The relationship between deceit and justice in Thomas Kyd's 'Spanish Tragedy'

The Spanish Tragedy is a play structured between extremes of justice and deceit, however, throughout the play, these concepts are revealed to be not as black-and-white as they seem. This ambiguous relationship is explored in both the setting and characters. The play questions the justice of revenge, and who has the right to administer it. This dramatised debate blurs the boundary between justice and deceit; it is not immediately obvious to the audience if actions …

…justice and deceit in The Spanish Tragedy is revealed to be highly ambiguous. We are presented with settings and characters that, though on the surface appear just, are revealed to be deceitful. Hieronimo's revenge may be marred by the fact that he acts without the support of God, and with the unscrupulous scheming of a stage Machiavel. Thus the seemingly just action that the play centres around becomes another example in a world of deceit.