Background
Shakespeare’s early revenge tragedy uses extreme theatrical violence and draws on classical stories of Roman honor and vengeance. Its excess can be difficult to read; the stagecraft asks how spectacle shapes an audience’s response.
Reading notes
- Keep track of each act of retaliation and the injury it claims to answer.
- Notice how rituals of mourning and public honor are used to justify private revenge.
- Consider when the play makes violence horrifying, theatrical, or both.
Version note
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