EAN 9780713666649

The Revenger's Tragedy (1607) shows a brilliant court culture against a sombre background; although fashionably Italianate in appearance, the play is concerned with substantial issues in the Britain of King James I. The new king's court became notorious for luxuriousness, spectacular masques and torchlight revels; and poets and playwrights attacked the rumoured sexual and political corruption in high places. By 1607 revenge tragedy had already developed as a hybrid form incorporating complex intrigue plots and elements of farce, including, as here, elements of horror.