The first true and popular revenge tragedy was a play by the name of The Spanish Tragedy and it was written by Thomas Kyd between the years of 1582 to 1592. Being the first of its kind, The Spanish Tragedy has been referred to and has been influential to playwrights ever since its release. The most notable influence Kyd had was on William Shakespeare and his take on the revenge play or revenge tragedy. The term “influence “ is used very generally and lightly when it comes to Kyd’s effect on Shakespeare’s writing, but after further review, Shakespeare seems to steal or almost replicate a great amount of aspects introduced in Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy. It has historically been proposed and rumored that Thomas Kyd wrote a play called Ur-Hamlet that acted as the primary source of reference for one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays Hamlet. Although not a trace of this play has ever been found, the rumor will still live on purely based on the extent of similarity between Hamlet and Kyd’s version of the revenge tragedy. Even though the knowledge of the murders differ in Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy, the first similarity I noticed was how both Hamlet and Hieronimo were hesitant to act on their plans for revenge through convincing themselves of unreliable information regarding the murders. In The Spanish Tragedy, Hieronimo says, “I therefore will by circumstances try / What I can gather to confirm this writ” (Kyd, 1582-1592). In a similar fashion, in Hamlet, Hamlet resolves just as Hieronimo does, “Must like a whore unpack my heart with words / And fall acursing like a very drab” (Shakespeare, 1599-1602). The second identical event that occurs in Hamlet that also occurred in The Spanish Tragedy is when in each play the murdered man returns and reminds the revenger of their original plan for revenge. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s late father comes to tell Hamlet of the nature of his death, “ but know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy Fathers life, Now wears his crown” (Shakespeare, 1599-16