‘Revenge is a confession of pain’ – Latin Proverb.
In the view of this statement compare and contrast the extent to which the playwrights demonstrate the idea that revenge arises from the pain of the aggressor.
In the view of this statement and in relation to ‘Hamlet’ and ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ it is important to define what pain actually is. Pain relates to grief in terms of Hamlet grieving for his father’s death. It also relates to suffering and injury – be that of the mind or body. There are instances in ‘Hamlet’ and ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ where the motivation for revenge may arise from the emotional pain of the aggressor; there are however acts of revenge shared in these plays that cannot be explained as a confession of pain but rather as a result of self-preservation and duty. Somroo explains that ‘The motive of revenge is a primitive emotion to be found in natural man, though it is a dangerous emotion.’ Somroo explains that revenge is primitive therefore it can be explained as an impulsive emotion born of pain or suffering. This shows that suffering and revenge are closely linked; the idea that revenge is born out of pain has excited audiences throughout history as a theme of revenge tragedies. In this genre of play both Webster and Shakespeare use the theme of revenge to show that it has consequences for every character that is unfortunate enough to be involved as it often results in multiple and an almost comical amount of dead bodies. Shakespeare more than Webster has used the character of Hamlet to explore a motivation for revenge deep within the character in their pain and affection for the cause of revenge.
There are ways in which both Shakespeare and Webster demonstrate that revenge is born out of the pain of the aggressor - especially in the case of the malcontents of the plays. The characters of Bosola from ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ and Prince Hamlet from ‘Hamlet’ are shown to be afflicted with what appears to be genuine pain which ultimately leads revenge. Hamlet is portrayed to be grieving heavily for his father’s death shown in Act 1 Scene 2 as he is ‘dressed in black’ and expresses to his mother ‘…all forms, moods, shows grief / That can denote me truly’. The choice of words used by the Prince such as saying that grief wholly ‘denotes’ him suggests that Hamlet is suffering emotionally from the loss of his father and is defined by his pain. The appearance of the Ghost in Act 1 Scene 5 only confirms the validity Hamlet’s grief and heightens the suffering he is experiencing turning it to rage and revenge after informing him that his father was murdered. Hamlet’s love and premature loss of his father induces him to take revenge fuelled by his pain; it is somewhat acting as a catalyst, and acts as a release for Hamlet to express his pain. For example, Hamlet exclaims whilst with the Ghost ‘I with… the thoughts of love / May sweep to my revenge’. This is bringing these two almost opposite and juxtaposed aspects of love and revenge together and transferring the energy of grief and pain into anger to aid his revenge. Bosola, similarly, establishes in Act 4 a genuine remorse for his crimes which allows him to devise his new action in avenging the Duchess’ death. ‘Oh sacred innocence that sweetly sleeps’; this is showing a change in Bosola’s character as he realises the value of the Duchess. Like Hamlet, Bosola in Act 4 Scene 2 is steered by his pain to instigate revenge after the death of a highly important and endeared figure in society. This would be easy for an Elizabethan or Jacobean audience to relate to as the monarch was idolised in these eras and such an act of treason would bring a large amount of resentment to the murder therefore it is easy for an audience to sympathise with Hamlet and is clearly intended to evoke feelings of pathos in the audience. Bosola however is also a murderer as well as an avenger. Allen explains that ‘Bosola is a complex character who elicits a complex response.’ Therefore the audience interpret Bosola - as the malcontent of the play - to be a puppet to the brothers and ultimately a murderer; however his form of repentance and realisation for his crimes may instigate hostility towards him in either a modern or a contemporary audience as he is used by the brothers to such a point as damning his soul. Once the Duchess has been murdered on her brother’s orders Bosola weeps for the Duchess. Neill explains that Bosola ‘turns away from the Duchess’s corpse to point the course of his own future action’ and this rush of emotion contributes and encourages Bosola to take revenge on the Cardinal. In the view of the characters Bosola and Prince Hamlet, Webster and Shakespeare are showing that revenge does arise from the pain of the aggressor.
