Lorenzo (The Spanish Tragedy)

Lorenzo is a fictional character in Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. He is the son of the Duke of Castile and brother to Bel-imperia. Lorenzo plays the role of a Machiavellian villain.

Role in play
Lorenzo makes an appearance early in the play in Act I, Scene II, alongside the Portuguese Prince Balthazar and Horatio, best friend of Don Andrea. The King of Spain asks Horatio and Lorenzo who should be credited for the capture of Balthazar. Lorenzo says "this hand first took his courser by the reins." Balthazar recognizes that both Lorenzo and Horatio had a hand in his capture, however, the King decides to have them share the reward. The King says that the ransom of the prince will be given to Horatio and Lorenzo has the responsibility of taking care of Balthazar. This split is not truly equitable but appears so as to maintain political stability. Having Lorenzo entertain Balthazar leavens the financial burden from Horatio, and allows Balthazar more comfortable living conditions, potentially assisting the peace negotiations between Spain and Portugal.

Lorenzo and Balthazar develop a close relationship and eventually work together. Balthazar falls in love with Bel-imperia, and Lorenzo wishes to see them matched. In the second act, Lorenzo discovers that Bel-imperia is in love with Horatio. He tells Balthazar:

Let's go my Lord, your staying stays revenge.

Do you but follow me and gain your love.

Her favor must be one by his remove.

Lorenzo orders servants Pedringano and Serberine to kill Horatio. When Lorenzo thinks that he may be discovered by Hieronimo and Bel-imperia, he covers his tracks by ordering Pedringano to kill Serberine.

Once Pedringano succeeds in killing Serberine, he is arrested and pleads with Lorenzo to help save him from being put to death. Lorenzo then tricks Pedringano into thinking that he will be saved, however this is merely a manipulative ploy and Pedringano ends up being hanged for Serberine's murder.

As the play continues, Hieronimo descends further into madness which is demonstrated by his meltdown in front of the King. Lorenzo then begins to feel worried as Hieronimo's madness poses as a threat to his plans. He then sees this as an opportunity to persuade the King that Hieronimo has gone completely mad and is no longer fit to be the Knight's Marshall. Nonetheless the King disagrees with him.

Lorenzo is then warned by Castille that he should not attempt to harm Hieronimo as they are of the same social status, and the King may go against Lorenzo should Hieronimo accuse him of anything.

At the end of the play, Lorenzo is cast alongside Balthazar and Bel-Imperia in a revenge play written by Hieronimo. Hieronimo kills Lorenzo, Bel-Imperia kills Balthazar, and all of Lorenzo's crimes are revealed to the audience.

Machiavellian villain
Lorenzo is an example of the recognized type in the Elizabethan theatre of the Machiavellian villain, a word that originated from the name of Niccolò Machiavelli, a philosopher in the early 16th century. All of his actions are pitiless and self-advancing. Lorenzo is highly manipulative and plays on the weakness of other characters; however, he takes rash actions in the play, neglecting the contemplative side of Machiavelli's philosophy. Lorenzo is not the only Machiavellian character in the play. His foil, Hieronimo, shares similar characteristics, but his contemplative nature and sympathetic motive make his manipulative traits easy to overlook.

Machiavellian philosophy channels power through social control and physical violence. Lorenzo shows the capacity for both, but most often opts to use physical force. In the play, Lorenzo shows an active displeasure in the constructedness of language saying, he doesn’t have any interest “…to spend the time in trifling words…” often opting for physical violence to get his way. Despite this Lorenzo is masterful with his rhetoric, and is continually dishonest. He also showcases formal skills in Act III, when he delivers lines as couplets in Italian, showing his high status and potential to use speech artistically and intellectually to achieve his goals.