"Garber finds an upwelling of voices from the literary past, among them Christopher Marlowe, the revenge dramatist Thomas Kyd, and, from first to last, Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Shakespeare."
"Literature, in her imagining, is like a snake curled in the shadows of a doorway, silent, biding its time, until in a writhing flash it strikes its target."
"The 'agent' of revenge is not the author but the literary work itself, uncoiling across the centuries."
Marjorie Garber examines the role of literature during the Red Scare of the 1950s, highlighting how voices from the past, including Shakespeare, countered anti-Communist sentiments. She argues that literature acts as a form of poetic revenge, subtly undermining figures like Senator McCarthy. Unlike typical revenge narratives, Garber's focus is on the literary work itself as the agent of revenge, which resonates across centuries. This perspective contrasts with modern revenge literature, which often centers on personal grievances and intimate betrayals.
Read at The Atlantic
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