- Hieronimo's play begins innocently enough with Balthazar, Lorenzo, and Bel-Imperia playing out their lover's triangle.
- Hieronimo has cast himself as Suleilman's henchman. So in the action of the play the henchman brutally slaughters the groom-to-be.
- Wait a second. Let's be clear: this is Hieronimo really slaughtering Lorenzo. Is this art imitating life? Or life imitating art? Whatever.
- The audience applauds how realistic everything looks—and they're right.
- Next, Suleilman (Balthazar) works his game on the Italian dame (Bel-Imperia). But she's not having it.
- Then Bel-Imperia steps out of character to gut Balthazar.
- She then stabs herself to death on the stage.
- All the while, the Spanish king is still cheering how well the actors are doing. He could probably use some Shmoop right about now.
- Hieronimo then breaks the fourth wall (i.e. comes out of character to address the audience) by announcing that everything that just happened was the real deal. He then lifts a curtain to show the spectacle of his dead son hanging on the stage.
- As the audience stares in shock, Hieronimo tells the story of how his son was murdered my Lorenzo and Balthazar.
- He then explains that Bel-Imperia was not supposed to kill Balthazar or herself—she took this role upon herself. This is a sad but suiting end for a woman who resists all forms of control.
- Hieronimo then runs off to go hang himself, but the king's men intercept him.
- The king demands Hieronimo to explain himself further, but he refuses to answer any more questions. When pushed to talk more, Hieronimo bites off his own tongue. Drastic much?
- The king says something like, "that's fine, he can still write—someone bring a pen."
- A pen is brought to Hieronimo, but he just uses the pen to stab the Duke of Castile (that was random) and himself to death.
- The Portuguese viceroy is so overcome with grief (again) that he calls for his son's body to be put on his ship so he and the corpse can be floated carelessly out to sea (where he presumably dies).
- Let's see, that makes five dead bodies (and a tongue) left on stage, and a soon to be ghost ship sailing around Spain. Pretty weird.