Context Flashcards
Machiavellian characters
Machiavellian villains were calculated and cunning, often the cardinal could assume this role given that he is charming, clever and ultimately evil
Revenge tragedy tropes
- death of protagonist
- soliloquies
- murder
- madness
- disguise
Catholasism
Catholics were seen as corrupt, not allowed to sit in parliament from 1619
Astrology
The study of celestial events in relation to human affairs, horoscopes, link to fate vs free will
Lycanthropia
Where man becomes wolf
Revenge
Christianity warns against revenge
Aristotle’s theory of tragedy
Serious and feelings are the centre of the play, namely feelings of pity and fear
Censorship
An Italian setting gave Webster freedom to explore politically unacceptable ideas that would have been dangerous if set in England
Mary Queen of Scott’s
Suspected of treason in 1587 and was executed, much like the Duchess who’s power and seemingly Protestant actions
Stoicism
Endurance of pain and hardship without complaint or the expression of emotions
Link Hamlet
Shakespeare and Webster wrote at a similar time. Familial deception is present in both Hamlet and The Duchess Of Malfi. Also, Bosola and Hamelt are both poisoned with melancholy
The four humours
Renaissance doctors used them to explain human behaviour
What does excess blood mean
Sanguine, Full of life
Example of a sanguine character
Duchess
What does phlegmatic mean
Excess phlegm, lack of emotion
Example of a phlegmatic character
The cardinal
What does melancholic mean
Excess black bile
Melancholic character
Bosola
What does choleric mean
Excess yellow bile, angry
Choleric character
Ferdinand
Witches in 16th and 17th century
Females who were old, physically disabled, had a mental illnesses or were widowed were considered to be practising witchcraft. The possession of herbs such as mandrake or cannabis could have resulted in execution by burning.
Bedlam
Mental hospital open to the public 1770 which resulted in patient abuse
Renaissance scepticism
Challenging common perceptions of truth and morality
Features of an Aristotelian tragedy
Minimal sub plot, one setting over 24hrs
Renaissance marriage
Marriage was for alliances, love and marriage were separate, to marry for love was foolish.
Elizabeth I
Confidence in sexuality, she chose the throne over relationships and the Duchess chooses love over her authority
Jacobean drama
Plays exaggerated human situations, violence, selfishness, ambition, evil.
Corruption in Jacobean court
838 people payed for the position of ‘knoght’, this made him unpopular as this was seen to corrupt the natural order
Great chain of being
God allocated the social hierarchy, to change or disrupt it would be usurping Gods powers and going against him
Malcontent
Character who is mistreated and condemns their society. They are willing to use ant means to gain a promotion in society though.
17th century independent woman
Women who weren’t displaying veirtues such as chastity, obedience and modesty were seen to threaten the social fabric of society
Public executions
Commonly attended by the public and different methods of torture were used to ensure the victim suffered for as long as possible.
T.s Elliot
‘Webster was much possessed with death and saw the skull beneath the skin’
Momento mori
Symbol of death
Jesus before he was crucified
‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’
Real life duchess
Giovanni d’Aragona. Married in secret and was supposedly went on a pilgrimage with their three children and were killed when found by cardinal brother
Elizabeth I at Tilbury Docks
‘I have the heart and stomach of a king’
Hubris
Excessive pride
Hamartia
Fatal flaw
Peripeteia
Sudden reversal of fortune
Denouncement
Final part of the play, plot is concluded
Catharsis
Release of pent up emotion
What does eponymous mean
The main character’s name is the title of the text
The Original theatre The Duchess Of Malfi was performed in
Blackfriars , dark and candle lit
What influenced Jacobean Theatre?
Aristotelian tragedy and Seneca’s tragedy
Body politic
Power is separate from the frail physical
powers of the body and derived from angels
Lady Arabella Stuart
James I imprisoned her for marrying in secret. She escaped dressed as a man but was found and imprisoned in the Tower of London where she starved herself.
