Duchess 1:2 Flashcards
Delio and Antonio talking vs when Ferdinand joins
- Delio and Antonio speak in blank verse
- When Ferdinand enters it switches to prose
- Antonio has an innate stature that F doesn’t
double entendre
a word or phrase with two interpretations (one is often indecent)
- Ferdinand’s conversation in 1:2
‘Who took the ring oftenest?’
‘Who took the ring oftenest?’ - Ferdinand
- jousting
- female genitalia
- duchess gives Antonio her ring
- the duchess is strangled with a “ring” of rope
‘Our sister Duchess’s great…’
‘Our sister Duchess’s great master of her household? Give him the jewel.’ - Ferdinand about Antonio
- ‘the jewel’ - prize for jousting but also symbolises the Duchess
‘When shall we leave this sportive…’
‘When shall we leave this sportive action and fall to action indeed?’ - Ferdinand
- ‘fall to action’ = sex
Castruccio
- his name means ‘castrated’
- he is an older man, he doesn’t get their double entendre jokes so they are able to make fun of him
- married to Julia (who they all know is sleeping with the Cardinal)
- gives serious advice (‘Methinks, my lord, you should not desire to go to war in person.’)
‘Thou toldst me thy…’
‘Thou toldst me thy wife could not endure fighting.’ - Ferdinand to Castruccio
- ‘thy wife’ is Julia
- ‘fighting’ refers to sexual encounters
‘all the surgeons o’ the city’
‘all the surgeons o’ the city’ - Ferdinand
- Julia is well known
‘and had drawn their…’
‘and had drawn their weapons and were ready to go to it, yet her persuasions would make them put up.’ - Ferdinand about Julia
- implying she is promiscuous (‘persuasions’)
- ‘make them put up’ refers to sex
‘That she would, my lord.’
‘That she would, my lord.’ - Castruccio (completely unaware of what they were insinuating about his wife)
‘How do you like my…’
‘How do you like my Spanish Jennet?’ - don’t know whether this was said by Ferdinand or Castruccio, needs to be checked with exam board
‘Why do you laugh? Methinks you that…’
‘Why do you laugh? Methinks you that are courtiers should be my touchwood, take fire when I give fire, that is, laugh when I laugh were the subject never so witty.’ - Ferdinand
- control, intimidation, hierarchy
- suddenly stops the joke
- his sexual awareness seems more private and dangerous
‘True, my lord. I myself have heard a very good jest’
‘True, my lord. I myself have heard a very good jest’ - Castruccio
- smooths over and diffuses the situation with Ferdinand
- experienced courtier
Antonio when addressed by Ferdinand
- doesn’t say what F wants
- isn’t trying to flatter like the others
- doesn’t play himself down
- ‘so, out of brave horsemanship, arise the first sparks of growing resolution that raise the mind to noble action.’ - Antonio
‘so, out of brave horsemanship…’
‘so, out of brave horsemanship, arise the first sparks of growing resolution that raise the mind to noble action.’ - Antonio
- doesn’t say what F wants or play himself down
- “being good at riding is the first step to becoming noble”
Duchess’ entrance in 1:2
- silent for 60 lines (just stands on stage observing)
- watchful
- it makes what she says more noticeable
- gives A and D time to introduce the characters she enters with (chaperoned
- fulfils her role as a woman in a man’s world - even though she is powerful
- says very little (mundane after A’s monologue, meek)
What do Delio and Antonio say about the Cardinal?
- ‘will play his five thousand crowns at tennis, dance,/ Court ladies’ - Delio
- ‘melancholy churchman’ - A
- ‘The spring in his face is nothing but the engendering of toads’ - A
- ‘bestow bribes so largely and so impudently as if he would have carried it away without heaven’s knowledge’ - A
- ‘He speaks with others’ tongues and hears men’s suits/ With others’ ears’ - A
- ‘Then the law to him/ Is like a foul black cobweb to a spider./ He makes it his dwelling and a prison/ To entangle those shall field him.’ - D
- ‘oracles/ Hang at his lips’ ‘For the devil speaks in them’ - A
‘Will play his five…’
‘Will play his five thousand crowns at tennis, dance,/ Court ladies’ - Delio about the Cardinal
- not very religious things
- outward appearance/social demeanour
‘but observe his inward…’
‘but observe his inward character. He is a melancholy churchman.’ - Antonio about the Cardinal
‘The spring in his face…’
‘The spring in his face is nothing but the engendering of toads.’ - Antonio about the Cardinal
- the Cardinals appearance is a cover for his underhand plots and deception
‘He should have been…’
‘He should have been Pope, but instead of coming to it by the primitive decency of the church he did bestow bribes so largely and so impudently as if he would have carried it away without heaven’s knowledge.’ - A about the Cardinal
- instead of adhering to the Church’s original moral tenets, he corrupted the process by giving out such preposterous bribes that is seemed he thought God had no say in the matter
- thought he could get away with it
‘He speaks with…’
‘He speaks with others’ tongues and hears men’s suits/ With others’ ears’ - Antonio about the Cardinal
‘Then the law to him..’
‘Then the law to him/ Is like a foul black cobweb to a spider./ He makes it his dwelling and a prison/ To entangle those shall feed him.’ - Delio about the Cardinal
- this spider idea will become a continued association
- uses the law to trap others
‘They that do flatter him…’
‘They that do flatter him most say oracles/ Hang at his lips and, verily, I believed them,/ For the devil speaks in them.’ - Antonio about the Cardinal
- A’s suggestion that the Cardinal’s oracular ability is demonic therefore doubly underlines the churchman’s fall away from Christian values
- ties to earlier where Bosola says C ‘were able to possess the greatest devil and make him worse’