Behind the Duchess of Malfi Flashcards
What year was the Duchess of Malfi performed?
1612-1613
When was the play published/printed?
1623
Which theatre was the Duchess of Malfi written to be performed in?
Blackfriars.
Does Webster see himself as a playwright or a poet?
a poet
What poetical devices does Webster use?
Scententiae
What is the definition of a Malcontent?
a person who is dissatisfied and rebellious.
Which character in The Duchess of Malfi fits the definition of a Malcontent?
Bosola
What was the general idea of Machiavelli’s writing?
Do whatever you can do to stay in power.
What political event encouraged Machiavellian ideas?
the decay of traditional christian ethics
Which characters reflect Machiavellian ideas?
Ferdinand and the Cardinal.
Finish this Francis Bacon quote: “Revenge is a kind of wild justice which…
the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought to weed it out.”
What made revenge tragedies popular during the Jacobean period?
It touched on questions of the period: social problems of personal honour, the survival of feudal lawlessness, political problems of tyranny and resistance etc.
Why set the Duchess of Malfi in Italy?
To embody the englishman’s attitude to these distant lands, based upon religion prejudice.
What stops Bosola from being a stereotypical revenger?
He plays all the characters of a revenge tragedy: intellectual, malcontent, intellegencer, tool-villain, murderer, revenger.
Complete this Lucy Webster Quote: “Bosola is forced to play any part he can in order to survive…
…in The Duchess of Malfi, Webster illustrates how dangerous this could be”
