The Spanish Tragedy and the Supernatural: Exploring the Coexistence of Patriotic and Subversive Interpretations in The Spanish Tragedy

Author Information

Michelle Mercure

Abstract/Description

The title of Thomas Kyd’s play, The Spanish Tragedy, is as ambiguous as the play’s content. According to critic Ian McAdam, the play’s ambiguity allows for two conflicting interpretations. He writes that the play is . . . in its very complexity, marked by gaps and discontinuities which, while not rendering it artistically incoherent, have led to striking discrepancies in critical readings; while some see Kyd patriotically asserting England’s political ascendancy over Spain’s ‘evil empire,’ others see the playwright taking a dangerously subversive stance toward (English) society itself.

Note on the Author

Michelle Mercure is currently a senior majoring in English. She presented this paper at the 7th Annual Undergraduate Shakespeare Conference of New England at Worcester State College this past spring, the theme of which was “The Natural, The Unnatural, The Supernatural.” She received an ATP travel grant to help her to attend the conference.

Recommended Citation

Mercure, Michelle (2009). The Spanish Tragedy and the Supernatural: Exploring the Coexistence of Patriotic and Subversive Interpretations in The Spanish Tragedy. Undergraduate Review, 5, 140-143.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol5/iss1/28

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