Question

(1) Shakespeare's contemporary Sir Francis Bacon observed that revenge is a kind of wild justice. (2) Shakespeare explores this theme in Hamlet. (3) Hamlet is a revenge tragedy. (4) This type of play was a real crowd-pleaser in Shakespeare's day. (5) Audiences found enjoyment in the choreography of staged combat, the elegance of the playwrites' poetic language, and the emotional catharsis associated with the genre. (6) Shakespeare's achievement in Hamlet was to elevate this form of popular culture into a literary masterpiece.

(7) The English revenge tragedy has its roots in Roman theater's tragedy of blood. (8) Shakespeare would have been familiar with the most famous English play in this tradition, Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. (9) According to theater historian Bridget Chastain, Kyd filled the stage with an unprecedented level of gore, including a hanging, multiple stabbings, and a character who bites off his own tongue.
(10) Revenge tragedies had typical characteristics. (11) These traits all are present in Hamlet. (12) They include a secret murder, the ghost of the victim demanding vengeance, and the avenger pretending to be mad. (13) The avenger in The Spanish Tragedy is the character Hieronimo. (14) Scholars of revenge tragedy may be interested to note that the weapon Hieronimo employs for his revenge is a play-within-a-play. (15) This episode anticipates Hamlet's use of his play-within-a-play, "The Mousetrap," to expose the guilt of Claudius.(16) Although Shakespeare used these formulaic elements in creating Hamlet, he transformed the revenge tragedy in the process. (17) Shakespeare scholar Frances Short observes that, in Hamlet, Shakespeare simultaneously draws on convention and advances the genre. (18) By having Hamlet reflect repeatedly on what he is doing, rather than simply rushing to his vengeance, Shakespeare creates an individual with an extraordinarily complex psychology.
(19) The simple duty of vengeance provides the moral for other revenge tragedies. (20) By contrast, Hamlet is thematically multifaseted, which has provided material for widely varying interpretations of the play.
(21) Shakespeare found an immensely popular type of theater made-to-order in the revenge tragedy. (22) This type of drama was characterized by a series of unvarying formulaic elements. (23) Shakespeare transformed these formulaic elements in creating Hamlet. (24) Scholars and audiences alike cannot overestimate the value of this transformation. (25) Indeed, it is hard to imagine the literary cannen without Hamlet.

Which of the following correctly revises sentence 7 using an indirect quotation?
Select one:
a. The English revenge tragedy had its roots in what literary historians call Roman theater's tragedy of blood.
b. "The English revenge tragedy had its roots in what literary historians call Roman theater's tragedy of blood."
c. "The English revenge tragedy had its roots" in what literary historians call Roman theater's tragedy of blood.
d. "The English revenge tragedy" had its roots in what literary historians call "Roman theater's tragedy of blood."

Answer 1

Revenge tragedies, including Hamlet, have typical characteristics such as secret murder and avengers pretending to be mad. Shakespeare transformed these elements in creating Hamlet, elevating the revenge tragedy into a literary masterpiece.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to theater historian Bridget Chastain, revenge tragedies had typical characteristics such as secret murder, the ghost of the victim demanding vengeance, and the avenger pretending to be mad. These traits are also present in Hamlet.

The avenger in The Spanish Tragedy, another revenge tragedy, is the character Hieronimo who used a play-within-a-play as a weapon for revenge.

This episode anticipates Hamlet's use of his play-within-a-play, "The Mousetrap," to expose the guilt of Claudius. Shakespeare transformed these formulaic elements in creating Hamlet, elevating the revenge tragedy into a literary masterpiece.

The correct way to revise sentence 7 using an indirect quotation would be option a: The English revenge tragedy had its roots in what literary historians call Roman theater's tragedy of blood.

This revision changes the direct quotation into an indirect one, suggesting what historians generally recognize without using the exact words of a specific historian.