Why does Hieronimo kill Duke Castile just before the end of the play (The Spanish Tragedy)? It is Lorenzo that murdered Horatio. Castile is completely exempt from the suspicion of the murder. It appears then to be a mere non-sensical cruelty, for which reason Hieronimo the real tragic revenger might suddenly turn out to be a villain. But is it true? We have a famous chorus, "Revenge" and "Ghost", in this play. The "Ghost" is Andrea's who is informed by himself to have been killed by Balthazar on the battle-ground. The "Ghost" returns to the world led by "Revenge". What for? It must be apparently for some revenge, for the guide is "Revenge". But Andrea was evidently killed in the duel with Balthazar, however mean it may have been. His death is not sufficient enough for the cause of revenge. Besides, the main plot of the play is Hieronimo's revenge upon Lorenzo. The protagonist superficially has nothing to do with the "Ghost" of Andrea. It seems to mean that the presence of the "Ghost" and "Revenge" is irrelevant as the chorus of the play. But is it true? The "Ghost" tells that the infernal judges wonder whether he died as a martialist or as a lover. What does it mean? If Andrea died in the battle, his ghost should be instantly judged 'martialist' and directly sent into 'martial fields' in Hades. The "Ghost" is a "wandering ghost" who knows nothing about his own fate either. It is Proserpine the queen of Hell and "Revenge" her servant that know the 'misterie'. There is something mysterious about the manner of Andrea's death. "Revenge" is committed by the queen to the work to resolve the mystery to the "Ghost", so that their presence on the stage is required throughout the play. The chorus is neither irrelevant nor obtrusive, but essential to the play. Hieronimo's killing of Castile is demanded also within the compass of the function of the chorus. It is not a non-sensical murder, but closely connected with the 'misterie' of the whole play. The Spanish Tragedy is called the first Elizabethan revenge tragedy from which various forms of revenge plays are derived. But we have nothing so strenuous in following the logic of "wild justice". After this play "Revenge" the chorus disappears from the stage or converges into the "Ghost". And then the "Ghost" begins to be questioned of its existence by the revenger-protagonist, with Shakespeare's Hamlet. It must be indeed a psychological refinement in dramatic writing. The more psychologically refined, however, the more vague the logic and action of revenge. The "Ghost" will then be liable to be considered a mere illusion or mental derangement by the revenger himself to whom it has appeared. This is not a long way from the next stage that the "Ghost" also completely disappears. The decline and fall of the "Ghost" can be said the metamorphosis of Revenge Tragedy. What does the phenomenon morally stand for?
