Abstract
The villain of Antonio’s Revenge is clearly a dramatic descendant of Kyd’s Lorenzo. But, whereas his predecessor took some time to settle into his role, Piero is from the beginning unambiguously evil, to the point of caricature. The stage direction with which the play begins presents a definitive tableau: ‘Enter piero unbrac’d, his arms bare, smear’d in blood, a poniard in one hand, bloody, and a torch in the other, strotzo following him with a cord. He comes so comprehensively equipped with the tools and emblems of his role that he needs an accomplice to help him carry them. His opening speech embraces the night and its black agents with an appropriately ferocious energy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Jonathan Dollimore’s consideration of Antonio’s Revenge in Radical Tragedy(Brighton, 1984) sets the play very effectively within a historical and cultural context of emergent scepticism and relativism in which traditional Christian-Stoic accounts of identity and providentialist orthodoxy are under radical challenge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1987 Peter Mercer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mercer, P. (1987). Antonio’s Revenge: Stoic and Player. In: Hamlet and the Acting of Revenge. Contemporary Interpretations of Shakespeare. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09217-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09217-8_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-09219-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-09217-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)