Claudius in order to take power. This “ghost” seems to imply a soul that is passed down to Hamlet. Much as people are compelled by many unseen psychological forces, this play seems to imply that the ghost of his father resides in Hamlet himself, driving the protagonist insane with the sudden change in drives. The Ghost is a legendary “evil spirit.” Both are revenger’s tragedies, and were performed by the Kings Men company.

The first, obvious difference between the plays lay in their respective reception. Hamlet was created – and received – as a tragedy of a nobleman who faces the wrongdoings of others. Conversely, The Revenger’s Tragedy implements the relevnt class antagonisms of the time and views the aristocracy from the eyes of the common people, instead of Shakespeare’s internal and slavish depiction of the rulers of the time. Crticism is sparse and tactful, Shakespeare was afterall interested chiefly in monetary gain. Middleton’s piece, however, would have set him apart from the aristocracy in a dangerous way, probably costing him his life – so he published it without attribution. While some scholars still contend that Cyril Tourneur, known for his revenge tragedy The Atheist’s Tragedy, is responsible for the piece (citing linguistic nuances), a majority think that Middleton created the piece due to stylistic similarities.

Much like Hamlet, The Revenger’s Tragedy’s Vindici returns to a war torn nation – but with very different problems to face. He returns from the war itself to a very class – conscious nation that has backed Lord Antonio against the unpopular Duke. The Duke, in base lust, has poisoned many women who have rejected his adavances, including the wife of the protagonist – on their wedding day. Vindici plants his brother in the inner circle of the Duke’s son, Lussurioso (luxurious / lustful), whose lust for his sister gives him another topic for revenge. Vindici’s poor family has been oppressed by the Duke, and have recently lost Vindici’s father.

Hamlet parallels Vindici in his multi-faceted persona. Vindici disguises himself as Piato in order to get close to the Duke and Lussurioso. Piato is the untainted and loyal Vindici, ironically impotent and made a tool to subject his sister to the lust of Lussurioso. This is the “Vindici” who is not in fact a revenger. In this way, Middleton tells us that the tragedy of the revenger is worth facing for self-defense. Hamlet’s second persona is his mad ambition, guised as revenge. The ghost of his father, ambition, posseses Hamlet and sets him on a path of vengeance and ambition for power. Much like Vindici’s disguise, Hamlet’s madness manifests at different times. This is symbolic of the different levels of personality that people possess.

Incest is a major topic of both plays. Vindici is in love with his mother (Gratiana) and sister Castiza (Chastity). The energy for his murdered love is transposed onto Castiza and Gratiana. The Duchess is also having an affair with her step son, Spurio – who, a bastard, is of spurious origins.

One explanation for the incestuous nature of Vindici is a strange parallel to Hamlet. Both protagonists have recently lost their father, and this changes them greatly. Hamlet begins to see the ghost of his own father, and loses interest in his lover. Vindici declares his life “unnatural” and as if he should be dead:

“For since my worthy father's funeral, My life's unnatural to me, e'en compell'd As if I liv'd now when I should be dead.” (Middleton, I.i. Outside Vindici's house)

Some critics have claimed that Vindici is supposed to have been responsible for his wife’s poisoning, though the Duke submits to have poisoned “many a beauty” for rejecting him. This would parallel Hamlet in his rejection of Ophelia, and if Vindici’s father sought vengeance on the Duke (probable) it would imply that the spirits of their respective fathers seek to insure that they do not commit adultery, even by proxy of the possed protagonists.

A major difference lays in the explanation of this possession, however. This difference could perhaps imply that the possession in The Revenger’s Tragedy is based solely on psychological complexes whereas Hamlet’s is more magical.

In both plays, major characters who have been killed have not atoned for their sings, but in Middleton’s piece little sympathy is given to the Duke, while King Hamlet’s inability to atone for his sins is a central theme to the justification for revenge.

Class struggle plays an important role in Middleton’s piece, “alas poor lecher in the hands of knaves / A slavish Duke is baser than his slave,” Middleton’s Vindici says, pleased at his assassination of the Duke. The people are pleased with the death of the Duke, and even more so when the revered “Antonio” takes the Duke’s place. In Hamlet, the concerns of the people are on ly prevalent in Laertes’ support, but unheard of in regard to the central themes of the play. Conversely, The Revenger’s Tragedy makes a central theme of the people’s struggle, as expressed in Vindice’s dialogue. His mother laments at her own misgivings, “rich man tricked the beggar – that’s news, is it?”. (Middleton)

All in all, the central themes of both plays reflect what apear to be trends either in the storytelling of The Kings Men or in the time period. The parallels in the roles of Vindice, Hamlet and their respective fathers is quite a surprising parallel that caught me off guard. The more apparent concepts that bring the plays together are their focus on the wages of sin and atonement, avarice, revenge, loyalty and treason, incest and adultery. The plays are most significantly different in their class conscienceness and the overtness of magic. The Revenger’s Tragedy is as a dark Christian mythology while Hamlet minces the pagan spiritual world with Christian ideology. At best the plays offer a glimpse at the time period and its trends, while at worst they tell us just a little about the author.

Dean Sayers 2/28/07