Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy

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The Spanish Tragedy

had a marked impact on contemporary audiences: Philip Henslowe in his

Diary

recorded multiple performances of the play between the years 1592 and 1597 and the play was printed eleven times between 1592 and 1633. In subsequent drama a plethora of parodies and allusions to notable features of

The Spanish Tragedy

can be found – over one hundred references to the play in other drama indicate its presence in the play-going consciousness years after its début on the stage of the Rose Theatre.

Though its popularity later diminished, The Spanish Tragedy has been recognised as an innovative drama in Renaissance theatre history. The author Thomas Kyd was the first to use the blank verse form on the popular stage, when it had previously been restricted to the academic drama.

2620 words

Citation: Owens, Rebekah . "The Spanish Tragedy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21390, accessed 19 March 2024.]

21390 The Spanish Tragedy 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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