Act 3, Scene 5 Summary

Ferneze, del Bosco, some knights and a bashaw enter the stage. The bashaw tells Ferneze that it is time to deliver the gold. Ferneze tells him that the Maltese have decided that they would rather burn and ransack the island themselves and flee to Sicily before they will pay the Turks. The bashaw says that his men will return to do the ransacking themselves, and he leaves. Ferneze directs his men to spread the word to prepare for battle.

Act 3, Scene 5 Analysis

The plot is leading to the culmination of the strife between the Maltese and the Turks. There is no mention of Ferneze returning the gold he has seized from the Jews. Presumably he will keep it in the government coffers or for himself. Ferneze knows there will be a war, and he can only hope that the Spanish will...