Duchess of malfi - Context Flashcards
When was the gunpowder plot and How did this affect public perceptions?
1605 - the Catholic faith was dragged further into disrepute
Why did Webster set his play in Italy?
In the early 17th century Italy was synonymous with corruption, violence and promiscuity. The British audience would have been happy to accept the horrible things as having happened in Italy. Italy’s reputation was because of:
1) distrust of Catholic Church
2) corruption of the papacy
3) writings of Machiavelli
4) poor reputation of ruling families like the Medicis and Borgias
What are city comedies? And what brought them about?
Satires of merchant class in London. (Late 16th century, early 17th century) Brought about by the emerging middle class. Economic and social upheaval when trading allowed poorer people to climb the social ladder.
ANTONIO (?)
When was the play first written and performed?
1614
What was the common Jacobean view of widows?
Give a quote from the duchess of Malfi that would support this.
A Jacobean audience would’ve seen widows as lustful as they would have already known “what a man is”. Remarriage was frowned upon, as women were expected to remain faithful to their dead first husbands.
“Lusty widow”
“Like a tame elephant”
Was marriage ‘per verba de presenti’ legal?
Yes - people didn’t have to get married in front of a clergyman. New laws, however, were coming about to change this. The fact that the duchess does not abide by these new laws shows her independence and this would perhaps have been attractive to a Jacobean audience.
What characteristics does a Jacobean ‘cuckold’ have?
A cuckold is a man whose wife is having an affair and everyone knows it but him. The image of a cuckold is a man with horns and a hat that everybody, but him can see. (CASTRUCHIO)
What was the reputation of James I court?
The court was known for its corruption and sexual licentiousness.
Who speaks the most lines in the play? And why is this character so important?
Bosola - he ties the play together structurally and morally.
“Bosola is based on a recognisable English type - the unemployed university graduate”. Explain.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the government encouraged more men to go to be educated at university so that they could fill the spaces left by the recently ousted Catholics as clerics. However the supply of graduates quickly outstripped the demand and many men, like BOSOLA, were left over educated, underemployed and contemptuous towards the government. Reward was not always obtained through merit, but often by flattery.
Explain aristotles concept of a tragic hero
- a person of emmenece
- should be good but not holy virtuous
- the death of the tragic hero should generate feelings of pity, compassion and fear
- the tragic hero should have a ‘hermartia’ (fatal flaw) that leads to the ensuing tragedy
How did Seneca influence Webster? Give examples.
🔸Supernatural - lycanthropy
🔸Rhetoric (heightened speech, detail, the drama of the word) -the duchesses death
🔸horror and excess - many deaths, dumb show, dead mans hand, psychological torture as well as physical, madmen
🔸associated with sentenciae (moral sayings) - mainly through Bosola eg glories like glowworms…
🔸sympathea (natural environment responds to characters actions)
How did Seneca influence Webster? Give examples.
🔸Supernatural - lycanthropy
🔸Rhetoric (heightened speech, detail, the drama of the word) -the duchesses death
🔸horror and excess - many deaths, dumb show, dead mans hand, psychological torture as well as physical, madmen
🔸associated with sentenciae (moral sayings) - mainly through Bosola eg glories like glowworms…
🔸sympathea (natural environment responds to characters actions)
What was the aragonese King Ferdinand known for?
His bloody enforcement of the catholic faith throughout his realm.
What was the Jacobean attitude to Machiavellian principles?
They despised him for his lack of principles. This added to their distrust of Italy.
