Context for DOM Flashcards
What are revenge tragedies influenced by?
Seneca’s tragedies (4BC-65AD Roman)
Give three characteristics of revenge tragedies:
Supernatural elements
Gory scenes
Madness
An eruption of violence at the end
Who was Seneca?
A Roman philosopher and playwright
What is Seneca’s most famous play?
Oedipus
When we’re Seneca’s plays translated?
1580’s so would have influenced Webster
When was the Elizabethan period?
1558-1603
When was the Jacobean Era?
1603-1625
What popular figure held critical and rebellious views?
The malcontent
What was the average life expectancy of Webster’s audience?
35-40
What was the infant mortality rate at the time?
50% of children died before the age of 15
Why was James I’s court corrupt?
Vast debt
Sexual corruption
Scheming for financial power
How were catholics viewed?
They were distrusted and feared as they were seen as superstitious and corrupt
When was the Bible first translated into English ?
1611
How is TDOM linked to Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
Ambition was Macbeth’s downfall
What is monomania?
Preoccupation/obsession with one thing
Define Eros love
Erotic love- sexual passion and desire
Define Phillia love
Affectionate love- friendship
Define storge love
Familiar love - family, children and parents
Define ludus love
Playful love - linked to Eros, excitement of first love
Define mania love
Obsessive love
Define philautia love
Self love and narcissism
What influence did the anatomy theatres have on webster’s theatre
the actual theatre supplied what the anatomy theatre could not: ideas about pregnant women’s bodies and the bodies of women in general.
What impact did the death of queen elizabeth have on how women were portrayed on stage
increase in female protagonists
what is bawdy humour
humour in an indecent way like dirty jokes
four humours
phlegm
blood
yellow bile
black bile
How do the four humours impact the characters in duchess of malfi
Often linked to illness, the four humours explain the actions of the characters. eg. Julia is lustful, thus she has too much blood.
How does Webster use the idea of Catholicism to isolate his characters?
The play is set in a catholic country but with protestant ideas.
purgatory
the layer between earth and the afterlife
eco-critical
when lit reflects the environmental concerns of the time period in which it is set
natural disasters during the jacobean era
the plague spread via rats
when was dom published
1623
why is bosola not a stereotypical revenger
He plays all the characters of a revenge tragedy: intellectual, malcontent, intelligencer, tool-villain, murderer, revenger.
Who were murdered in the original story of the Duchess of Amalfi?
the duchess and her three children
what happens to antonio in the real story of the duchess of almalfi
he escapes but is later assassinated
