The Spanish Tragedy

Outside Cyprian’s palace, Hieronimo laments Horatio’s death. He questions the justice of the heavens if Horatio goes unavenged. He wanders, distracted, driven by the desire for revenge as though goaded on by demons. 

Suddenly, a letter written in blood lands at his feet. The letter is from Bel-Imperia, revealing Lorenzo and Balthazar as Horatio’s murderers. Hieronimo wonders what would cause Bel-Imperia to betray her brother, and he suspects that it might be a trap. He decides to act cautiously. He will visit Cyprian’s house in the hopes of speaking in secret with Bel-Imperia. 

Hieronimo calls on Pedringano, asking for Bel-Imperia. Lorenzo comes instead, telling him that Cyprian has removed Bel-Imperia for some disgrace. Hieronimo says that this is unfortunate, as he had something to ask her. Lorenzo asks if he can help Hieronimo instead, but Hieronimo tells him not to trouble himself over it. (This is changed in the 1602 folio.) 

Addition from 1602 Folio 

Hieronimo replies, “I reserve your favor for a greater honor / This is a very toy, my Lord, a toy” (3.2.66-67). Lorenzo insists, but Hieronimo says it is nothing, just the murder of a son. Lorenzo evidently does not catch this line. This ends the 1602 addition. 

Hieronimo says his tongue cannot describe his grief. He leaves. Lorenzo calls Pedringano over. He suspects Serberine has revealed the truth of Horatio’s murder. Pedringano assures him that Serberine has not left his side since the murder. Lorenzo still does not trust him. He gives Pedringano more gold to murder Serberine in St. Luigi’s Park nearby. He dismisses Pedringano and summons a page to tell Serberine to meet Lorenzo in the park at eight o’clock at night. When the page leaves, Lorenzo summarizes his plan: He will kill his servants to save himself.

Pedringano waits at St. Luigi’s Park with a pistol, steeling himself to murder Serberine. Nearby, three guardsmen assemble, tasked by the king to patrol near Cyprian’s palace. Serberine enters, and Pedringano shoots and kills him. The guards hear the shot and immediately arrest Pedringano. They take him off to Hieronimo for questioning. Pedringano is confident Lorenzo will protect him.

Lorenzo confesses to Balthazar that he fears someone has betrayed them to Hieronimo. When the page brings the news of Serberine’s death, Lorenzo tells Balthazar to entreat the king to hasten Pedringano’s punishment. Balthazar assures him that Pedringano will die. He leaves. Alone, Lorenzo compares himself to a falconer and Balthazar to a falcon: He will use Balthazar to kill at his instruction. 

A messenger enters with a letter for Lorenzo from Pedringano, asking Lorenzo for help. Lorenzo tells the messenger to reassure Pedringano that he will do everything in his power for him. He gives the page a purse of money and a box, which he says contains a pardon. Lorenzo warns the page not to open the box, and he tells him to deliver these to Pedringano in secret.

On the street, the page muses over the box containing the pardon. Despite Lorenzo’s warning, he looked in the box and found it empty. He finds it amusing to think how the false promise of a pardon will embolden Pedringano. However, he does feel a bit sorry for him—but standing up for Pedringano would put his own life on the line.

At the palace of justice, near the gallows, Hieronimo laments the irony of the fact that it is his job to pursue justice for someone else, while Horatio’s death still goes unavenged. 

The deputy calls in Pedringano for his hearing. Pedringano confidently admits to killing Serberine. Hieronimo orders Pedringano to be hanged. On the gallows, Pedringano has an impudent exchange with the hangman. He motions to the page in the crowd, who is holding Lorenzo’s box. Disgusted with the levity with which Pedringano treats murder, Hieronimo leaves. Pedringano asserts that he has a pardon from the king. The hangman executes him anyway. The deputy orders Pedringano’s body be taken down and left unburied.

At home, Hieronimo’s brooding is interrupted by the arrival of the hangman, who says they have wronged Pedringano by executing him. He hands Hieronimo a letter. Hieronimo promises the hangman he will not be punished. The hangman leaves. 

Pedringano’s letter, intended for Lorenzo, pleads for Lorenzo to save his life, and threatens to reveal the truth if he reneges on his promise. This affirms Bel-Imperia’s claim that Lorenzo and Balthazar killed Horatio. Hieronimo will go to the king to ask him for justice or tire everyone with threats of vengeance.