Hamlet is motivated by an emotional attachment to his father which causes him great emotional distress and psychological pain and gives him the strength to revenge the ‘foul and most unnatural murder’ of the late King. This consequently gives Hamlet a sincere sense of duty and family loyalty in carrying through this obligation given to him by the spirit of his father. However, it could be argued that duty and avenging your family is a form of social contract which is expected of you as a son, this contradicts the idea that revenge is a confession of pain. Hamlet enters into a verbal contract with the ghost of his father which automatically gives him this great sense of duty. In ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ Ferdinand and the Cardinal are detached from any raw emotion or attachment to their sister. Their motivation for revenge lies on the border of preserving reputation and therefore also acting as a sense of duty to their family name. In the 16th century, women of royal blood were forbidden from marrying below themselves and a suitor was found for them of power and class. A contract in marriage meant establishing connections and alliances with powerful families and increasing status, property and power. It was often political. This is very much the case in ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ as Ferdinand and The Cardinal warn the Duchess of marrying again and seek to take revenge on their own sister in order to defend their family’s reputation. In Act 1 Scene 1 Ferdinand threatens the Duchess with their father’s dagger. McLuskie explains that ‘The reference to his father suggests that Ferdinand is invoking some notion of family honour’. For example, once learning of the Duchess’ secret marriage to her steward, Antonio. The Cardinal questions ‘Shall our blood, the royal blood… be thus attainted?’ followed by Ferdinand in fury blasting ‘Purge infected blood, such blood as hers.’ This is an important use of metonymy. The imagery of blood could be reflecting the very physical contamination of family blood as well as foreshadowing the death of the Duchess. Emphasising the verb ‘purge’ adds to the violence of this quotation symbolising removing or even eliminating something unwanted (such as the Duchess). Furthermore, a contextual audience from the 17th century would relate the symbolism of ‘purging’ to the current plague situation in London especially from 1605 – 1630 and therefore perceive the duchess to be infected and physically ill due to her deceit. This may lead to less sympathy for the Duchess as she has contaminated her own being due to her deceit. It is important to understand here that the two brothers do not know the father of the Duchess’ children and therefore think they are illegitimate which contributes to their motivations for their revenge. Comparing the two exclamations from both Hamlet and the Duchess’ brothers it is clear that their motivations are quite similar. The brothers are concerned with the tainting of their royal blood and therefore their motivation for revenge against their sister is purely a quest for self-preservation in defending their reputation and family honour. They are absent from their emotional or moral attachment to their sister, this is showing that the playwrights are demonstrating that not all revenge is stimulated from pain.
In conclusion, motivations for revenge are not only dense, rooting beneath the surface of key characters such as Hamlet and Bosola, but they are also complex and have many contributing factors where one may be more dominant such as Hamlet in showing how emotional instability and pain, mixed with responsibility and a sense of duty can influence the decision to take revenge. There are key similarities between the revenge in characters reacting to pain; the one key contrast that stands out the most and by far sets these two texts apart is the moral conviction and emotional attachment or lack of in the case of the Cardinal and Ferdinand. Shakespeare uses the suffering of Characters such as Hamlet to motivate their revenge (whether it is successful or not) and show that their revenge is very much a confession of pain; whereas Webster has used the characters of Ferdinand and the Cardinal to explore ideas of self-preservation, reputation and family honour showing no pain or attachment to their revenge initially.

139 Words
Final Word Count: 1578 / 1800 max.
Bibliography:
1. “Hamlet: A Revenge Tragedy - http://www.scribd.com/doc/19636169/HAMLETA-Revenge-Tragedy 2. ALLAN, P. 2001. The English Review, Vol. 12, No. 1. Page 36. – Found in the Critical Blue Book 3. NEILL, M. 1997. Issues of Death: Mortality and Identity in English Renaissance Tragedy. New Zealand: Oxford University Press - http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2543405?uid=3739256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102049026121 4. McLUSKIE, K. 1985. ‘Drama and Sexual Politics: The Case of Webster’s Duchess’. England: New Casebooks - Found in the Critical Blue Book

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[ 1 ]. Prof. Somroo, A.R. [no date]. “Hamlet” – A Revenge Tragedy. M.A English. Available from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19636169/HAMLETA-Revenge-Tragedy. 445 Words
[ 2 ]. ALLAN, P. 2001. The English Review, Vol. 12, No. 1. Page 36.
[ 3 ]. NEILL, M. 1997. Issues of Death: Mortality and Identity in English Renaissance Tragedy. New Zealand: Oxford University Press 531 words
[ 4 ]. McLUSKIE, K. 1985. ‘Drama and Sexual Politics: The Case of Webster’s Duchess’. England: New Casebooks 463 Words