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Act 4, Scene 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Revenger’s Tragedy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Revenge and Justice
Lust
Women and Misogyny
Death
Summary
Analysis
The Duchess and Spurio enter, arm in arm and behaving “lasciviously.” Supervacuo runs after them with his sword, but Ambitioso stops him. The Duchess and Spurio exit, confident their affair will not be discovered. Ambitioso tells his brother that there will come a better opportunity to put a stop to the Duchess and Spurio’s behavior. Ambitioso says “most women have small waist the world throughout; / But their desires are thousand miles about.”
Another example of deferred revenge, which here sets up the play’s bloody finale. Ambitioso mimics Junior Brother’s earlier view that women are corrupted by their own desires, ignoring the fact that most of the desiring at court seems to be on the part of men.
Themes
