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Act 3, Scene 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Spanish Tragedy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Revenge and Justice
Class, Gender, and Society
Love and Madness
Betrayal
Summary
Analysis
Hieronimo enters, crying and mourning the unjust death of Horatio. Hieronimo again vows to find the murderers and exact revenge, and a letter suddenly falls from above. Hieronimo picks it up and discovers that it has been written in blood. It is a letter from Bel-Imperia to Horatio, and it claims that Lorenzo and Balthazar have killed Horatio and abducted Bel-Imperia. “Hieronimo,” Bel-Imperia writes, “revenge Horatio’s death.”
Here, Bel-Imperia tells Hieronimo directly to seek revenge against Lorenzo and Balthazar. The fact that Bel-Imperia’s letter is written in blood underscores how serious she is in getting her revenge. Bel-Imperia was not physically hurt during Horatio’s death, which this suggests that she harmed herself in order to write the letter.
Themes
Hieronimo can’t believe Bel-Imperia’s letter, and he wonders why Lorenzo and Balthazar would want to kill Horatio. Still, Hieronimo has vowed revenge, and he must find out if the letter is true. He is near the home of the Duke of Castile, so he decides to find Bel-Imperia and ask her. Pedringano enters, and Hieronimo asks where he can find Bel-Imperia. Lorenzo appears and claims that Bel-Imperia has been sent away due to a vague dishonor. Hieronimo, not wanting to tell Lorenzo about the letter, bids them goodnight and exits.
The fact that Hieronimo does not initially believe Bel-Imperia’s letter underscores how powerless Bel-Imperia is as a woman in 16th-century society. She witnessed Horatio’s murder firsthand, but Hieronimo requires additional proof before taking revenge on Lorenzo and Balthazar, both of whom are royalty and highly respected.
Themes
Lorenzo, suspicious of Hieronimo, tells Pedringano that Serberine must have told Hieronimo about Horatio’s murder. Pedringano insists that Serberine has been with him all day and could not have said a word, but Lorenzo says Serberine has betrayed them. He gives Pedringano some gold coins and tells him to meet Serberine later in the park. Serberine has betrayed them and must die, Lorenzo says, and Pedringano must kill him. Pedringano agrees and exits.
Presumably, Pedringano knows that Serberine has not betrayed them to Hieronimo, but Pedringano still betrays him easily enough for a little bit of money. In this way, Kyd identifies money as a major motivator of betrayal. Pedringano is obviously friendly with Serberine, but it makes little difference when it comes time to kill him.
Themes
A messenger enters and Lorenzo orders him to go to Serberine and tell him to meet Lorenzo that evening in the park. The messenger exits, and Lorenzo is left alone. He is suspicious of Hieronimo and his inquiry about Bel-Imperia’s whereabouts. Lorenzo must make sure that he is not identified as Horatio’s killer, which means he must dispose of Pedringano and Serberine. If the servants live, then Lorenzo must worry about their faithfulness and fear their betrayal. As Lorenzo exits, he says that Pedringano and Serberine must die.
Lorenzo, it seems, expects Pedringano and Serberine to betray him, which is precisely why he feels he must kill them. Interestingly, Lorenzo does not worry about Balthazar betraying him. Balthazar and Lorenzo are of the same social class and status, and Balthazar has just as much to lose if he betrays Lorenzo. This again underscores how common betrayal is in 16th-century society.
Themes
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