Revenge Tragedy

We have now had an opportunity to read a variety of revenge tragedies in this course, each of which has had its own lessons to teach regarding the character and impact of revenge. Whether it be the insatiable nature of revenge as evidenced in Seneca's work ,or the corruption of the state which leads to the perceived need for individual vengeance as The Spanish Tragedy seems to suggest, each work has some significant things to say about the nature of vengeance and humanity's continuing fascination with it. In this paper you will look at what revenge tragedies can teach us about real life. Your task is to write a cogent and well conceived 7 pages essay in which you look at current situation in the world today in which you believe revenge is a factor---the Israeli--Palestinian conflict, or gang warfare in the United States, might be good examples of such a situation-- and compare Medea and The Duchess of Malfi to that real life [login to view URL] might see similarities, for instance, between the cyclical nature of revenge as evidenced in such plays as Thyestes and Agamemnon and that which is evident in the Middle East conflict. Or you could consider the all-consuming character of vengeance represented in Medea and elsewhere which is clear in the battles between city gangs in LA or here in NY. Or you might take the sexual perversion and unhealthiness which is bound up with revenge in The Revenger's Tragedy and The Duchess of Malfi and compare it to specific court case(like the O.J. Simpson trial, for instance).Or you could choose any other two of the plays we have read in class and compare them to any other real life situation of revenge that you can find. Medea PDF:[login to view URL] The Duchess of Malfi PDF:[login to view URL]