The Noble Spanish Soldier | Page 4

a satanic figure who was known as 'Old Nick', a still-used reference to
the devil, and the machiavel became a stock figure on the early modern
stage, a tradition which the portrayal of the King is drawing on.
The other interesting opposition within the play is between the two
claimants to the title of Queen, the current incumbent and Onaelia.
There is little doubt that it is Onaelia who is the representative of virtue,
her behaviour often rising above that of the 'noble' Balthazar. In Act 1
Scene 2 she makes a fearless statement in defacing the King's portrait,
this being an act of treason <6>. Despite her strong feelings however,
she does not rise to Balthazar's bait when he introduces the possibility
of assassinating the King; the remnants of her love for him and her
concern for the stability of the realm rule this possibility out. She is not
however prepared to accept her treatment without protest and, in Act 3
Scene 2, engages a poet to propagandise on her behalf. His refusal, on
the grounds of self-preservation is denounced in striking terms when
she accuses poets generally of being 'apt to lash / Almost to death poor
wretches not worth striking / but fawn with slavish flattery on damned
vices / so great men act them'. The effective conclusion of her
involvement as early as the end of 3.2 impoverishes the rest of the play.
The Queen's less admirable character is highlighted by the way she is
prepared to condone the taking of life in order to secure her position.
Her ruthless outlook is punished when she is deprived of her position
and forced to return to Italy.
The final scene of the play utilises a dramatic technique that had played
an important part in 'The Shoemakers' Holiday': the banquet scene.
Planned by the King in an attempt to achieve reconciliation and remove
the threat of Onaelia by marrying her off, it represents a means of
bringing almost the entire cast on stage in order to witness the meeting
out of justice. It is ironic that the King's scheme is undermined, not by
his political rivals but by his allies, The Queen and Malateste, who do
not believe that the marriage will provide a stable settlement and
instead seek to pursue a deadlier course of action. The banquet provides
the context for the unwinding of this plot as vengeance consumes itself,
bring about the regime change that justice demands.

EDITORIAL PRACTICE
The text is based on the 1634 Quarto, as reproduced in Tudor Facsimile
series in 1913. Spelling has been modernised, except in instances where
to do so would change a word's pronunciation. Punctuation has also
been modernised and has been used lightly in an attempt to reflect
contemporary speech patterns. Contractions to words have been
eliminated where this is possible without upsetting the verse rhythm;
for example, 'baked' replaces 'bak'd' in 4.2.
Names have been retained as originally set out except that of the central
character who name was spelt in the original as 'Baltazar'; Balthazar is
the modern Anglicised version of the same name. The cast list has been
newly compiled from the text of the play, rather than by reference to
the one appearing in the Quarto.
All lines have been left justified, including those cases where characters
share a line of verse. The speeches of Balthazar in the early part of 2.1
and again in 4.1 appear as verse in the Quarto but have been rendered
as prose in this edition. This appears to makes more sense of the speech
patterns and has the additional effect of making Balthazar and Cornego,
the two non-aristocratic figures, the consistent prose speakers
throughout the play.
Endnotes have been provided only to explicate words or terms of
unusual obscurity. Numeric references to such notes are enclosed
within angled brackets.
Stage directions may be identified as being a line of text preceded by a
blank line, rather than by a character's name. These have been added to
occasionally to ensure that all essential movements apparent from the
text are set out. Where significant additions have been made, these are
enclosed within square brackets. Scene divisions within acts have been
deduced from the movements of characters.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:

Dekker, T. Ð 'The Noble Spanish Soldier' - Tudor facsimiles Ð 1913.
Secondary texts:
Bentley, G.E. Ð 'The Jacobean and Caroline Stage' Ð Oxford:
Clarendon Ð 1956.
Bowers, F. Ð 'The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker', Volume IV Ð
Cambridge University Press Ð 1961.
Bose, T. Ð 'The Gentle Craft of Revision in Thomas Dekker's last
Plays' Ð Institut f_r Anglistik und Amerikanistik Ð 1979.
Bose T. Ð 'The Noble Spanish Soldier' and 'The Spanish Contract' -
Notes and Queries volume 40, Number 2 - 1993.
Chapman, L.S. Ð 'Thomas Dekker and the