By the thirteenth scene of Act III of Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the character of Hieronimo finally became a major character and transformed significantly. He went from a commendable subordinate of the king to a grieving father to a man on the verge of losing his head. However, it is only in Act III, scene XIII, that his ultimate and determined character emerges. Until this monologue, it is unclear who will carry out the vengeance in a play that has been designed from the opening scene to be revenge for the unstable ghost of Don Andrea. But at the end of the speech, and despite the delays that ensue before the conclusion of the play, it is certain that Hieronimo will become the agent of vengeance. This scene can be seen in different ways as Hieronimo's transformation from victim to protagonist, from knight marshal of the king to scythe incarnate of God's judgment, or even from hero to villain. What is unambiguous is that from Act III, Scene XIII, Hieronimo's mind is determined, his role is active, and revenge is inevitable. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hieronimo begins his monologue with the Vulgate phrase, “Vindicta mihi!” » (3.13.1), meaning “Vengeance is mine”, quoting the passage from the book of Romans which continues: “I will repay,” says the Lord. » This is his essential problem since Hieronimo is aware of this explicit New Testament decree against personal vengeance, as would have been the Elizabethan audience for whom this play was written. It was understood that God would avenge all wrongs, either directly or through his representative on earth, who was believed to be the King. However, it is interesting to note that he chooses to quote a phrase that is supposed to be in the voice of God, perhaps alluding to his ultimate personal appropriation of the role of final judge in the play. Yet, with this understanding, he can “come by righteousness to heaven” (3.6.6) since “they [Lorenzo and Balthazar] did what Heaven would not leave unpunished” (3.7.56). Hieronimo attempted to inform his "Lord the King/And cry aloud for justice through the Court" (3.7.69-70). Nevertheless, he was repeatedly denied access to the king by Act II, scene XIII. Thus, the first five lines of the soliloquy of scene XIII, in which Hieronimo claims to "accomplish [the] will" (3.13.4) of Heaven, do not have the connotation of the monarch replacing God and, in fact, literally mean: that he must wait for the Heavens to take revenge. The idea of ​​waiting for Heaven is only played out, however, and in line 6 Hieronimo has poked his head out of the clouds and into the pagan or Old Testament world of personal vengeance and action. . This change is indicated by the fact that verse 6, like verse 1, is pronounced in Latin, but this time does not cite the New Testament. Instead, he refers to a verse from the book he holds in his hand containing Seneca's plays. The quote, loosely translated two lines later as "Let evils be conductors of evils" (3.13.8), is spoken by Clytemnestra in the play Agamemnon as she contemplates anticipating the violence she expects from her husband . In this context, it would appear that Hieronimo expects more violence from his son's killers (not unreasonable given his knowledge of Pedringano's execution) and may even fear for his own life. It is therefore by necessity of pre-emption, or to anticipate the pre-emption of his enemies, that he abandons the will of Heaven in order to prevent new evils and to guarantee his.