Character Analyzing:
Hieronimo: Night marshal, protagonist and top judge. He is an honorable, intelligent, sharp minded, great planner and a merciful character.
he wants to Justice and revenge for his son's case so decides to take revenge in a form of justice, but found a problem because he had to take revenge against the prince of Portugal and the prince of Spain so there was a physiological complexity.
In the beginning of the play he was a minor character and doesn't appear until the death of his son then he becomes the center of the play. His character then develops over a series of soliloquies, wrestling with several key questions. These questions include: 1.whether to end his misery by suicide instead of waiting to seek revenge, 2. seek revenge in deceitful means 'is it an evil act of revenge Machiavellian –‘deceitful manners’ element’ 3. leave revenge to God.
Bell-imperia: "Too cool-too calculated" and that her thoughts focus too much on revenge .A girl of a strong opinion, strong desire, great motivation, headstrong, strong will power and she was an impassionate planner.
The word 'too' is a negative word was used as an objection by some criticizes but she was only cool and calculated. Her transformation into a Machiavellian villain is not as dramatic as Hieronimo's.
Lorenzo: Villain, manipulated people for his own good and persuade them for his own evil intentions, liar, harsh he was considered as a Machiavellian character and was the opposite of Hieronimo. He was manipulating people in the beginning but at the end he was manipulated by Hieronimo.
He was loyal to the government, because of the status between Portugal and Spain which needed harmony and his uncle and father both wanted him to manipulate
Bell-imperia so there were external factors for his deeds and acts.
THEMES:
1. Revenge and justice.
2. Love and memory.
3. Appearance VS. Reality:
It appears that:
a) Pedringano was faithful to Bell-imperia but in reality he was cheating on her telling Lorenzo about her.
b) Lorenzo promised to help Pedringano to bring him the pardon of the king but he was lying just to keep his secret safe so Lorenzo cheated on Pedringano.
c) Box: Lorenzo sends a boy with a box so Pedringano thinks that has the release as promised by Lorenzo, but the box was empty.
" Quotations" Passages for explanation
Page3… " with love souls…his majesty "
Said by : Rhadamant and Minos
Said to : Minos and Eacus and Rhadamant
Subject and theme : Rhadamant objects on placing Andrea's soul with the loving souls because he died in war while doing his martial duty. To end their argument Minos then decides to send him ( Andrea's soul ) to the king and queen of the under-world. The theme is superstition elements in the play on how judging on where the soul is going to be placed in the under-world. ( this is not for sure < theme ) .
Page3…" Heere finding Pluto….of an eye "
Said by : Ghost of Andrea
Said to : it was a monologue
Subject and theme : ghost of Andrea was taken to the king and queen of the under-world Pluto and Proserpine were Proserpine begs to judge his soul and Pluto accepts she assigns revenge to accompany Andrea's soul to the living world. Where he would help him taking revenge and justice . theme is the beginning of how revenge and justice would take place by the help of revenge to accompanying Andrea's soul to the living world.
Page 11…Viceroy - " thou false vnkinde…his bloud …"
Said by : Viceroy of Portugal
Said to : Villuppo but he was mostly addressing him self
Subject and theme : mourning over his dead son ( or so he thought < because of Villuppo lies ) and to kill his son's murder which he thinks is Alexandro.
Page 12…Horatio – " for loue (love) of him…him to the ground…"
Said by : Horatio
Said to : Bell- Imperia
Subject and theme : to inform Bell-Imperia that Balthazar is responsible for the murder of Don Andrea and describes how it happened saying that he would always morn over his death and will revenge for it.
Page 17…revenge – " be still, Andrea…"
Said by : Revenge
Said to : Andrea's soul
Subject and theme : Revenge is promising Andrea's soul that he would achieve his revenge for him and he would turn Balthazar and Lorenzo's friendship into mortal hatred.
Page 17…Lorenzo – " in time the sauage (savage)…softest shower "
Said by : Lorenzo
Said to : Balthazar
Subject and theme : Lorenzo promises Balthazar that by time Bell-Imperia will be less stubborn and accept his offer of love and marriage.
Page 20…Balthazar – " …both well and ill… plague"
Said by: Balthazar
Said to: Lorenzo
Subject and theme: Balthazar expresses his feeling’s to Lorenzo saying that he is both glad and sad… glad because now he knows what stands between him and his love (Bell-imperia) and knows who to take revenge on (Horatio), and he is sad because he fear’s that Bell- imperia may hate him, and that if he took revenge on Horatio she will hate him more.
But he must kill him or kill his self because of his growing love towards Bell-imperia… and thinks that Horatio is his plague.
Page 22… Bell-imperia – " let dangers goe (go)… peaceful warre (war) …"
Said by: Bell-Imperia
Said to: Horatio
Subject and theme: Bell-Imperia tells Horatio of how she intends to love him On a formal level, theme is love.
