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Act 3, Scene 3
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
Lorenzo and Balthazar enter, and Balthazar asks Lorenzo why he is up so early. Lorenzo tells him that he can’t sleep for fear they have been betrayed. Balthazar can’t believe they have been betrayed, and Lorenzo’s page enters the room with news of Serberine’s murder. Balthazar is shocked and asks who murdered him, and the page reports that it was Pedringano, who has been apprehended for the crime. Lorenzo feigns disbelief, and Balthazar, claiming he will go to the marshal’s and ensure Pedringano’s execution, exits.
Here, Lorenzo betrays Balthazar as well as Pedringano and Serberine. Serberine is Balthazar’s servant, and he is clearly upset by the news. Presumably, Lorenzo expects Balthazar to get upset and go to ensure Pedringano’s death, thereby adding an extra layer of protection to Lorenzo’s plan. Pedringano is sure to be executed especially if a Portuguese prince is demanding his death.
Themes
Literary Devices
Lorenzo reflects on the beauty of his plan. He has “set the trap,” and Balthazar has fallen right in. Balthazar is running to ensure the death of the very man Lorenzo helped to catch, only no one knows that this has been his plan all along. Lorenzo trusts no one and knows that every man has his own secrets. Suddenly, a messenger enters with a letter from Pedringano. In the letter, Pedringano says he hopes Lorenzo will come to his aid in his time of need. Lorenzo dismisses the messenger and tells him to report back to Pedringano that he has received the letter. The messenger exits.
Lorenzo’s paranoia that everyone will betray him again underscores Kyd’s primary argument that betrayal is rampant in 16th-century society. Lorenzo betrays everyone he comes into contact with, and he expects them to betray him in return. His claim that he has “set the trap” for Balthazar to fall into proves that Lorenzo has willingly and knowingly betrayed Balthazar to selfish ends.
Themes
Lorenzo turns to his page and tells him to go to Pedringano in prison. He is to tell Pedringano that his pardon has been signed and not to worry, but Pedringano must remain silent. Lorenzo gives the page a box, and threatens him with death should he look inside. The box contains Pedringano’s pardon, Lorenzo says, and the page is to show the box to Pedringano. The page agrees and exits, and Lorenzo is left alone. “And what I want, nobody knows; it is enough that I alone understand,” Lorenzo says in Italian before exiting.
Lorenzo’s tendency to lapse into occasional Italian imbues him with an air of Machiavellian evil. Lorenzo’s plan is his alone—it serves his needs and desires and is known by no one else—and he will do anything to see his evil plan come to fruition. The box, which serves as a symbol of Lorenzo’s betrayal, is empty. Lorenzo has no intention of helping Pedringano; Lorenzo just wants Pedringano to think he is helping him, so that Pedringano will stay quiet about Horatio’s murder.
Themes
