Act 4, Scenes 4 and 5 Summary

Scene 4 - The King, the Viceroy, Castile, and their various courts take their places for the play. As Castile tosses Hieronimo the key to their box, the King passes around Hieronimo's book, and the play begins with a love scene between the characters played by Balthazar and Bel-Imperia. The Viceroy, the King and Castile comment that the scene was so passionately played because of the feelings Balthazar and Bel-Imperia have for each other. The next scene is a dialogue between the characters played by Lorenzo and Balthazar, in which they proclaim their mutual love for the character played by Bel-Imperia but insist that their loyalty and friendship for each other will prevent any tension or difficulty. Hieronimo, playing the part of a king, insists that if Lorenzo's character is a rival, he should be eliminated and then stabs him...