To the distress of her maid, Isabella’s grief for Horatio is leading to erratic emotional outbursts. Isabella is tormented with visions of Horatio in heaven. She cries out for revenge against those who killed him.

Bel-Imperia sits at a window, fuming over being sequestered from court. She wonders why Lorenzo has treated her so badly, and why Hieronimo is so slow in avenging Horatio. She laments that Andrea’s spirit may have seen Horatio murdered because of her. She reminds herself to be patient. Her servant, Christophil, leads her away.

The page assures Lorenzo and Balthazar that Pedringano is dead. Lorenzo sends for Bel-Imperia. It has been nine days since the murder; he thinks it is safe to release her. Balthazar reminds him that Cyprian has summoned her. Lorenzo advises Balthazar to tread carefully in his romantic advances toward his sister, lest he arouse further suspicion. 

Bel-Imperia arrives. Lorenzo addresses her as his sister, but she calls him her enemy because of how he treated her. Lorenzo claims everything he did was to preserve Bel-Imperia’s honor. The king and the duke want her to marry Balthazar. Finding her alone in a secluded place, Lorenzo says he remembered the disgrace she faced for her relationship with Andrea. He and Balthazar killed Horatio and took her away so Cyprian would not find her with a man below her station.

On the street nearby Cyprian’s house, two Portuguese men greet Hieronimo. 

1602 Addition: 

In a raving monologue, Hieronimo contemplates the worth of a son. Horatio was the foundation of his and Isabella’s happiness; he was honest and just. Only a murderer could hate him. He was only 19 when Balthazar murdered him. He takes solace that Heaven and Nemesis may yet avenge him. This ends the addition. 

The Portuguese men ask where they can find Lorenzo. Upon hearing the name, Hieronimo gives them a graphic description of Lorenzo in Hell, implying Lorenzo’s guilt. The men leave, laughing at Hieronimo, thinking he is mentally ill or someone with dementia.

In a hall in the royal palace, Hieronimo hopes for an audience with the king. He holds a dagger and a rope—implements of death by suicide. His thoughts are haunted by visions of Hell. He tosses the dagger away, saying that if he were to die by suicide now, Horatio would go unavenged. 

The king enters, attended by the ambassador and other nobles, discussing the preparations for the wedding between Balthazar and Bel-Imperia. Hieronimo interrupts, crying out for justice. Lorenzo stops him. The king asks who interrupted, but Hieronimo tells them to continue. The ambassador reports that the viceroy is overjoyed with the proceedings. Eager to unite Spain and Portugal, the viceroy will give his crown to Balthazar at the wedding, making him King of Portugal and Bel-Imperia Queen. He has arranged for Balthazar’s ransom money to be sent to Horatio. 

Upon hearing his son’s name, Hieronimo cries out again for justice. Lorenzo tries to stop him again, but Hieronimo persists. Hieronimo draws his dagger and stabs at the earth, crying out that he will use it as a shovel and dig to the underworld to retrieve Horatio so the king can see his wounds. The king asks for him to be restrained, but Hieronimo leaves.

Lorenzo tells the king that Hieronimo has gone “mad” over the gold that is owed to Horatio. The king is saddened to see his Knight Marshal in such a state; he sends Cyprian to give him Horatio’s reward. Lorenzo suggests removing Hieronimo from his position, but the King thinks that would only worsen Hieronimo‘s mental state. The king will perform Hieronimo‘s duties in the meantime. The king calls the ambassador back to finalize arrangements for the viceroy’s visit and Balthazar and Bel-Imperia’s wedding.

This scene was added in the 1602 folio. 

In Hieronimo‘s garden, servants Pedro and Jaques discuss their master’s worsening mental state. Hieronimo no longer sleeps, and he appears to hallucinate Horatio’s presence in his home. At times he falls to the ground, crying out for his son, which Pedro regards as demeaning for a man. 

Hieronimo enters the garden, searching for Horatio. He mistakes Pedro and Jaques for spirits. When they identify themselves, Hieronimo asks why they have lit their torches. He would rather have them lit in daylight; he curses the night and the moon, Hecate, and the stars, for giving their consent to evil deeds done in the dark. Pedro gently attempts to stop Hieronimo from provoking supernatural forces, telling him he is out of his right mind with grief. Hieronimo retorts that he is not ”mad,” and he correctly identifies Pedro and Jaques as proof. 

