is abhorrent and terrible, but it is also quizzical. He is hanged and stabbed by Lorenzo, Balthazar, Pedringano, and Serberine. It seems that stabbing him would be not onlysufficient but more expedient to the killers than what must be the arduous task of subduing him and hauling him up on the tree branch, a curious way to kill a man unless one considers that Lorenzo and Balthazar are making a point. Horatio is the son of Hieronimo, the Knight Marshal, functionally a civil servant; Lorenzo is the son of theDuke of Castile, and Balthazar the Prince of Portugal. Early on in the play, the King of Spain notes the difference in portfolio:But nephew, thou shalt have the prince in guard, For thine estate best fitteth such a guest: Horatio's house were small for all his train. (I.ii. 185- 7)Once the conspirators discover that Horatio is Bel-imperia's suitor, Balthazar comments, "Ambitious villain, how his boldness grows!" (II. ii. 41) Horatio had earned the enmity of both of these men, Balthazar by subduing him in battle, and Lorenzo by contesting his claim to Balthazar's capture. These reasons, coupled with Balthazar's desire for Bel-imperia, drive them to murder Horatio, but they hang him for the crime of reaching beyond his station. Bel-imperia pleads for his life, claiming that she bore him no love, to which Balthazar replies, "ButBalthazar loves Bel-imperia" (II. iv. 59) with a simplicity that implies that the mere desire of the Prince of Portugal excuses whatever depredations they inflict upon Horatio. Lorenzo tops it off by mocking his dead rival: "Although his life were still ambitious proud,/ Yet is he at the highest now he is dead" (II. iv. 60-1; Watson,323). Theimplication is clear: this is the justice of the ruling class against one who would seek their prizes. Lorenzo in effect commits a second hanging murder by orchestrating theexecution of Pedringano. This too is justified in his mind by assuming the prerogative of a social super...
