The Spanish TragedyThomas Kyd (c. 1590)

1. wilder, and more hard

This description of the object of Balthazar’s desires hardly seems complimentary, but refers to Bellimperia’s determination to shun him, suggesting a certain passion in her behaviour.

The frustration of the rejected lover is what frames this speech.

2.

The list of comparisons adds to the melodrama of his speech but is interesting to note the images used; the freedom and natural beauty of the first three contrast with the fixed and unmoveable stony wall that ends the line. Perhaps Kyd uses these images to suggest Bellimperia’s beauty and the passion that cannot be contained.

3. wherefore

The question beginning with wherefore (why) suggests that Balthazar is aware that his frustration is beginning to make him bitter.

5.

This rather blunt statement could create sympathy for Balthazar as he realizes that Bellimperia does not find him attractive. It is telling, however, that his first thought is of appearance, not of any emotional or intellectual bond they may have.

What might this suggest?

6. My words are rude

Even though he is a man of status, respected by others, Balthazar realizes that his conversation has no charm or subtlety to please Bellimperia.

7. harsh and ill

These adjectives are striking, as they are a complete contrast to the type of words we would expect a suitor to send to his love; instead they suggest that his anger and frustration are blighting his ability to express his love. Kyd could perhaps be using this idea to satirize the courtly love process.

8. Pan and Marsyas

Pan is a god in Greek mythology who is half-goat, and Marsyas is a satyr, one of his companions; both are noted for their musical skill. This ironic and rather humorous comparison suggests that Balthazar’s skills in writing about love are the opposite of elegant and refined.

9.

Continuing the extended list of reasons why Balthazar cannot please, Kyd refers to the final chance a suitor may have by emphasizing that not even tokens of his affection in the form of gifts can win Bellimperia’s heart, because they are not costly enough.

10. worthless

This suggests that Balthazar considers himself to be a failure, consolidated by the reference to the fact that his labour’s lost. Kyd again plays with the audience’s relationship with Balthazar; do we feel sympathy for him because he seems defeated?

11-20

Kyd uses a repetitive structure for the second part of Balthazar’s speech. The lines are a series of couplets with the first line of each starting with Yet, posing a possible way in which Bellimperia may fall in love with him; the second line in each pair, beginning with Ay, but, shows his lament as he recognizes another reason why she will not be his. Each couplet echoes Balthazar’s desperation but also illustrates the things he considers to be the most important characteristics for a successful suitor, which are all rather impersonal.

11-12

This couplet shows Balthazar’s belief that his bravery should make Bellimperia love him, if it were not for the fact that, having been captured by Horatio, his current position as prisoner overshadows his success as a soldier.

13-14

In line with courtly practice, Balthazar considers the fact that Bellimperia should agree to be his wife as it will please her father – then he acknowledges that she can reason well and so persuade her father he is not the right suitor.

15-16

Perhaps a little more desperately, Balthazar here considers his friendship with Bellimperia’s brother to be a good reason for their match – only to realize she is not interested in pleasing him. The fact that Kyd makes two refs to family ties as important factors in relationships highlights the idea that marriage is not simply about two people falling in love. Also interesting to note here is the fact that Kyd is suggesting Bellimperia’s capacity for independent thought: she can persuade her father and reject her brother’s requests, quite controversial moves for a woman in a patriarchal society.

17-18

Balthazar here believes that the status his wife would enjoy should be a good enough reason to marry. The response to this particular suggestion is that Bellimperia may want someone of higher status. He does not consider the idea that status may not be something Bellimperia would see as significant in choosing a husband.

19-20

Concluding this speech with a rather damning view, this couplet juxtaposes Balthazar’s love and frustration. He believes Bellimperia should love him as he is a slave to her beauty and dotes on her, yet his conclusion is that she is not capable of love.

Does it seem a little pathetic that he condemns her in such a way merely because she does not return his love, or is Kyd using this to create some sympathy for him?