Three Major Plays (25 page)
Authors: Lope de Vega,Gwynne Edwards
Tags: #Fiction, #Drama, #Classics, #English; Irish; Scottish; Welsh, #Continental European
That they be married to his daughters.
KING. Who are they?
RODRIGO. With your permission, sir,
I seek Inés's hand in marriage.
FERNANDO. And I, sir, offer both my hand
And will to Leonor.
| KING. In these | 660 |
Don Pedro, have most worthy husbands.
PEDRO. Your Majesty, I cannot give
Inés to Don Rodrigo. She is,
| You see, already promised to Don | 665 |
From Olmedo, whom you saw fit
To favour.
KING. I further intend to make
Him Knight Commander.
RODRIGO. This is too much!
FERNANDO. Control yourself!
| KING. He is a man | 670 |
Enter TELLO.
TELLO. Let me in!
KING. What is that noise?
CONSTABLE. The guard restrains
A servant who wishes to speak
With you.
KING. Leave him!
CONSTABLE. He comes in tears,
Demanding justice.
| KING. It is my duty to | 675 |
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Dispense it. Such is the meaning of
This sceptre.
TELLO. Oh, great Don Juan, ruler
Of all Castile, despite the envy of
Your enemies!
*
I come here to
| Medina, accompanied by another, old | 680 |
*
to ask that justice be brought
Against two traitors. The old man is
Outside, exhausted if not dead
By such great sorrow, and so, on his
| Behalf, I choose to use this violence | 685 |
Listen, then, since Heaven above has placed
In your hands the rod of justice,
And given you discretion to reward
| Good men and punish those who have | 690 |
The Cross of May, celebrated by
Medina's knights to prove that where
There is a cross, there is true passion,
| My master, Don Alonso, the worthy youth | 695 |
Departed from Medina for Olmedo.
He wished to let his aged parents know
That he'd survived the bulls, less fierce,
| It proved, than those who were his enemies. | 700 |
To both the horses and the harnesses,
I stayed behind, and by the time
I left, unruly night, half-way
| Between both poles, * had offered treachery | 705 |
A swift escape. As I passed by
A stream and crossed a bridge that points
The way, I saw six men
*
riding
| Together towards Medina, | 710 |
Appeared late, blood-red, and though
Its light was pale, it helped me recognize
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Two men amongst the group. Perhaps
| Heaven's tapers light the darkest and | 715 |
Those who are guilty of true wickedness,
And prove to us there is no secret we
Can hide from God above. I hurried on,
| And there I found my master, Don | 720 |
The point of death. Your Majesty,
The very mention of it makes
Me weep, my grief impedes my speech.
| I placed him on my horse, and still | 725 |
To make his enemies believe
He was not dead, and still enough
To reach Olmedo and receive
| The blessing of his aged parents who, | 730 |
With tears and kisses. His household and
His lands are deep in mourning. His funeral will,
Your Majesty, remind us of the Phoenix,
| For he, though dead, will live again | 735 |
Ignores the frailty of men
And time's forgetfulness.
KING. This is,
Indeed, most strange!
INÉS. Oh, what am I
To do!
| PEDRO. Restrain your tears, Inés! | 740 |
INÉS. Father, the plan I entertained
In jest . . . I now propose it seriously.
As for these evil men, I ask
Your Majesty for justice.
*
| KING. You say | 745 |
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You saw them. Who, then, are these traitors?
I swear to God I shall not leave
This place until they are my prisoners.
TELLO. They stand before your Majesty.
| The first is Don Rodrigo, the other Don | 750 |
CONSTABLE. Their guilt is written on
Their faces.
RODRIGO. Your Majesty . . .
KING. Arrest them!
Tomorrow in a public place
Cut off their evil heads.
| So ends the tragic history of | 755 |
.
*
-167-
|
A Tragedy
*
-169-
| The Duke of Ferrara |
| The Count Federico |
| Albano |
| Rutilio |
| Floro |
| Lucindo |
| The Marquis of Gonzaga |
| Casandra |
| Aurora |
| Lucrecia |
| Batín |
| Cintia |
| Febo and Ricardo |
-170-
Night
. The DUKE OF FERRARA. FEBO
and
RICARDO,
servants.
RICARDO. A splendid trick, my lord!
FEBO. I think
The lady would be pleased to know
A real duke had just deceived her.
DUKE. Be quiet! No one must know I am
Ferrara.
| RICARDO. Disguise is but a licence | 5 |
Conceals the sky, a cape bedecked
With silver stars, the moon above
A brightly jewelled pin on high.
DUKE. Are you gone mad?
| FEBO. You must admit, | 10 |
No modern poet
*
would have thought of it.
