The Jew of Malta as a Revenge play.

T.Y.B.A. (ENG)                                                      

SEM : 5                                                                   

CCE : 14                                                                 

 

 

 

The Jew of Malta as a Revenge play. 

A revenge play, as the name implies, is a play in which the play is caused by the quest and taking of revenge. It was a popular style of English play during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, with the dominating motive being vengeance for a real or imagined wrongdoing.

The Jew of Malta is a Renaissance-era play written by Christopher Marlowe and originally presented in 1589 at London's Rose Theatre. The Jew of Malta is a Jacobean vengeance drama. Set on the Mediterranean island of Malta in the 16th century. The new Governor of Malta forces Barabas to convert to Christianity, which enrages him and leads him to seek vengeance. Barabas is helped in his revenge plotting by his daughter Abigail, with whom he has a complex connection. In the end, Barabas succeeds in destroying his foes, but not without suffering losses along the way and without finding genuine satisfaction.

The entire drama is built on the popular theme of vengeance. Its theme is murder and retribution, and it features suicide, intrigues, dramatic happenings, and a gruesomely bloody ending.

The Jew of Malta's principal themes are religious conflict, anti-Semitism, and vengeance. The conflict between Christians and Jews is shown in the drama through Barabas' meetings with the Governor of Malta and the Christian Friar Jacomo. This issue is heightened by Barabas' troubled relationship with his Christian-convert daughter, Abigail. Marlowe often employs anti-Semitism to create conflict between characters and to draw attention to topics of religious discrimination and intolerance. It is a dark, tragic, and frequently violent play about Judaism, Christianity, and questions of social justice.

Barabas is portrayed as an ambitious, calculating, and resourceful man, but he is also a man of deep religious faith. He is determined to avenge the wrongs done to him and his people, but at the same time, he is guided by his Jewish principles. he was moaning for his wealth.

 

Officer.    Ay, my lord. We have seized upon the goods

                And wares of Barabas, which, being valued,

                Amount to more than all the wealth in Malta;

 

Barabas.  Well then,  my lord, say, are you satisfied ?

                You have my goods, my money, and my wealth,

                My ships, my store, and all that I enjoyed;

                And having all, you can request no more,

                Unless your unrelenting flinty hearts

                Suppress all pity in your stony breasts

                And now shall move you to bereave my life.

              

Barabas, is a complex character motivated by ambition and greed. He is determined to use any means necessary to maintain his power and wealth, even destroying innocent people.

 

'Tis in the trouble of my spirit I speak;

Great injuries are not so soon forgot.

-      Barabas.

 

Barabas is accusing the other Jews of being wusses because they don't take revenge on Ferneze. That said, he also makes the point that they don't have as much reason to seek vengeance as he does because they didn't lose as much as he did. This is kind of interesting, because it makes vengeance seems like a math problem.

In his mind, justice is a relative concept, and he will do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. At the same time, his Jewish faith gives him guidance and strength, keeping him focused and determined in his quest for revenge.

Once Barabas decides to seek revenge for the unfair theft of his wealth, he will stop at nothing to avenge his lost fortune, and his desire for vengeance quickly gets out of control. Barabas’s desire to exact revenge on Ferneze informs his sinister plan to kill Ferneze’s son, which just so happens to involve the additional death of Mathias, the love of Abigail’s life. Barabas sacrifices his daughter’s happiness in the name of his revenge. 

After Ithamore, Bellamira, and Pilia-Borza betray Barabas, he exacts revenge on them, too, by giving them a poisonous bouquet. “So, now I am revenged upon ‘em all,” Barabas says. “The scent thereof was death, I poisoned it.” With the flowers, Barabas kills Ithamore, Bellamira, and Pilia-Borza, which again reflects the widespread betrayal and revenge present in broader society.

Lastly, Barabas major flaw in the play was his greedy nature. He was so greedy that he lacks remorse of his own actions and hence he decide to befriend Calymath so to acquire the position of governor. His life was filled with danger and he befriended Ferneeze so to get rid of the dangers at the end of the play. Ferneeze took revenge on Barabas by deceiving him and later at the end of the play, Barabas fall on his own trap on the boiling cauldron and dies.