Page 22… bel-imperia – " where first… each hour will seem a yeare (year) and more"
Said by: Bell-imperia
Said to: Horatio
Subject and theme: Bell-imperia tells Horatio that they should meet in the garden where is it safe and no one can hear them or see them assuring that each hour being apart will seem like a year or more.
(the irony in this speech is that Bell-imperia has no idea that both Lorenzo and Balthazar are dropping on her conversation with Horatio)
Page 27 middle of the page – " o heauens (heaven), why… vertue (virtue) and desert…"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: his son Horatio begging him to speak if he was alive
Subject and theme: Hieronimo cries out in anguish begging his son to speak if he is alive, soon realizing that he has died,, he starts mourning over the death of his son blaming heavens for creating the night for which such a sin ( murdering his son Horatio) wont be done at day light.
Page 29… Viceroy – " infortunate.." the whole speech"…"
Said by: Viceroy
Said to: Noble of Portugal, and also Villuppo was present.
Subject and theme: viceroy is mourning over the death of his son (he thinks Balthazar is dead) and talks about how unfortunate is it being a king they are assigned as the highest extreme of the society and because of that they are faced with a lot of enemies and hate and can’t question their destiny but also even with their extreme joy they can’t live without the fear of being hunted to death. Thou both love and fear is flattering to kings they can’t stop the hate, for instance the hate that caused the murder of his son who’s the only hope for the success of his descendants.
Page 32 …Hieronimo – " oh Eies ! no eies (eyes)… inflamed thoughts"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: him self “it’s a soliloquy”
Subject and theme: This is his first soliloquy since he discovered his dead son. In it, he create the central question of the play: how the world be just when there is so much injustice. Hieronimo condemns first his eyes, then life, then the world, then the heavens themselves (and presumably God), moving from body part to goddess in a increase of despair.
Page 39… Lorenzo – " why so ! this fits our.."the whole speech"…"
Said by: Lorenzo
Said to: himself “soliloquy”
Subject and theme: speaks in Irony of how he plan’s his Machiavellian acts and plans but they are being carried out by other’s without them knowing that Lorenzo is the one who is actually responsible of these acts and that in his opinion no one can be trusted. (In this speech he is talking about Balthazar wanting justice upon Pedringano for murdering Serberine, but what Balthazar doesn’t know is that Lorenzo is the one who ordered Pedringano to kill Serberine)
Page 41… Hieronimo - " thus must we toyle (toile) doe (do) them iusties (justice).. "whole speech"…"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: Deputy
Subject and theme: Hieronimo speaks in pain on how he finds justice to people but can’t find justice for his own self. The pain and mourning of his son without being able to bring justice upon the person who caused his death is making him weak and consumes his age and says that he find’s justice to all but neither gods nor people find justice for him.
Page 45… Hieronimo – " where shall run .." whole speech"…"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: him self “it’s a soliloquy”
Subject and theme: Hieronimo, having left the execution, now wanders around his estate, mourning his son. He asks where he can possibly find relief from his grief and concludes that his grief is inescapable and that it demands that he finds justice for his son's murder.
Page 47… Isabella – " my Soule? … in our days"
Said by: Isabella
Said to: Maid
Subject and theme: At the Knight-Marshal's house, Isabella circles with her maid, discussing different medicines. Complaining that there is no medicine that will restore the dead to life, she has a fit, running wildly across the room. Her maid attempts to console her, but she will not be consoled; the only thing that seems to help is the thought of her son sitting happily in Heaven singing and dancing in perfect bliss. But then the thought of his murder returns to her, and she again screams out a demand for justice against the murderers of her son.
Page 53… Hieronimo – " oh for beare…"whole speech"…"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: two Portuguese
Subject and theme: Hieronimo tells them where they can find Horatio; past a dark forest, near a rocky cliff where the sea spouts foul-smelling fumes, in a gigantic cauldron bathing "in boiling lead and blood of innocents." Although the two Portuguese were actually asking him where they can find Lorenzo which now is the cause of questioning Hieronimo's sanity.
Page 57… Hieronimo – " I heaven will be revenged… "whole speech"…"
Said by: Hieronimo
Said to: him self “it’s a soliloquy”
Subject and theme: Hieronimo enters with a book and reads several quotations; the first is an observation that the safest way to cover up a crime is through more crime, the second is that the worst that can await a bold man is death. And that with death comes Heavenly reward-if one's cause is justice. These seem to be the reasons Hieronimo decides that he must revenge his son. To do this, he will follow Machiavellian plans .
Some critics have taken this as Hieronimo's shift from hero to villain. But others have seen it as fixed with his mission to achieve justice, especially since his two son's murderers are both in positions of power.