RICARDO. If I took their liberties,
I expect you'd call it ingenuity.
| I read this poet once, would you believe? | 15 |
DUKE. I quite agree. The stuff they write
Today lacks quality. All sleight
Of hand. The poet waves a magic wand
| And there, behold, produces from | 20 |
Oh what a tedious thing this is!
Let's change the subject. The lady seems
Quite interesting.
RICARDO. The lady is
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| A jewel, sir, a real gem! | 25 |
The poor girl is sadly burdened.
DUKE. How?
RICARDO. She has a husband, a man
So mean he keeps her to himself.
| Won't let her give herself to someone else. | 30 |
FEBO. My lord, conceal yourself.
DUKE. Such men
Are by their nature hard of heart.
They lack true generosity.
FEBO. I do agree, my lord. The man
| Whose wife receives such welcome gifts | 35 |
I see it, feel more sympathy
For him who gives.
*
I mean to say,
No sooner has the wife passed on,
| He gets his hands on half her fortune. | 40 |
RICARDO. It's true. This is the kind of man Who in the noble art of charity
Is sadly lacking. You see? I turn
The phrase around
*
to illustrate my skill
In modern poetry.
| DUKE. Such people are | 45 |
They tempt us till we sign their pact,
And then they stop us in the act.
RICARDO. We could stop here, my lord. I do,
| However, think the going might | 50 |
DUKE. Why so?
RICARDO. The mother is
A perfect saint, prays all the time.
She does her best to keep her girls
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In line. Two lovely creatures, one
| Like pearl, the other silver; somewhere | 55 |
DUKE. The devil take them. Never judge
A bottle by its label.
RICARDO. There is
Another girl not far from here,
| As sweet as honey; and you should see | 60 |
DUKE. How about passion?
RICARDO. As much, my lord, as you'd expect
From any fiery dark brunette.
*
The bloke who lives with her, a dull,
| Suspicious, sullen soul, reminds | 65 |
FEBO. You really mean cud-chewing cow,
My friend. You chose that rhyme to make
The line end like the previous one.
| RICARDO. I know another girl. She lives | 70 |
She would have made a lovely lawyer.
DUKE. Take me to her.
RICARDO. She'd never let you in
At this late hour.
DUKE. Never say 'won't'.
| Tell her I'm the duke, and I don't | 75 |
RICARDO. All right,
It might just work.
DUKE. Come, knock the door.
RICARDO. She must have been expecting you.
Two hefty kicks and hey presto!
-173-
CINTIA above.
*
CINTIA. Who's there?
RICARDO. It's me.
CINTIA. Who's me?
| RICARDO. A friend | 80 |
The Duke down here. I sang your praises
To him, see, and now he wants to see you.
CINTIA. See me? The Duke?
RICARDO. Don't you believe me?
| CINTIA. Oh, I believe he's with you, yes. | 85 |
At such a time of night? You must
Think I'm some sort of simpleton.
RICARDO. He comes disguised because he is
| A gentleman and wouldn't want | 90 |
I wouldn't tell you lies, now would I?
CINTIA. Ricardo, if you'd told me this
A month ago, I might just have
| Believed the Duke would fancy knocking at | 95 |
His reputation: he thinks he is
God's gift to women and so has lived
His life devoted to that passion.
| To live so freely meant, of course, | 100 |
Even though, upon his death, his land
And wealth would be inherited,
As some would say, unfairly, by
| His only son and heir, the bastard | 105 |
Ago, I could believe the Duke
Might think of knocking at my door.
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But now, they say, he is to change
| His ways and has agreed to marry, | 110 |
To Mantua
*
to fetch Casandra,
The bride-to-be. How, then, can this
Be such a nightly escapade
| As he was once accustomed to, | 115 |
And his new bride is almost due?
If this were Federico, it
Would be an impropriety;
| In him a sin completely unforgivable. | 120 |
Of loyalty, would not so openly
Abuse your master's reputation.
I do believe the Duke's at home,
| Tucked-up in bed, and what you've said | 125 |
A piece of fiction you've made up
To get me into conversation.
I'll close my window now, so you
| Can go. Try your luck again tomorrow. | 130 |
DUKE. What kind of bawdy-house is this You've brought me to?
RICARDO. Don't blame me, master.
I always try to do my best
For you.
DUKE [
to Febo
]. To think tonight's success
| Depended on a fool like him. | 135 |
FEBO. Depend on me, my lord. Just say The word, I'll kick the door right in.
DUKE. That I should have to listen to such things!
FEBO. It's true Ricardo is to blame,
| But even so the nobleman | 140 |
-175-
