Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

This play is the story of the intense grief, quest for revenge, and eventual insanity of Hieronimo, whose son Horatio is murdered by an ambitious courtier. The play is an example of a medieval genre called the revenge tragedy, in which the naked, murderous ambitions of its central characters are moralistically avenged. The central theme of this play, as was the case with all such tragedies, is the inevitability and rightness of justice.

A Ghost appears, accompanied by a representation of Revenge. The Ghost introduces himself as Andrea and summarizes his life as a Spanish noble, his loving relationship with Bel-Imperia, and how he was slain in battle with Portugal. He also recounts his journey through the various realms of the underworld, where the governing spirits debated what should be done with his soul and eventually sent him to be judged...