... There are similarities in the plots of “The Spanish Tragedy” and “Hamlet: Prince of Denmark.” I would like to focus this work on some ideas about the importance of spectacle and the role of violence in them. ...
In these particular plays there are many expressions of violence, in some cases they come implicit in dialogues, in others, they are visual, we may see physical expressions of violence, blood, hard movements, etc. Violence has a lot to do with spectacle, we may say that it is towards it that the authors find a way to improve the quality of the show, the work of art they have been writing and feeling. It is through violence that they enrich the ideas and feelings they express along the piece. ...
We may talk then about spectacle in the following terms: on the one side there is aural impact, the tones used by the performers, the noises, etc; on the other side there is visual impact, supported by what the characters do, and the physical violence they display; finally there is another kind of impact, maybe the most relevant but most difficult to be seen: the impact produced within each member of the audience, the individuals who are assisting the world which is being recreated in front of their eyes. ... In parallel with this point, the role of violence in the story itself, and in the effect it is supposed to produce among the audience. ... Hieronimo and Prince Hamlet are the victims of the ambitious. They are put in that places along the story, and they react to that violence in different ways, they experience different feelings which are, at the same time very similar, and so similar they are, that they give similar ends to the tragedies. ...
We may find the importance of “spectacle” along the two plays. The different ways of violence spectators are exposed to are part of the richness of each play, also the deepness of dialogues and soliloquies. ... Violence comes under different shapes along these stories, and I would like to make reference to some of them.
The violence of words is present in both plays. Let us take examples:
May not we find violence in the words Hieronimo says in Act III, Scene ii (The Spanish Tragedy)? But please let us not be confused, this is a violence that has deep effect upon the audience. First they see through the eyes of a father the pain for the loss of a son, this violence of words provokes the empathy of the people, and immediately shows us the clouds of revenge. ... May not we find a subtle way of violence here? And when he reads the letter, may not we find clear violence there? It is, once more, violence coming from words.
May not we find violence in the words the King says in Act III scene iii (Hamlet)? Are not these words showing the feelings of regret and pray for salvation, full of an implicit violence? In this case we see violence coming from the soul of a person who has done cruel things but needs peace. ... This is another kind of violence. Violence for the character- who is going through a violent situation- , and for those who see his pathetic state. Violence that shows that even the powerful find it difficult to reach peace, maybe finding it is more difficult than achieving the throne.
The examples described before, are only two examples of the occurrence of violence through words I have found along the texts. There are many others, and maybe ones that may show more evident examples of verbal violence, but I have selected these two because of the connotations they have in the contexts in which they are, and because they aim to awake reflection. This kind of violence is sometimes disguised, but it may be as cruel as physical one, or even more, because it is invisible, we are not aware of it, and we may confuse them with bare words. May not we say that there is a great deal of violence when each person has to face what makes him sad or full of regret? ...
There are other scenes in which violence is more evident. Ophelia’s singing in Act IV scene V (Hamlet) gives the already sad situation more intensity . ... This makes the spectacle more effective, and at the same time expresses violence as this is much more than what the audience would have wished to see. ... To take an example from “The Spanish Tragedy” I would refer to Act IV, scene II in which Isabella, completely out of control cuts down the arbour at the time she puts her feelings into words, and as she goes on the intensity of what she says grows.
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