Courtly, Dejected, and Important: The Role of Balthazar in Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy Anonymous College

The Spanish Tragedy is a play written by an English dramatist called Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592 when the first known performance was conducted. Kyd was a popular dramatist in his day, although most of his plays have been lost. The Spanish Tragedy is one of the very few extant plays that can with certainty be attributed to him. The play is important not only for its own merits but also because it is the first example of a revenge tragedy theme, a type of play-theme that was to become extremely popular on the Elizabethan stage during the last decade of the sixteenth century and beyond. This important theme is advanced by a character called Balthazar and his role in the play is vital since many other themes in the play revolve around him.

Balthazar is also an important character for Kyd because he also makes known to the audience other underlying character traits of other characters. The depiction of marriage in the Elizabethan era is an evident feature in the play through the character of Balthazar. Even though Kyd displays Balthazar in a negative light, his role in the play is vital, particularly in the advancement of the themes of revenge, love, marriage, women and character development in the Elizabethan era leading to...