Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Hieronimo

Oh Hieronimo, you're our hero.

Well, sort of. He's definitely the good guy because there's no doubting whom our allegiance is with in the play. But there is that little problem with him slaughtering a slew of characters at the end of the drama—and one of his victims has nothing at all to do with the murder of his son. Yeah. Maybe not so good.

Part of what makes Hieronimo a fascinating protagonist is that avenging his son's murder changes him over the course of the tragedy. A major point in the play is that revenge changes someone from good to bad. This is a radical achievement in dramatic history, because prior to The Spanish Tragedy most characters maintained their good/bad status no matter what happens in the plot. Maybe, just maybe, there were some characters that found redemption, but a good character going from good to bad was almost unheard of. And even when characters confessed their evil ways at the end of a play, authors never bothered to flesh out the complexities of their personal growth. That we get to see Hieronimo gradually evolve (or degrade) is a true literary feat for the period.

Despite his serious character flaws, Hieronimo is still the protagonist of The Spanish Tragedy because the drama continually asks us to relate with him and think about what we would do in his shoes. But still, you could make a great argument that Hieronimo loses the title of protagonist as he becomes more cunning, deceitful, and violent.

Pick a side and stake your claim.