Isabella calls Hieronimo to come back inside. Hieronimo replies that he, Pedro, and Jaques are very merry. Shocked, Isabella wonders how he could be merry in front of the tree where Horatio was murdered. Horatio recounts how he carefully planted and nurtured the very tree that would become the gallows for his son. 

A well-known painter, Bazardo, comes seeking Hieronimo. He, too, wants justice for a murdered son. Hieronimo taunts Bazardo at first but comes to see him as a kindred spirit. Bazardo experiences the same bouts of grief and “madness” as Hieronimo. 

Hieronimo asks Bazardo if he can paint a series of paintings: A picture of his family five years younger; the scene of Horatio’s murder; and of Hieronimo in the full range of emotion he has felt since Horatio’s death. He tells Bazardo the end will be death and “madness.” Hieronimo confesses he is never better than when he is “mad.” He ushers Bazardo inside, then returns to the courtyard, alone, with a book in hand.

Hieronimo now realizes he cannot turn to the king for justice. He steels himself to take matters into his own hands. He knows he must be subtle and clever, or else risk his vengeance and his life. Hieronimo will endure a while longer, feigning that he does not suspect Lorenzo and Balthazar so he can strike when the moment is right. 

Citizens come to petition Hieronimo to ask him to plead their cases to the king, due to Hieronimo’s reputation as a legal expert. One of them, an old man, Don Bazulto, petitions for justice for his murdered son. Hieronimo immediately forgets his resolve and loses his composure. He takes out his handkerchief to give to Bazulto to wipe his eyes, but he realizes it is the same handkerchief he soaked in Horatio’s blood. He gives the old man his purse instead and berates himself for not grieving for Horatio enough. He works himself up into a rage, petitioning Proserpine to send furies to torment Lorenzo and Balthazar, tearing up the petitioners’ papers, imagining his foes being torn apart. 

One of the petitioners complains that the document he tore cost 10 pounds. Hieronimo denies damaging it and runs out of the room, pursued by the angry petitioners. He returns, alone, a moment later. He asks Bazulto if he is Horatio, returned from the afterlife to spur Hieronimo to vengeance, or if Bazulto is a fury, come to punish him for not avenging Horatio soon enough. Bazulto says he is not; he is a mourning father looking for justice. Hieronimo comes to his senses, recognizing the old man as a kindred spirt. He invites him inside, so they, along with Isabella, can commiserate.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Viceroy has finally arrived at the Spanish Court to finalize the arrangements for Balthazar and Bel-Imperia’s wedding. The king, Cyprian, Lorenzo, Bel-Imperia, and Balthazar come to greet him. The viceroy confirms his approval of the marriage. As he promised, he gives his crown to Balthazar and Bel-Imperia. Everyone but Cyprian and Lorenzo leave for a more appropriate setting to discuss such matters. 

Cyprian warns his son that there are rumors he has mistreated Hieronimo. He does not want Lorenzo to jeopardize Bel-Imperia’s wedding. Lorenzo argues that he was saving Hieronimo from embarrassing himself in front of the king, though it is understandable for him to act “mad” after the murder of his son. He tells his father that Hieronimo has misconstrued his actions, and that they should be reconciled. Cyprian sends a servant to summon Hieronimo. 

Balthazar and Bel-Imperia return, speaking lovingly to one another. Bel-Imperia appears to be returning his affections. Cyprian greets them, telling Bel-Imperia not to worry: He has forgiven her for loving Andrea, now that she has a more suitable match in Balthazar. 

Hieronimo arrives, and they greet him. Cyprian tells Hieronimo of the rumors that Hieronimo is suspicious of Lorenzo. Hieronimo calls the duke and Lorenzo his friends. He draws his sword, challenging anyone who says otherwise. Cyprian is pleased, and he pledges his and Lorenzo’s friendship. However, when they leave, Hieronimo scorns their friendship, suspicious of betrayal.

Andrea is furious at Revenge for falling asleep, when the spirit is needed more than ever. Andrea is furious, thinking Hieronimo has now made amends with Lorenzo. Revenge assures him that, though he sleeps, Andrea’s vengeance is still in motion. Hieronimo has not forgotten Horatio. Revenge summons a dumb play depicting a wedding ending in a bloodbath. This contents Andrea, and he tells Revenge that he will let him sleep without further interruption.