How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
HIPPOLITO
Strengthen my vow, that if at the next sitting,
Judgement speak all in gold and spare the blood
Of such a serpent, e'en before their seats,
To let his soul out, which long since was found
Guilty in heaven.(1.4.63-67)
Here, Hippolito is exhorting others to vengeance against Junior. Is he justified in planning a vigilante revenge against Junior if the court doesn't sentence him? Or, to look at it differently, which should win in a fight: the law or justice?
Quote #5
LUSSURIOSO
Thy name: I have forgot it.VINDICE
Vindice, my lord.LUSSURIOSO
'Tis a good name that.VINDICE
Ay, a revenger.LUSSURIOSO
It does betoken courage; th'one should'st be valiant,
And kill thine enemies.VINDICE
That's my hope, my lord.LUSSURIOSO
This slave is one.VINDICE
I'll doom him.LUSSURIOSO
Then I'll praise thee.
Do thou observe me best, and I'll best raise thee.(4.2.192-202)
Lussurioso and Vindice are discussing killing Piato, and Vindice seems to be savoring the irony that Lussurioso has unwittingly hired Vindice to kill himself (in his disguise as Piato). But there seems to be another irony going on here. When Vindice says, "I'll doom him [Piato]," he thinks he's being clever—but if you consider the end of the play, Vindice has totally doomed himself. If you find yourself stuck in a revenge tragedy (and we sincerely hope you don't), watch out for the irony.
Quote #6
VINDICE
O thou almighty patience, 'tis my wonder,
That such a fellow, impudent and wicked,
Should not be cloven as he stood,
Or with a secret wind burst open!
Is there no thunder left, or is it all kept up
In stock for heavier vengeance? [Thunder.] There it goes!HIPPOLITO
Brother, we lose ourselves.(4.2.222-228)
Vindice is chatting with Hippolito here after being hired by Lussurioso to kill Piato (who is actually Vindice). When Hippolito says, "Brother, we lose ourselves," it's hard not to wonder if there's an ironic double layer in the phrase. Maybe they're not just losing themselves in thought, but also losing themselves in revenge. Are they still the men we met at the beginning of the play?