Dramatic Irony
- the horoscope
- duchess in the mirror
- bosola and duchess ( banishing of Antonio)
Setting
Dark, inside chambers, theme of light and dark, corridors entrapment.
Soliloquy
- allows secrets and plots to be revealed
Figurative language
- metaphors
- trees - fountains
- alabaster (33)
- holy relic (74)
- diamonds (24)
- fire/ring (32)
- birds (Julia) (58)
- quilted anvil (82)
- animals birds wolfs
Prose / blank verse
- iambic pentameter
Exists and entrances
- 21 Cardinal leaves bosola
- Ferdinand in act 3
- bosola in disguise (pg 110)
Scenes set in the dark
- Forebodes something bad to happen - allows Ferdinand to do his plotting. Also contrasts to Duchess’ light. Secrecy, unknown, deceptive element.
- When Duchess dies, light left, leads to confusion/scuffle/chaos with Bosula accidentally killing A.
The fact that most of the scenes are set inside
Reflects imprisonment of Duchess?
Indoor tragedy
Trapping/claustrophobia of political spheres like court that they live in for whole life.
The echo
- The motif of an echo is an technique used by Webster that serves to glorify the Duchess
Idea of an echo in the scene in which the Duchess’s grave produces an echo that communicates with Antonio and Delio. First, this idea of echo points to life, especially life that is wholesome and good. Bosola substantiates this claim when he reflects on the deeds of Ferdinand, Cardinal, and him, saying “We are only like dead walls or vaulted graves/ That, ruined, yields no echo.” (V.v.116). The imagery conveys a sense of finality in death with the idea that the graves are vaulted. Likewise, both images present an idea of being surrounded without an escape, or to the point of no return. Ultimately, Bosola describes death as a sealed conclusion, in that there is no extension beyond it. Through this statement, Bosola implies that in the presence of death and rot, an echo is absent. He reflects that their deeds have soiled themselves to a point of ruin so drastic that no sign of life remains. On the other hand, the fact that the Duchess is the source of an echo demonstrates that her life not only extends beyond death, but that she is not subjected to the same finality as the play’s villains.
posioned bible
