Hades' landscape in The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd. Distancing effect, as didactic strategy of Modern Times, in travel literature and Elizabethan theatre

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to take under consideration the ways of travel writing during Modernity, making a close reading of The Spanish Tragedy (1592) by Thomas Kyd (1558-1594). The traveler, who no longer is a knight or a priest, is the main character of his report. He will use the power of words (written or not) in convincing speeches, documents, plays, and laws, to fulfill his goals. The certainty of a double reality, where Hades interacts with real life, is evidence of a vision of the world shaped by travelling/discovery and the presence of a New World slowly unveiling itself to Europe. I would like to state that this distancing effect and duplication are the strategies used by travel reports and Elizabethan plays to show the mood of the Modern Age. I will analyze an example of distancing effect through a play within the play and the presence of Hades’ landscape in the frame story as well as in the tragedy itself.