The Siege of Numantia

The Siege of Numantia (Spanish: El cerco de Numancia) is a tragedy by Miguel de Cervantes set at the siege of Numantia. In terms of its dramatic composition, the play conforms to no rules save those that the author prescribed for himself; Cervantes felt no inclination to imitate the Greek forms. The play is divided into four acts, (jornadas, or "days") and there is no chorus. The dialogue is sometimes in tercets and sometimes in redondillas, but for the most part in octaves.

Plot

Scipio appears with his generals in the Roman camp before Numantia. In a speech, which might have been improved by abridgment, he reprimands his troops, whose spirit has begun to be superseded by effeminacy. The soldiers are re-inspired with courage. Numantian ambassadors enter with proposals for peace, which are rejected. It is here that the tragedy properly begins. Spain appears, an allegorical character, and she summons the river Duero, or Durius, on whose banks Numantia stands. The old river god appears, attended by a retinue of the deities of the smaller rivers of the surrounding country. These ideal characters consult the book of fate, and discover that Numantia cannot be saved.

The scene is now transferred to Numantia. The senate is assembled to deliberate on the affairs of the city. The senate adopts bold resolutions. The story moves into light redondillas that break with the seriousness of the fable - the loves of a young Numantian, named Morandro, and his mistress. But these redondillas include some of the finest scenes in the following act. A solemn sacrifice is prepared; but amidst the ceremony an evil spirit appears, seizes the victim, and extinguishes the fire. The confusion in the town increases. A dead man is resuscitated by magic in a dramatic scene. All hope has now vanished. After the return of a second unsuccessful embassy, the Numantians, by the advice of the senator Theagenes, resolve to burn all their valuable property, to put their wives and children to death, and to throw themselves into the flames, lest any of the inhabitants of the town should become the slaves of the Romans. Scenes of domestic misery and of patriotism ensue. Famine rages in Numantia. Morandro, accompanied by one of his friends, ventures to enter the Roman camp. He returns with a piece of bread smeared with blood, and, presenting it to his mistress, falls at her feet mortally wounded. An allegorical character of Fame enters at the end of the piece, and announces the future glory of Spain.