Context Flashcards
1
Q
Religion
A
- Catholics were viewed as corrupt
- Gunpowder plot in 1605 threatened James I’s life
- John Calvin - Calvinism - his form of Protestantism - influenced the English Reformation (movement from Catholicism to Protestantism) - When people have “sparkling eyes”, John Calvin’s idea that the hand of God could follow you
- James I persecuted Catholics and wanted to ‘purify’ his parliament
- Ideas about men and women in Genesis
2
Q
Women
A
- Duchess of Sussex - killed for marrying below her rank
- During renaissance period women were seen as second to men & naturally evil -> subject to temptation
- Genesis - Adam & Eve - view on women: Eve was born from Adams lowest floating rib, which is naturally crooked - implying that she is defected
- Giovanna d’Aragona was the Duchess of Amalfi, whom the Duchess of Malfi was based on
- She was widowed. Then fell in love with her steward, Antonio of Bologna, and married him in secret, bearing him three children before her brothers discovered the truth and supposedly murdered her for it.
-She had two brothers; Luigi d’Aragona, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and Carlo d’Aragona, Marquis of Gerace -
Malleus Maleficarum - The ‘Hammer of Witches’ by Heinrich Kramer
-Treatise containing writings on witchcraft- explains why women are most likely to succumb to the devil’s wiles - Female characters were played by young boys which diminished the power of their voices on stage and authenticity of the female POV
- the marriage of women was controlled by their father or brothers and included a dowry
3
Q
Revenge tragedy
A
- Revenge tragedy, a genre in which the principal theme is revenge and its fatal consequences. It was a favourite form of English tragedy in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
- Webster included Shakespeare in the list of dramatists he admires in his preface to The White Devil, which he wrote a decade before The Duchess of Malfi.
- Most revenge tragedies end with a scene of carnage that disposes of the avenger as well as his victims. - The Malcontent plays a key role. This is a character who is critical of the nature of the Jacobean Court, and often expresses these concerns to the audience directly (via asides), utilizing metatheatre
Jacobean tragedies more focused on political commentary and corruption
4
Q
Great chain of being
A
- Great chain of being-wives should submit to their husbands
- Ranked levels of the court, women and poor at the bottom
- God at the top
- It was generally considered impossible to change the position of an object in the hierarchy
- The spirit is higher and noble and brings man closer to God but the desire of flesh moves you away from God
5
Q
The white devil
A
- “tragedy of action”, set in Italy
- Based on real life - assasination of Italian noblewoman Vittoria Accoramboni
- Concerned with darker depths of politics, adultery, murder and revenge.
- Failure when first performed by Queen Anne’s Men at the Redbull Theatre.
- Printed by Nicholas Okes in 1612
6
Q
Danse macabre
A
- We’re all equal in death- lot of people from different social classes pictured dead and alive to show we will all be the same once dead no matter social class when alive
- Introduced to England in 1426
- Gained momentum as a result of the obsession with death inspired by the epidemic of the black death in mid 14th century and the devastation of the 100 years wars
- Women not really represented in the danse
7
Q
The black death
A
- Huge compared to anyone had experienced before
- Lots of dead bodies on the street
- Huge population decline, shifting democratic- more urban dwellers
- Lower class suffered badly, could not afford protection methods
- Literature focused more on death and tragedies
- New words: Plague, pestilence
- 1/3 of people died in Europe
People losta lot of faith in the church during the black death
8
Q
Jacobean attitudes to marriage and betrothal
A
- Marriages were often arranged, and women usually had very little say in their husband
- Love or liking for a partner was not a requirement
- Parents controlled the marriage coming together
- In middle class marriage usually happened later on for both sexes
- handfasting a symbolic act of the binding together of the couple at the wedding
- marriage a sacrament
- Contracts de praesenti- refers to something within the present. When two people get married ‘de praesenti’ meant they were to get married right away, legally binding
- Betrothals- when a man and woman got engaged, would start with a ring on the right then would move to the left once married. They would have a contract that would be signed, outlining the dowry and what would happen if the husband were to die
9
Q
Renaissance women marrying below them
A
- Generally considered foolish to marry for love, though certainly love could occur in marriage, but getting married for love really wasn’t done. However, the lower social status you had the more say you had in who your parents chose for you to marry
- Unmarried widows were especially vulnerable as they got older (didn’t have a husband to protect them)- witchcraft accusations
- 12th Night: Olivia is a high class woman, falls in love with Cesario (viola) who is a lower class, creating a complex relationship to the audience. Compares to Duchess of Malfi. Duchess of Malfi is tragic, whereas 12th night is a comedy
10
Q
Lycanthropia
A
- Where a man becomes a wolf
- Symbolises man’s duality, as a conflict between body and soul
- Ferdinand develops this, as Webster constructs animals as simplistic. Also links to the second stage of tragedy in Renaissance times, as passions were seen as animalistic rather than intrinsic.
11
Q
Queen Elizabeth
A
- Catholics were viewed as disloyal from the Virgin Queen’s ascension, Mary Queen of Scots was suspected of treason and was executed in 1587
- The Duchess’ power and seemingly Protestant actions liken her to Elizabeth
- “I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too”
12
Q
4 humours
A
- Renaissance doctors used the four humours as an explanation for human behaviour
- Duchess = sanguine (excess of blood - full of life) Cardinal = phlegmatic (excess of phlegm - lack of emotion) Bosola = melancholic (excess of black bile - cynical, characteristic of the malcontent) Ferdinand = choleric (excess of yellow bile - angry).
- if our behaviour is determined by our bodily make up, what can we do to change it?
13
Q
Machiavelli villain
A
- The archetypal Machiavellian character would be familiar to a Jacobean audience, as, after Machiavelli wrote an instructional book in 1513, the Machiavel became a stereotype in drama for villains who used manipulation or cruelty to complete acquire and maintain power
14
Q
King’s men
A
- First performed by the King’s Men, the theatre company to which Shakespeare belonged that performed all of his work.
- Richard Burbage, who first played famous characters such as Hamlet and King Lear, was the first to play Duke Ferdinand. Henry Condell, one of the editors and publishers of Shakespeare’s First Folio, first played the Cardinal.
15
Q
Renaissance attitudes to mental illness
A
- Bedlam was a hospital specialising in mental illness. Visitors would pay to see patients even without any relation to them. When public access ended in 1770 patient abuse began
- those who fell into madness were thought to be possessed by a demonic being
- the mad were thought to be dangerous, and sufferers were considered ‘sinners’ - they were put in asylums, whipped, etc.
16
Q
Renaissance attitudes to Astrology
A
- The study of celestial events in relation to human affairs. Horoscopes come under this, as a forecast of the future based on the position of the planets. Again, an argument in favour of fate.
17
Q
First performed
A
- in Blackfriars, an indoor theatre which had one of the most sophisticated audiences of all Jacobean theatres
- later performed at the Globe, a public and open theatre
