class Flashcards
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‘ here comes bosola, the only court-gall’
highlights bosola’s seen as a ‘defect’ or sickness to the court, he is the cynical and complaining malcontent
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‘i observe his railing’ about bosola
‘railing’ showcases how he is both conscious of the corruption and greed of the upper-class while also wanting to advance up the social ladder. they’re joking about how bosola rails against vices only because he cant afford to commit them himself. he is a figure of contradictions
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‘would be as lecherous’ about bosola
leeching and greed. alludes to class differences and hoarding of the rich
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‘i do haunt you still’ says bosola to cardinal
contrasts and parallels the duchess and she symbolises life whilst him death. the metaphor of haunting serves to lower bosola as one who is not meant to be seen or heard. society and class keep him down in a sense, and his class makes him a ghost as he is invisible to the upper classes. recurring theme within this metaphor is how the natural world has become inverted and corrupted. monosyllabic and single iambic pentameter juxtaposes with antonio’s verse. adds urgency and a sense of surreptitious exchange
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‘he and his brother are like plum-trees that grow crooked over standing pools; they are rich and o’erladen with fruit, but none but crows, pies, and caterpillars feed on them’ says bosola
the natural world has become unnatural and inverted, corruption. image of overgrown trees link to excess wealth and parasites attached to them. ‘standing pools’ stagnent, polluted water displays corruption. contrasts with the simile of the french court being fountains. ‘crooked’ diverted from the ‘ideal’
irony, fruit and water are meant to give life but their meaning is inverted here. the water poisons and the fruits only attratc vermin. highlights how despite being ‘o’erladen with fruit’ this is only available to those comfortable in foul surroundings, therefore corrupted.
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‘i would hang on their ears like a horseleech, till i were full, and then drop off.’ says bosola
using the rich to get his way and the only way to get rich is by corruption. ‘would’ declares himself willing to join their morally twisted world if only he can reap the benefits. ‘were full, and then drop off’ not bound by loyalty, he simply wants to take what he needs and leave. highlights the move from a feudal system to a cash economy
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‘there are rewards for hawks and dogs when they have done us service; but for a soldier that hazards his limbs in battle, nothing but a kind of geometry is his last supportation’ says bosola
represents the inequality and corruption of the court, those that truly keep the court going are the ones not fairly rewarded. the lower classes are treated worse than animals
ferdinand : ‘ w - - - s - - - - we. l - - - - t - - - s - - - - - - - a - - - - - i - - - - - ?
castruccio : ‘ it is f - - - - - - a s - - - - - - a - - - - to be a p - - - - - , but not n - - - - - - - - a p - - - - - d - - - - - - to be a c - - - - - - ‘
ferdinand : ‘ when shall we leave this sportive action, and fall to action indeed?
castruccio : ‘it is fitting a soldier arise to be a prince, but not necessary a prince descend to be a captain’
ferdinand’s thirst for violence and war. highlights the anger he possesses (masculinity) and how he has no empathy for those who struggle during the war - the lower class - and he sees it as a sport. ‘sportive action’ is a metaphor for jousting, highlights the monotony and uselessness of the court. castruccio’s response (aphorism) spotlights the clear class conventions of this era, the upper class do not descend to any lower ranks
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‘nor anything without the addition, honour, sway your high blood’ says cardinal
interrupts what the cardinal was saying about the duchess being a widow and not to be swayed. the interruption highlights the need to fight for power against one and other (masculinity and corruption) and to dominate the duchess. ‘ sway your high blood ‘ represents the importance of bloodlines within the era and how marrying below class or outside of the bloodline is seen as impure
