Duchess 3:3 Flashcards
‘Must we turn…’
‘Must we turn soldier, then?’ - Cardinal
‘The one influence upon Webster that is always…’
‘The one influence upon Webster that is always noticeable is that of satire […] it is incessant. The topics are the ordinary ones, the painting of women, the ingratitude of princes, the swaggering of blusterers, the cowardice of pseudo-soldiers. It gives part of the peculiar atmosphere of these plays.’ - Rupert Brooke
‘He has worn gunpowder…’
‘He has worn gunpowder in’s hollow tooth/ For the toothache.’ - Delio about Malateste
- the closest he got to war was the domestic use of gundpowder
‘He comes to the leaguer…’
‘He comes to the leaguer with a full intent/ To eat fresh beef and garlic; means to stay/ Till the scent be gone, and straight return to court.’ - Silvio about Malateste
- only goes to the battlefield for food and fun
how does Delio say Malateste will fight?
‘By the alamanac’ (based on astrological forecasts)
‘That’s his mistress’…’
‘Yes. He protests…’
‘I think he would…’
‘That’s his mistress’ scarf?’ - Delio
‘Yes. He protests/ He would do much for that taffeta.’ - Silvio
‘I think he would run away from a battle/ To save it from taking prisoner.’ - Delio
‘I think he would run away…’
‘He is horribly…’
‘I think he would run away from a battle/ To save it from taking prisoner.’ - Silvio
‘He is horrible afraid/ Gunpowder would spoil the perfume on’t.’ - Delio
- (Malateste’s Scarf)
- mocking him for is cowardice
‘He is indeed a guarded…’
‘He is indeed a guarded sumpter cloth/ Only for the remove of the court.’ - Delio
- all show, no substance
‘[Enter Bosola who speaks…’
‘[Enter Bosola who speaks apart to Ferdinand and the Cardinal]’
- by viewing this scene from a distance, Webster exemplifies the bystanders and how gossip spread/reputations were made and ruined
‘Some falling out amongst…’
‘Some falling out amongst the cardinals?/ These factions amongst great men, they are like/ Foxes - when their heads are divided/ They carry fire in their tails and all the country/ About them goes to wrack for’t.’ - Pescara
- a reference to the Bible (Judges 15.4-5) in which Samson attaches firebrands to the tails of foxes and sends them among the Philistine’s corn to burn it
‘I knew him in Padua…’
‘I knew him in Padua, a fantastical scholar like such who study to know how many knots was in Hercules’ club’ - Delio
- about Bosola
- goes on to list various other irrelevant things that people like Bosola studied
- arguably his focus on detail is what makes him such a good spy
- gives reliability to what bosola says
- unemployment among graduates
‘He hath studies himself…’
‘He hath studied himself half blear-eyes to know the true symmetry of Caesar’s nose’ - Delio about Bosola
- determination
- focus on details (hence why he is a good spy)
‘The Lord Ferdinand…’
‘Like a deadly…’
‘The Lord Ferdinand laughs.’ - Pescara
‘Like a deadly cannon/ That lightens ere it smokes.’ - Delio
- a sort of manic, hysteric laughter before he becomes angry
‘In such a deformed…’
‘In such a deformed silence, witches whisper their charms.’ - Delio
- pregnant pause, rising tensions
The way Webster shows the brothers being told the identity of the Duchess’ husband ‘gives a curiously…’
The way Webster shows the brothers being told the identity of the Duchess’ husband ‘gives a curiously dislocated effect, emphasizing not simply the brothers’ anger and disapproval but the fact that neutral observers realise the error of what is takin place but do nothing to oppose the evil.’ - Kathleen McLuskie
