An Analysis of the Characteristics of Hieronimo from the perspective of Language—use

【Abstract】： In the Spanish Tragedy， Thomas Kyd effectively depicts characters through his genius language craft and different roles have different language styles. Therefore， based on text-analysis， this thesis mainly analyzes the characteristics of Heronimo from the perspective of the language-use， so as to prove the validity of Kyd’s language-use in characterizing.

【Key words】： Characteristics； Language-use； Spanish Tragedy

Generally speaking， language can communicate vital information to audiences or to the readers about a character’s background， attitudes and motivation. Certainly， The Spanish Tragedy is much noted for its fine rhetorical display and language-use and characterization are closely related in the drama.

Among the characters in the drama， Hieronimo， as an important role， is a complicated man who is well worthy to analyzing from the perspective of language-use. Before the death of his son， Horatio， he is a good father and as a nobleman， he is very humble， loyal and faithful； when he finds that his son is killed by Lorenzo and Bathazar， he turns his role into a true avenger. As an avenger， he is very prudent， cautious and patient. About the language-use， the most obvious feature of Hieronimo’s language is that he always uses rhetorical devices to express himself， such as using anaphora， apostrophe， soliloquy and so on. The following parts mainly analyze the characteristics and the language-use of Hieronimo by giving some evidences.

As a good father， Hieronimo always feels proud of his son and stands by his son’s side. For example， in act 1， when the Spanish king asks “ But what was he that on the other hold him （Balthazar） by th’am as partner of the prize？” （1.2： 114-115） Hieronimo wants to help his son Horatio to get his deserved prize and as a father， his answer also expresses his great pride for his son：

That was my son， my gracious sovereign，

Of whom， though from his tender infancy

My loving thoughts did never hope but well，

He never pleased his father’s eyes till now，

Nor filled my heart with overcloying joys.（1.2： 116-120）

From the above sentences， there are some key words and phrases， such as “tender infancy”， which expresses Hieronimo’s great love to his son. And even another two words “never” and “overcloying” having extreme meanings still show Hieronimo’s great delight about his son’s bravery in the battle. And we can find that Hieronimo is a good father.

As a nobleman， Hieronimo is very humble， loyal and faithful. At first， in act 1， Hieronimo comes on the stage. When the Spanish king says that his “son that wins this battle’s prize”（1.2： 97）， he replies very humbly and faithfully “l(fā)ong may he live to serve my sovereign liege， and soon decay unless he serve my liege！”（1.2： 98-99） In the lexical level， he repeats the word “serve” twice to demonstrate his loyalty as a Spanish nobleman. Then in the sentence， his loyalty is emphasized by using the word “decay” which means “the decline of fortune” if they do not serve the Spanish Imperial Family. Then from the direction as “enter Hieronimo with a drum， three knights， each his scutcheon…”， we can find that as a Spanish nobleman and knight of Marshal， Hieronimo can lower his stance to perform and explain his play for other people： “The first armed knight…The third and last， not least in our account…the Duke of Lancaster”（1.4： 140-167）， which can reveal that Hieronimo is a loyal knight.

From the above analysis， we can conclude that Hieronimo is always be loyal， humble and faithful. It is obvious that Hieronimo would never do something harmful to the Spanish Imperial Family or the others else if nothing has happened， that’s to say， if his son is not dead. But unfortunately， his son is murdered by Lorenzo and Balthazar. Both of them are members of the imperial family. Eventually， Hieronimo becomes an avenger.

As a avenger， Hieronimo is very prudent. That’s why Hieronimo can become an author of the play-within-the-play for his revenge. When Hieronimo finally confirms the truth of the letter， and knows the murderer of his son， he still doesn’t take revenge immediately. Instead， Hieronimo pretends to be lunatic when he faces other people. He begins to use some complex language， even some foreign language， which can not only shows the complexity of Hieronimo， but also can put Hieronimo in a safe place in the course of taking revenge. For example， at first， two Portuguese come to inquire the way to seek “my lord Duke”（3.11： 35）：

First Portuguese： By your leave， sir.

Hieronimo： Good leave have you. Nay， I pray you， go，

For I’ll leave you， if you can leave me so.

Second Portuguese： Pray you，

Which is the next way to my lord the Duke’s？

Hieronimo： The next way from me.（3.11： 1-6）

Heronimo’s answers make the two Portuguese believe that “Doubtless this man is passing lunatic， or imperfection of his age doth make him dote.”（3.11： 33-34） From his action， we can know that Hieronimo becomes more prudent and cautious.

In a word， in lexical， syntactical and rhetorical level， Hieronimo is presented as a good father， a loyal nobleman and a cautious avenger. And Thomas Kyd successfully controls his language to depict a complex character of Hieronimo. In the Spanish Tragedy， Hieronimo plays an important role and no character can take the place of him.

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