Print. Though Seneca wrote several kinds of tragedies the Elizabethan playwrights were particularly attracted to the Revenge Tragedies such as Thyestes, Medea and Agamemnon. [13], Other play writers of the period questioned the conventions of the genre through parody reversals of generic expectations. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. The term was first used by Ashley H. Thorndike in his article titled The Relations of Hamlet to Contemporary Revenge Plays written in the year 1902. Ed. Emma Smith. In George Chapman’s Revenge of Bussy d’Ambois (performed c. 1610), Bussy’s ghost begs his introspective brother Clermont to avenge his murder. 1959. He presented elements that are quite similar to those from Seneca's tragedies, establishing tragedy as a more well-known genre. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The term, revenge tragedy, was first introduced in 1900 by A. H. Thorndike to label a class of plays written in the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras (circa 1580s to 1620s). 1996. 1959. The main plot focuses on Titus's revenge against Tamora and her sons, but also there are other people to whom he seeks vengeance. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. This is an element that can define a revenge tragedy. [1] The term, revenge tragedy, was first introduced in 1900 by A. H. Thorndike to label a class of plays written in the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras (circa 1580s to 1620s). [7] The importance of his plays lies in the difficulty of the period. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [14] In Thomas Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy, the revenge character Vindice is a spiteful man whose pleasure in the act of revenge is what seems to be his true motivation for its fulfillment. Emma Smith. "Theories of Revenge in Renaissance England. Katherine Eisaman Maus. Glaucester, MA: Peter Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press. As his revenge, Titus murders Tamora's remaining sons, bakes them into pie, and serves them to her at a feast. Although overtly grotesque, this piece of literature follows the conventions of the revenge tragedy genre. ", Alkhaleefah, Tarek A. Infamous scenes like the cannibalistic feast in Thyestes introduce the audience to another dimension of the human experience, challenging them to reflect on extreme emotions and dig deeper into the conventions of the genre. The revenge tragedy, or revenge play, is a dramatic genre in which the protagonist seeks revenge for an imagined or actual injury. Lily Campbell argues that revenge is the great thematic uniter of all early modern tragedy, and "all Elizabethan tragedy must appear as fundamentally a tragedy of revenge if the extent of the idea of revenge be but grasped. [15] The Atheist's Tragedy by Cyril Tourneur followed an anti-revenge plot by having Montferrer's ghost explicitly order his son Charlemont not to seek revenge in order to avoid the villainy of violence. [2] In this play, Titus' murder of Tamora's eldest son in a ritual of war leads to the rape and mutilation of his daughter Lavinia.